ROAD WARRIOR

Australian Muay Thai legend, John Wayne Parr, talks to James Cooney about the benefits of running for combat sports

Muhammed Ali once famously said, “The fight is won out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights”. And he wasn’t alone in the belief. Most of the great boxers from history – like Ray Leonard, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson – incorporated running (or ‘roadwork’) into their training schedules.

In recent years, roadwork has lost some of its shine. Many modern coaches and athletes aren’t as convinced by its benefits and favour high intensity interval training that’s more specific to combat sports. Ten-time Muay Thai world champion and former Australian middleweight boxing champion John Wayne Parr isn’t of this opinion. He believes the old school is still the best school.

“When I moved to Thailand at age 19 to become a fighter, they had me running twice a day,” explains the 45-year-old, who has won nearly everything he’s put his hand to. “We would do 10km in the morning and 6km at night. Running was a fundamental part of training and if you didn’t do it, you weren’t allowed on the pads.”

How does all that running help you in the ring?

“There’s a few reasons, but two of the main ones are that it’s great for cardio and it’s great for fat loss. Both of these things are very important. I usually sweat out between 6 and 10 kilos while running and training before a fight. I have to run.”

How else does it improve you?

“Those long runs are great for the mindset of a fighter. To be able to stay switched on like that and maintain the work rate makes you tough. It’s not just slow easy runs I’m talking about – we also make sure we sprint up hills too.”

Do you have time away from running or is it something you do all year round?

“I’m consistent with my routine all year. Every single day. If I’m in a fight camp I’ll end up running about 800kms before I cross the ropes into the ring. It’s great to know that as I’m walking to the ring I’ve done the work and I haven’t taken any shortcuts. I’m confident that I can go hard from the first round until the very last one. That’s the main thing. You don’t want to get hurt and you don’t want to gas-out half way through the fight, either.”

Did you vary this between competing in boxing and Muay Thai?

“Nope. I kept the same routine for both – big kays in the morning and a shorter run at night.”

With advances in sports science and our understanding of the body, do you think it’s still as an important exercise as it used to be?

“Yep, and plenty of people still do it. It’s an important tool and everybody can use it – it’s free and easy! I’m lucky to live on the Gold Coast, so the view I get at 6.30am running around the headland with the sun coming up over the water is so scenic. I actually feel sorry for people who don’t run.”