Category: Features

He is one of the most experienced and well-known coaches in the country under whose watchful eye many elite athletes and average Joe’s have achieved the ultimate running glory and elusive personal bests. Now you too can be coached by John Hamlett himself! This month sees the launch of the Modern Athlete coaching programme which will make it possible for anyone – from an average walker or runner to an elite athlete – to be coached by the Modern Athlete coaching team, headed up by one of the best in the business. – BY MICHELLE PIETERS

Many of us have been running for years, chasing elusive PBs and hoping each year that it would be our best running year ever. Often we are disappointed when the opposite happens and our times actually get slower and slower. Sometimes we get advice from running buddies or from articles in sporting magazines and our times do improve slightly, but more often than not our running stays stuck in a rut!

Then, on the other end of the scale there are the novices who end up frustrated with injuries due to incorrect training methods. This sometimes completely puts them off the sport of running and often even drives them to cycling!

Our very own Modern Athlete online coaching programme now gives you the opportunity to receive an online coaching programme from one of the best coaches in the country.
Don’t be fooled into believing that coaching programmes
are just for long-distance junkies. Our programmes cover
all distances, which means that if you are a 10km addict,
a goal-driven walker or a Comrades devotee, an individualised programme can be constructed for you.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The programmes will be available for beginners to advanced runners.
Your first step is to log onto
the Modern Athlete website
(www.modernathlete.co.za) and complete a questionnaire to help us individualise your programme.

You will then receive
bi-weekly programmes
from our team headed up by John, who will take all of your goals, current training methods, injuries, previous best times, personal and work circumstances, medical history and much more into consideration before we supply you with the best programme to suit your needs!

Also, an interactive online feedback programme will be available, on which you can interact with John and our team and keep us updated on your progress or bring up any worries you might have regarding your training. We will help with slight adjustments to your programme if need be.
You will be coached in
eight-week cycles for a monthly fee of R249, that’s only R8.30 a day to be
coached by the best. Further to this, Modern Athlete will hold regular coaching seminars for members.
We don’t want to give it all away right now, so for more information log onto our website and find
out how our coaching team can take you from zero to hero!

MORE ABOUT OUR ONLINE COACH
John is no stranger to running. He ran his first marathon at the age of 15 and has been coaching elite and average athletes
for over 30 years. He has a marathon PB of 2:20 and a 10km sub-34min PB.

John is more recently known for his successes with top athletes such as Andrew Kelehe (2001 Comrades winner), Yolandi MacLean (two times Comrades gold medallist), Fusi Nhlapo (2003 Comrades Champion), Lindsay van Aswegen (eighth lady and second South African woman home at Comrades 2010) and Fanie Matshipa (fifth in a time of 5:39 at Comrades 2010).

This former police colonel has come a long way in running circles and has helped more than 30 athletes achieve Comrades gold and more than ten achieve Two Oceans gold. In earlier years he was very involved with the former Liberty Nike running team, which won the team trophy at Comrades a few years ago.

John was recently appointed by South Africa’s top selling car manufacturer, Toyota, as coach of the up-and-coming Team Toyota running club. The new team produced brilliant results at the recent Comrades Marathon and all eyes are on this team to become a powerhouse in years to come.

Don’t feel intimidated; John does not only coach elite runners. Over the last few years he has made a name for himself as the Average Joe’s coach. In many cases his average athletes have achieved not only what they thought was impossible, but more often than not have lost weight in the process. “One of the runners I have coached went from 140kg to 75kg and a six pack in only one year.”

On top of this John has coached schoolchildren, duathletes, triathletes and track athletes. “In all sport disciplines the same training principles apply; the principles of the body don’t change, only the mechanics of it. All disciplines need the same facets; the only difference is how you apply it.”

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
For any training programme to be successful, you have to be prepared to put in the work, warns John. “Firstly, you need to be prepared to change your eating habits if you are currently eating unhealthily. Believe it or not, an average runner has between 15-21% body fat! Runners believe they can eat anything because they run.”

John knows all about incorrect eating habits; in days gone by he was known as the Kentucky King. “I ate Kentucky at least four times a week! Then I went to Russia where I met a professor who taught me all about the science of nutrition. It made a big difference in my life and in those of my athletes.”

John believes that for any training or eating programme to be successful you need to be determined, seek professional guidance, concentrate on quality training, persevere and have realistic goals in place. He does not believe in so-called ‘bucket training’. “You can’t throw people in a bucket and make them all train the same way. Some might improve but only to a certain point. I believe it is important to first establish the individual’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Many of us find time an obstacle in our training; John’s training programme ensures that you train wisely in the time you have available. “If you only have an hour a day to invest, we will make sure that hour counts and that you train smart. Well-known runner Bob de la Motte only had 90 minutes a day to train and he made sure he spent this time well.”

