These mental tactics became all the more important for Jasmin as she reached the final loop and the physical toll of the race started to hit home.
“I wobbled along the first little bit of track, literally threw up, and then just started. So I was eating my banana and I basically said to myself out loud: “right, come on, we’re doing this”. I was just thinking about the [cut-off] time all the time.
“I was trying to really concentrate because the big danger is that you make a [navigational] mistake. You can be going fairly consistently speed wise, but you only have to make one mistake and that costs you 20 minutes, even half an hour, and it’s massive dent in your time. So, the main thing was to try not make mistakes. I did make one mistake, which cost me 15 to 20 minutes. It just goes to show how close it is out there to everything going completely wrong.”
The final moments
The videos of Jasmin crossing the finish line are now legendary, as she picks up speed and makes it to the iconic gate with 90 seconds to spare. But how was she feeling in the moment?
“It was really awful,” she admits. “I was so desperate to stop and so desperate for oxygen. I think my lungs were like not very happy at all because I’d been coughing up stuff. Then I had to sprint up…
