The other managers embroiled in the Championship relegation battle will most likely use Sunday to de-stress from what is bound to be another taxing day.
A day in front of the telly, a dog walk, maybe even a pint or two. Not Gary Rowett. The interim Birmingham City manager will spend his Sunday doing the most gruelling, energy-sapping endurance event of them all.
Rowett - who recently celebrated his 50th birthday - will run the London Marathon for the fourth time. “For my sins, on my day off, I shall be running 26.2 miles and then I’ll be in the next day,” he said.
“I have retained the focus on the game because I’ve hardly done any running! It’s something I committed to before I came here and I’m keen to do it. It’s a great experience.”
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Rowett is a keen runner and now a seasoned marathoner. He ran London with his daughter last year and clocked four hours and 13 minutes having completed the course in just over four hours in 2022.
He continued: “My time has come down this year but that was when I was out of work, so for obvious reasons I could put a bit more mileage in. I don’t know if the stress of this job is going to add lots more time on top of it or not, we will see.
“When you’ve done London it’s just such an enjoyable experience, the way people come out and support, it really is a great four hours - hopefully it’s not any longer than that! It’s brilliant, I’d recommend anyone to do it if they are stupid enough to.”
The love affair with the marathon started during his first stint in the Blues hotseat. Back in 2016 Rowett ran his first London Marathon in support of Liam's Smiles - a charity set up by ex-Blues goalkeeper Colin Doyle and his wife Becky to raise money and awareness after their son Liam contracted meningitis.
“I did it for Colin Doyle and his wife, supporting their child, and that’s how it actually started. Nine years later I’m back again doing it! I’ve had a bit of stick around it. A Millwall fan started having a go at me halfway round last year because we were in a poor run of form at the time. ‘Mate, I’m 16 miles in, give me a break.’”
It will be an extremely quick turnaround for Rowett with Blues in Rotherham today looking to build on last weekend’s win over Coventry. Let’s hope Rowett doesn’t have to spend 26.2 miles agonising over another miserable result on the road.
“It’s all about the game and preparation for the game,” he added. “All it will mean is afterwards, rather than driving home I will drive back down to London and I’ll stay down there. I’ll run it the next day and then I’ll be in on Monday, simple as that. It’s like anyone, you do things you want to do in your own personal time and that’s something I’ve done over the years. It’s a great event for so many people running it for so many different reasons.”