WHY INVEST IN A COACH?
If you train alone without any guidance your running sometimes becomes a bit of a guessing game, says John. “While
I was running competitively I was constantly guessing. One always wonders if you are doing the right thing. Also, often you can’t judge yourself objectively and worry if you have done enough or should have done more. Often many runners don’t even know when they are peaking while others rest so many days before Comrades that they are actually unfit come Comrades day! Runners are too emotionally involved in their training. With a structured coaching programme you know exactly what the next phase is and what you are working towards.”

Runners also tend to find the easy way out and not always the best way. “Many times we run the same 10km route every day and think that what we are doing is okay because we are building up enough kilometres to log in our logbooks. The sad thing is this will not make you a stronger and faster runner.”

Someone once asked what makes for a good elite runner and was answered, “What God left out, I can’t put in.” John believes that every runner has an ability that can be refined, often surpassing their wildest dreams. “There are so many things we can strengthen and perfect in our running. Look at Andrew Kelehe; in 2001 he ran an average of 3:39min/km for the whole 89km. Scientists would have told you earlier that those times aren’t possible. Then along came Leonid Shvetsov and he ran even faster! I believe with the right guidance and training we can all do so much more than we ever thought possible.”

WITH PASSION YOU WILL GO FAR
John has what all brilliant coaches should have: passion!
“I can’t imagine a better job in the world. Every day I meet new and amazing people. People involved in sport are out there to better themselves. You will not find a washout that runs everyday!
Most runners want to improve and everybody
out there has their own goals that make them
special. With the right coaching most runners
will achieve brilliantly!”

Most Modern Athletes have a special sporting goal: it keeps us on our toes and makes for great conversations once we’ve achieved them! We spoke to an elite triathlete and a novice runner about their different upcoming sporting goals.

Richard Murray

Former World Duathlon Champion and top SA mountain biker. He is currently based in the UK and competes on the European racing circuit.

MAIN GOAL
To become the world’s number one triathlete and get to the Olympic Games.

What are your major triathlon goals at the moment?
Becoming the best triathlete in the world is my big goal, but first I need to improve my swim! Right now I want to race International Triathlon Union (ITU) events and gain enough points to race World Triathlon events. Then I want to get a top ten place at the World Triathlon Championships in Budapest on 11 September. My other big goal is to represent South Africa at the Olympic Games in 2012, then go on to win the Olympic triathlon in 2016 or 2020.

How do you intend to achieve your goal?
I want to be able to swim with the top 30, which is vital to gaining a bunch on the bike. That’s going to take a year or two of suffering in the pool before I will be able to really excel.

Tell us about your sporting background and how you got into triathlon.
I began as a cross-country runner at about seven and then did my first triathlon when I was 13, going from stone-last in the swim to winning as I caught up big time in the run. When I was 15 I was the best SA cross-country mountain biker in my age category, and then at 18 and 19, I was two-time World Duathlon Champion. But I asked myself, can I make a living in duathlon? The answer was no, so from last year I focused on triathlon.

Do you have any short-term goals?
Racing is an important factor to improve fitness and see progression in training. I will do about five races in Europe and some swimming events before World Champs to improve my swim and gain open water experience, and this will give me vital fitness, skills and direction to improve for the big race in September. I will also do quite a few African Cup events to get ITU points, which are vital for me to enter the major races in the year to come.

What will you do after you reach your goal?
After ITU triathlons I want to go back to my roots and move into XTERRA. Mountain biking, trail running and swimming in lakes sound like great fun to me. When I’m past my competitive peak, I want to move into coaching and become the TSA coach, to help triathlon become stronger in South Africa. I want to help turn the real potential in our country into world-class athletes.

Dan?l Blaauw

A Johannesburg-based journalist and novice runner.

GOAL
Completing the Spar Women’s 5km Challenge in August in Pretoria.

Why did you choose this specific goal?
I realised that I had to start exercising and I also wanted to lose some weight. I knew the only way to do it was to commit to something and set a goal for myself. I promised two of my girlfriends I would do the Spar ‘fun run’ – as they described it – with them. I thought setting a goal and training for it was the best way of getting into a routine of working out. So now I am going to keep my promise and I am getting a great workout at the same time!

Have you competed in any road races or other sporting events before?
No, I have not exercised for years! Even at high school I was never much of an athlete. I played a bit of netball and tennis and continued for a while after school. Over the years I occasionally worked out in the gym, which involved a bit of running on the treadmill. But other than that I have never competed in organised sporting events.

How do you intend to achieve your goal?
With hard work, commitment and by the looks of it, a lot of exercise, which is so not me! I am sure I am the most unfit person in the whole of Johannesburg. I started going to the gym twice a week since the beginning of July. I increased it to three times a week after three weeks and hopefully I will be in the gym five times a week soon. This will be a huge achievement for me. I am also working out with a personal trainer and a friend gave me a five-week 5km training programme so I can be ready for the Spar Ladies’ Race.

I know for sure that on the day I won’t be able to run the whole 5km without stopping, but I know I will be able to walk/run the distance. I must admit I don’t really like running, but I know it is good for me. This combined with a healthy eating plan will also hopefully put me on my way to shedding a few kilograms by the end of August.

What has been the hardest part of your training?
I am not the most disciplined person and I love my sleep, especially in winter. It has been really hard to get up in the mornings and go to gym. But luckily I paid my gym membership in advance and I know I have to go in order to achieve my goal.

And then of course there is the promise that I made to my girlfriends. I can’t disappoint them! My working hours are getting in the way of my training; I am in and out of the city a lot and I’m also going on holiday. I am worried I won’t stick to my training programme, but I am determined to try.

What would you like to achieve on the day?
I just want to complete the 5km without having to drag myself over the finish line, or asking my girlfriends to drag me! I want to have enough fitness by then so I can enjoy it. I am not setting a finishing time for myself. I just want to run, walk and have fun. And if I can burn lots of calories in the process I’ll be in seventh heaven! I am looking forward to crossing the finish line knowing that I set a goal for myself and achieved it! It is also going to be great being surrounded by so many women all having fun and working towards different goals.

Any plans to reward yourself if you achieve your goal?
If I finish and also manage to lose a few kilograms by race day, I will definitely be rewarding myself with a pair of Lee Cooper jeans!

What are your sporting goals after you reach your goal?
I want to swim the Midmar Mile in January… another promise to two girlfriends…

Many of us visualize Russia as a mysterious country and in the running world, a country that produces top athletes year after year. In fact, some of the Comrades greats hail from this former communist country. Nick Bester, Manager of the Nedbank Running Club, caught up with Dmitri Grishin, Comrades Champion of 1996 and 1998, and other international Russian athletes in their home town of Vladimir.

A ROUND TRIP!
Dmitri and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. Though we have been great competitors we have built up a special friendship over the years. I visited him for the first time in October last year when my son took part in the Junior World Cycling Championships held in Russia.

This year my wife and I visited our son who is currently cycling for a professional team in Spain. We decided to travel from Spain to Russia and visit Dmitri, who is always complaining we don’t see each other often enough. We travelled from Moscow to St Petersburg and then eventually to Vladimir, about 200km from Moscow.

CATCHING UP
One of the first things I realised when catching up with Dmitri was that he certainly knows how to turn running success into business success. When Dmitri retired from competitive running in 2005 he did not fall into unemployment and poverty like many top runners. He started with a totally new career that he knew nothing about and turned it into a great success story.

At the end of 2005 he started to build houses in his hometown, Vladimir. Since then he has completed and sold 14 luxury houses with the biggest measuring 600 square metres. Some of the houses are being sold for about R5 million. The residents are naming one of the streets in Vladimir, Dmitri Prospect, as he has built four outstanding houses in this street.

The houses are incredible inside and the workmanship is amazing; some have indoor swimming pools, underfloor heating systems and electricity as well as gas facilities with sophisticated operating systems.

A PROUD HUSBAND AND FATHER
Dmitri is married to Nikita and they are the proud parents of three strong boys. He says he will try for a daughter once again but not before 2016 because in true Russian fashion his doctor advises him that his genes and blood are too strong and dominating, so the chances are that he will not produce a girl before then!

He does not train much these days, but is still as lean as ever. He ran a 5km race the other day just for the fun of it.

While the Spanish fill up with bread and pasta, the Russians enjoy mostly protein, salad and vegetables. Physically the Spaniards are a bit ‘rounder and softer’ while the Russians are more like lean machines. They are very health conscious and thrive on fresh fruit and vegetables. One day we travelled to a small town just to buy fresh cherries and berries from people who grow them in their backyards.

FAMOUS FRIENDS
Another Comrades gold medallist and Comrades runner-up in 2000, and one of Dmitri’s best friends and training partners for many years, is Alexi Volgin. He lives around the corner from Dmitri with his wife, Natalia. She is also a Comrades gold medallist who is now concentrating on marathon running. She recently ran a great time of 2:29 at a marathon in Frankfurt.

We also met up with Andrei Pisminiy, former President of Ultra Runners in Russia. He is currently the manager of the biggest professional running club in Russia. There are no social running clubs such as in South Africa, only some big professional clubs.

One evening when we all went for dinner at a local restaurant, we realised that between the four of us we have a total of 20 Comrades gold medals! I have nine gold medals, Dmitri has four, Alexi has six and Natalia has one. Not bad for a table of four in a quiet Russian town.

Natalia belonged to the former Harmony Running Club, which I managed in earlier years. She won the Two Oceans Marathon in 2002 and got that gold at Comrades. We had such a good time and strangely enough we did not talk much about running. We actually spoke about everything and anything, life in general which was nice and refreshing.

DOING IT THE RUSSIAN WAY
One thing about the Russians that I admire is their hospitality and friendliness! They always send you away with gifts. While Dmitri was in South Africa, he stayed with Piet Botha, son of Pik Botha, former SA politician. Dmitri sent me away with a Special Edition bottle of Hennessey, a brand of cognac, that he wanted me to give to Piet. One can’t buy Special Editions; Dmitri specially phoned a friend at the head office to ask for ten bottles!

While visiting Dmitri, the Russian twins, Elena and Olesya Nurgalieva, phoned and said they heard I was in the country. We had a nice chat, and they invited me to visit them sometime. They were taking a break after Comrades, but were slowly starting to train again despite being on holiday.

Dmitri is very keen on South Africa. When he was here the last time he shot some game and I recently helped him get his trophies back to Russia. He will be visiting South Africa towards the end of the year with friends.

It was awesome visiting them; I will go back any day! They are like family.

A FAMILY MAN
I have always been a family man. I live for them! I remember the days my kids were born; I was the proudest man alive. Over the years they have excelled at so many things, making me even prouder, if that is possible!

My wife, Daphne, is my soulmate. She has always supported me and never complains. My son, Clayton, is my driving force in life. When he is up I feel good and when he is down, I feel the same. And then there is my daughter, Candice (who I call Nunks). She is still young but I learn from her every day. I love her discipline and determination; when she puts her mind to something she does it. She also puts me back in place when I need it! I have always loved running and have excelled at it. I have a sub-30 minute 10km time and a 2:46 marathon PB. I have never really enjoyed the long stuff. I have completed Comrades but not in a great time. Over the years I have kept running, but not seriously or regularly. Often life just got in the way and I also dedicated most of my time to my family. My biggest passion is my family, but I always knew I would get back into running eventually.

When Candice and Clayton decided to start running in 2006, it ignited my passion to start running again too. We started training together in the mornings. Clayton and I ‘pushed’ each other; we were never overly competitive, but rather motivated each other. Also, I was so proud to run with my daughter. I can’t describe the feeling of training with your kids.

Initially my wife wasn’t interested in running, but she always supported us at all the races. In my heart I knew that soon Daphne would be running too! That’s why I wasn’t too surprised when she entered her first race! Our family started ‘living’ running. Running was all we spoke about. The first thing we would ask each other every day and on weekends was: “How was your run?”

Over the weeks my own running started taking a backseat and I started helping my family achieve their running goals. Seeing them get through their challenges became so rewarding. I was still running with them but my role started changing slightly to that of coach. I was happy to give of myself to see them succeed. One of my proudest moments was seeing my wife and daughter cross the finish line of the Harrismith Mountain Race together. Soon my daughter’s husband, Shaun, also started running! This was really turning into a family affair.

A DREAM COME TRUE
In October 2009 Nunks told me that she wanted to run the 2010 Comrades. I was a little surprised as I did not expect her to want to run Comrades so soon. I had always said that I would only run Comrades again if it was with my children. I guess it was my turn! “Let’s do it!” I said to Nunks. I entered myself and Nunks, as well as my niece, Cindy, who was also keen to do it. I was to run the Comrades with my daughter and niece; what an awesome experience it was going to be. As the days went by I had to remind myself to calm down.

I had to put together a programme for the two of them and take many things into consideration. The most difficult thing for me was my own training. At that stage I was racing at under 4min/km but was running much slower with the ladies. My wife quickly reminded me to put my own racing goals aside as I had promised Candice that I would train with her and get her through Comrades.

We started planning our races and slowly built up to our qualifying marathon. In between I was already prepping them for what to expect on the day. I could see my daughter becoming a well-oiled machine: stronger, fitter and faster. Daphne supported us at all the races and in many cases, also ran the race in her own time.

We prepared for our first marathon in February and were hoping for a D seeding. We had a great race and ran into the stadium in a time of 3:50. We got our D seeding. Our training was on target; we covered 1 390km from January to May.

THE BIG DAY
Finally the big day arrived. The crowd sang the national anthem, the cock crowed and the canon signalled the start of our epic journey. I got cold shivers knowing that together, Nunks and
I would be running the Ultimate Human Race. I cannot describe the feeling
I felt as a dad being able to run with my daughter.

We looked forward to the halfway mark at Drummond and went through in 4:45. That was when Candice told me that she was so happy to run with me, and that she would love to run with her child one day. At the top of Drummond we saw our seconds (Mom, Clayton and Shaun). I knew from this point that I had to work with Nunks’ and Cindy’s minds and reassure them that they were going to complete the race. The crowds that lined the roads were amazing. They certainly helped us along. In the last 4km before entering the stadium, it hit us: we were almost at the finish! Finally we entered the stadium. We crossed the line in 10:07. We had decided beforehand what we would do when we crossed the line. When the moment came, we took each other’s hands and finished the Ultimate Human Race together! Candice immediately said that she would do it again in 2011. I felt overwhelmed and knew I have done my job!

WHAT LIES AHEAD
Clayton was so inspired by our performance at Comrades that he asked me to run Comrades with him next year! What an honour it would be to run my son’s first Comrades with him! Since Comrades our family has kept running together. In fact, running has actually spread like wildfire amongst our friends; some of my son-in-law’s friends have even started running!

I am looking forward to another year of sharing the passion for running with my beloved family. There are so many races to look forward to. My wife has not shown interest in running Comrades, but who knows? Maybe one day we’ll be running Comrades as a family, or perhaps one day, I will run it with my grandchild! It would be awesome to cross that finish line hand-in-hand with the people who matter the most to me.

Known as the world’s best ultra marathon runner, Ryan has become a household name within the global sports fraternity whilst fellow athlete Tatum is known internationally as a top adventure racer. Both are leading athletes in their respective disciplines, and both have a strong desire to see talented youngsters achieve through sports.

The camp was made possible thanks to a generous sponsorship from Salomon and Velocity Sports Lab in partnership with the JAG Sports and Education Foundation. Each of the 26 children was given a goody bag with kit and shoes from Salomon and Velocity Sports Lab, watches and bands from Imazine, and the all important headlamps for their late night run from Black Diamond.

Starting on the first day of the FIFA World Cup™, the young runners were treated to challenges that encompassed all the soccer excitement. Ryan and Tatum created a very clever treasure hunt around the soccer theme to kick the camp off, followed by the children watching the opening Bafana Bafana match against Mexico.

On the Saturday Ryan took the kids on a 22km run/hike up to the mast on the Constantiaberg Mountain in Tokai as a teamwork exercise. Ryan and Tatum split the kids into groups – each aptly named after the Group A soccer teams – with each team having to work together and, more importantly, stay together on their run up the mountain. “It was great to see how the kids worked as a team on this run. We had the stronger guys helping the smaller girls; everyone focused on their strengths and not their weaknesses,” says Ryan.

“Many of the runners have not gone further than 5km previously so it was a great achievement for all of them to run 22km on a trail and over tough mountain climbs. Even though you could see that at times a lot of them were struggling, not once did they want to give up. They showed tremendous courage and team spirit, which is what the ProNutro JAGRunners programme is set to achieve,” says Kathleen Shuttleworth, ProNutro JAG runners programme manager.

Tatum’s knowledge of the mountains and her experience in the adventure sports industry added a great twist into all the activities set out for the kids and made them that much more exciting and challenging. “It was a real ‘feel good’ weekend. We had a load of fun and a thousand laughs! No shortage of good humour in that group, or talent for that matter,” says Tatum.

On the Sunday morning children were split into two groups headed by Ryan and Tatum for the 10km trail challenge. The faster group led the pack, marking the route for the slower group, which had to find markers and get to the finish on time. The camp finished with a feedback session from the kids themselves. What stood out the most for the majority of the kids was teamwork and learning to work together and help each other.

Some of the activities that the kids were challenged with included:
  2km time trial runs
 8km sprint for the faster runners
  Boot camp-style aerobic workouts
  Treasure hunts
  Adventure night races
 Fun skit plays

The camp was a phenomenal success and highlights the simple power of sport in creating a change in young people’s lives. Ryan took two kids from the camp with him to Knysna for the Oyster Festival, and to compete in some races up there with him. Niklas Dlamini and Odwa Mbangatha were chosen after showing exceptional talent at the camp. “Niklas and Odwa were the two ‘stand out’ runners at the camp, and I believe they have huge potential to develop into world-class athletes. It is great to see that they are also team players, helping some of the younger runners on the longer runs during the camp Tatum and I held,” says Ryan.

And what an adventure it turned out to be! Niklas and Odwa came first and third respectively in the shorter Salomon Featherbed Trail Run of the day. Niklas also won the DueSouth XTERRA Lite! Ryan was second overall, over the three races of the day with the second fastest time on the day.

Modern Athlete commends all involved for this great initiative and looks forward to seeing some great new talent ‘defining themselves’ in the near future.

Ask Joyce Keeling about her first, long-awaited trip to Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape and she is likely to roll her eyes in exasperation before launching into a story about her husband’s absolute dedication to his running. Because while Vic refused to take her there for many years, all it took to change his mind was a road race…

“My parents got married in Port Alfred, so I asked Vic to take me there to see it. He refused because there was no race there to run. It went on for years like that! Then one day he turns to me and says, ‘We’re going to Port Alfred’, so I asked, ‘Why now?’ Turns out it was because he wanted to run the Washie hundred-miler. At first I said, ‘You can go on your own,’ but then I thought I was cutting off my nose to spite my face, so I eventually agreed to go. As I always joked, he was married to running and I was his sideline!”

Still, for all her mock indignation, Joyce was always there to second Vic in his running. Little wonder the Golden Reef Club awarded her numerous ‘Agter Elke Runner’ certificates for her many years of support.

LATE STARTER
Vic only took up running when he was 47, after playing hockey for 30 years – but he was bitten hard by the running bug after seconding his eldest son, Brian, in a race. He ran his first race at the 1975 Marits Mini Marathon 16km in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg, but says, “That was more of a trail fun run, and my first real road race was the Spring Striders 32km in 1976, which I ran in 3:44:10, finishing 864th out of 870 finishers.”

Throughout his running career he kept a meticulous hand-written record of all his races, which Brian recently added up to find that his father has finished 1 018 races, including 243 marathons or ultra marathons, which in turn included 17 Comrades and 17 hundred-milers. His total race mileage comes to 29 097km. Even now, aged 81, Vic still has clear memories of his early races. “My first marathon was the Vaal Marathon in 1977. I remember I was told by some chaps to follow the legendary Mavis Hutchinson if I wanted to finish, so I stuck with her the whole way. I finished in 4:23:20, a few seconds ahead of her.”

His first Comrades followed in 1978, the same year he helped start his beloved Golden Reef Road Running Club. “People told me to walk when I got to a hill, then run the flats and downs, but I ran everything and finished in 9:52. The following year Johnny Halberstadt gave a talk at our club, and he said he rested on the uphills – and that was when he was still running to win it, so this time I listened and ran 9:17!”

Vic went on to finish 17 of the 22 Comrades Marathons he started. One near miss saw him finish just four minutes outside the final cut-off in the big race in 2000, and he still reckons he would have made it that year if not for the congested roads. “The first ten kays took me one hour and 32 minutes. It was impossible to get going.” He also ran to halfway in 1999 and 2003, his last Comrades at the age of 74, because he enjoyed the atmosphere of the race and wanted to be part of it even though he wasn’t fit enough to run the full distance.

Another of his favourite races was the Washie, which he finished seven times, and it was his first Washie in 1981 that provided one of his proudest running moments. Having finished that year’s Comrades with Brian, the two then tackled the Washie together. “As we came over the last hill and saw the finish at the bridge, we forgot our blisters and accelerated. Then, as we neared the finish, we heard them say over the loudspeaker, ‘Here come Vic and Brian Keeling, father and son, the first time in South Africa that a father and son are finishing a hundred-miler together.’ That was something else!”

EARLY YEARS
Born in Kenilworth, Johannesburg, Vic started his working life as an apprentice fitter and turner at Consolidated Main Reef Mine on the West Rand. Along with some friends, he sent an application to the Overseas Tank Ship Corporation, and when he received a job offer, he flew to Mombasa, Kenya to join his first ship, despite all his friends pulling out. “It was my first time in the air and my first time out of the country, so I sat there asking myself what I was doing! But I had discussed it with Joyce, who was then still my girlfriend, and we decided that it would be good for me, that it would help me grow up.”

So from 1949 to 1951, Vic sailed the world, fetching crude oil in the Persian Gulf and delivering refined kerosene and gasoline to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and more. He started as a machinist, and then worked his way up through fourth engineer to third engineer before returning home, where he married Joyce and joined Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine in Western Transvaal as a draughtsman. After two years he transferred to Rand Mines Limited, where he rose to chief engineering design draughtsman, giving the company 45 years of service until his retirement.

“I had a pressurised job, so I loved my runs
home after work, which I did twice every week. But that was not always so safe. One time I ran home from work in the dark and the gravel road had been graded that day. I stepped in a big hole where a rock has been removed and smashed my 25-year service wristwatch as I fell. Luckily the company fixed it for me and now Brian has it – and it still works!”

RUNNING BOOM
Vic started running as the Running Boom swept the world in the late 70s, so he saw the rapid growth in the sport. “When I started, the only big race was the Springs Striders 32, which had about 1 200 runners while most others were about half that size. I saw how races grew quickly in those years, and suddenly it took longer to get going at the start.”

The increase in fields saw personal seconding replaced by manned water points, which Vic still has mixed feelings about. “We lost the closeness of the personal seconds. I met seconds of other runners, especially in the hundred-milers, and the next year when you went back you’d meet the same people again. Even today I still see some of them and we still have something to chat about. I loved meeting people during events and making lasting friendships.”

“But the development of watering points was also a good thing. The roads were becoming too congested with all the seconds, especially the youngsters on their motorbikes, who were rather a nuisance because they were getting in our way. As the years passed, the watering points got better, especially in Comrades, and it is quite nice to reach water tables now and enjoy the vibe.”

Vic has seen other things change over the years, notably shoes. “When I started, a lot of the long distance runners used Tiger Ultra-Ts, which had virtually no midsole. You simply can’t believe what they used to run in! Shoes are much better these days, but I think they’re too expensive. Also, these days, people throw their shoes away as soon as the heel looks a bit worn out. I used to cut a wedge out of the heel when it was worn down and use contact adhesive to glue on a new homemade plastic heel section.”

ULTIMATE CLUB MAN
Last year Vic left Golden Reef after 32 years when he and Joyce moved down to a retirement village in Fish Hoek, Cape Town. Brian says it took him years to convince his father to make the move. “I believe my dad comes from a different era. He lived in Johannesburg for 80 years, has been married for nearly 60 years, worked for the same company for 45 years and ran for Golden Reef from its inception in 1978 until March last year. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get him to move!”

“My dad was a ‘routine guy’. He did the same training runs and routes on the same days and at the same times. He ran home from work twice a week; on Wednesday nights he did the club time trial, then it was long weekend runs with clubmates – the same routine for 30 years. And he wouldn’t miss a time trial. He ran more than 1 100 of them before he stopped counting. It didn’t even matter if there was a marriage in the family, he still wouldn’t miss one. And if there was a function at Golden Reef, the rest of the world could be falling apart and he would still go to the club! He is still running and has now joined Fish Hoek Athletic Club, but I think he will always consider himself a Golden Reefer.”

VIC’S REMARKABLE RECORDS
Thanks to Vic’s meticulous hand-written race diary, we know that he ran the following races and mileage:
  17 x hundred-milers
  1 x 100km
  17 x Comrades
  41 x 51-60km
 46 x 50km
  2 x 43-49km
  119 x 42.2km
  101 x 32km
  35 x 22-31km
  326 x 21.1km
 45 x 16km
  143 x 15km
  125 x 10km
Total number of races: 1 018 races
Total race mileage: 29 097km

Being overweight was always a part of his young life; in fact, he can’t remember a time when he was not chubby. As a kid he loved food and would eat everything and anything! His chubbiness eventually led to him being extremely overweight and with the extra kilograms came disappointment and sometimes even embarrassment, because he was never able to join his friends playing sport or fulfil his one secret wish… to run!

In spite of his body size Ketan was an avid Comrades supporter as his dad, Natvarlal Mistry, is a Comrades runner. He followed the build-up to the Comrades Marathon and looked forward to race day even more than he looked forward to his birthday! He supported his dad on the route or if he could not make it to race day he was glued to the TV screen. And when it was all over, Ketan would picture himself one day also running the Ultimate Human Race…

THE DAY HIS LIFE CHANGED
Ketan was not active in primary school in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, but it never really bothered him. When he enrolled at Parktown Boys’ High School things changed. “Suddenly I was in a hard core boys’ school where sport was a priority and a means to bond with your mates. By the time I started high school I weighed about 100kg and it didn’t bother me, but in high school it became an issue. When I went shopping I had to look at clothes in the ‘up size’ section. I could not buy Levi’s jeans because they did not have a size big enough for me,” remembers Ketan, who by the age of 16 weighed in at 110kg and had a 42-inch waist.

In Grade 10 Ketan’s cousin, Kaylash Bhana, approached him. “Bru, this is just not on. You need to lose weight.” Ketan respected his cousin’s opinion and that day he realised for the first time that he had to lose weight before it was too late. Kaylash gave him a book called Body for Life, written by Bill Phillips. “That book changed my life. It was the first book I ever read from start to finish. It took me a week to finish the book. I knew nothing about nutrition and excercise, but the book explained everything clearly.”

STEP BY STEP
It’s not easy to lose weight at any stage of life, and even more so when you are a teenager, but Ketan was determined to do it all on his own. The first thing he did was to cut junk food, sweets and crisps from his diet.

“The meals at home were always quite healthy, but the problem was my portion size. I used to eat about six or seven rotis at once. Then I started halving my portions. I have never told anyone this before, but sometimes I was still very hungry when I got up from the dinner table! I then forced myself to fill up with water. I also told myself that I did not need the extra energy as I was off to bed anyway. I knew if I allowed myself an extra serving of food it would lead to two or three extra servings the next day.”

Initially Ketan did not tell anybody about his weight loss plan. But when his parents became aware of their son’s determination to lose weight, they supported him wholeheartedly. “My mom loves baking! She used to make samoosas at least every second week, but in the nine months it took me to lose weight, she only baked about three times! I told her if you are going to bake, I am not going to have anything. I even refrained from chocolate, something I love. Once someone held a chocolate right in front of my mouth. I refused to have it. In nine months I did not touch one single block of chocolate.”

One day a week Ketan allowed himself to eat whatever he wanted, but even on this off day he would not indulge excessively. “On a Sunday night I would allow myself one samoosa or a handful of crisps. That was it.”

THE FIRST STEPS TO A LIFE OF FITNESS
Ketan convinced his dad to buy an Orbitrek exercise machine. “I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and trained on the Oribtrek. Initially I could not run, but started walking with my dad every other morning. The first couple of times I was huffing and puffing. We used to walk only 20 minutes. I stuck it out because I just wanted to be thin and feel normal.”

Walking with his dad had other advantages too; it became a bonding session between father and son. “We saw many runners while walking and my dad used to encourage me and say soon I would be running too. Though I could never run because of my weight, I always knew running was somehow a part of me.” Walking progressed to running and before Ketan knew it, he was running 3-5km every second day.

His weight slowly started coming down and Ketan felt great! For the first time he could fit into ‘normal’ clothes. He remembers buying his first pair of Levi’s jeans, a size 36. At school he started participating in sport and even played squash. After he lost 20kg he progressed to 7km runs on weekends. “From there my running just took off.”
 
A NEW ME!
Ketan eventually lost so much weight that his friends did not recognize him. As he was attending school in Parktown, his buddies from Lenasia did not get to see him very often. “I remember going to a function and chatting to a girl. My friend asked her if she knew who she was talking to. She had no clue and could not believe it was me.” There were many other funny moments, like the time Ketan’s pants fell off his hips while he was standing in the school bus. “Though I was wearing a belt, my pants were just so big they did not stay up. Everyone started laughing!”

Within nine months Ketan lost 40kg, weighing in at a healthy 70kg. He kept his weight stable and by the time he started studying accounting at the University of Johannesburg, he was still the same healthy weight.

THE ATHLETE
Ketan and his dad kept training together and Ketan built up to running half marathons. “The first time I felt part of the running community was at my first 10km race in Lenasia.” Ketan has since run several road races, including the Two Oceans Half Marathon last year. His longest race so far has been the Colgate 32km race in Boksburg. Part of his daily training includes an hour yoga combined with breathing exercises.

Today Ketan, now 23, is a dedicated runner with a big dream of running and finishing the Comrades Marathon hand in hand with his dad. By the end of the year he wants to tackle a full marathon. “Running has become part of my life,” he explains. “I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

Ketan’s advice to anyone wanting to lose weight is that the decision to shed those extra kilograms has to come from inside yourself. “You don’t lose weight for anyone else. You do it for yourself. It is all about you.”

He gets his inspiration from the back markers who run Comrades. “The front runners are great, but they run professionally. The runners who inspire me are those ones who have nine to five jobs; the labourers who run to work and back just to get their training done. I have the utmost respect for these people. One day I will be one of them. I will be at the Comrades Marathon. Maybe even next year…”

You couldn’t blame Farwa Mentoor if she admitted to being a bit tired of repeatedly being asked the same question: “Can you beat the Russians this year?” For the past eight years, since she made her ultra-marathon breakthrough in 2002 by finishing sixth at the Two Oceans and fourth in the Comrades, this question comes up at every media conference. And she always answers the same way: “I’ll do my best for my supporters and for my country.” Then she goes out and produces another gold-medal run, more often than not finishing as the first South African woman.

The question is, does all this ‘taking the fight to the Russians’ inspire or demotivate the 37 year old from the Bonitas Elite Team? Especially when the Russians, with the Nurgalieva twins usually at the forefront, once again dominate our premier ultras, while Farwa and her fellow South African runners are once again deemed not good enough by the pundits.

“It’s so easy for everyone to say these things, but they don’t know how tough it is to beat the Russians,” says Farwa. “I tried to race them in Comrades and in Two Oceans but couldn’t do it. Adinda Kruger tried in Oceans this year, and she also found it tough. So everyone is saying something is wrong, that we don’t run as well.” She goes on to say that the Russian athletes are simply in a different league right now, given that they consistently perform so well in both ultras each year, even when the races are closer together on the calendar. “It’s supposed to be impossible to race both hard – even Bruce Fordyce says that – and if the South African athletes run Oceans hard, they usually don’t do well at Comrades. We can’t work out how the Russians do it. They’re like machines.”

“So now I just concentrate on running my own race.
I’m motivated to be the first South African runner home, and I’m also motivated to run for my husband and kids, because they support me hugely and sacrifice a lot for my running.
They can’t have a proper holiday in December, because that’s when I start my Comrades training.”

ALL-TIME GREAT
While Farwa has never won either the Comrades or Two Oceans, she has quietly become one of the all-time leading gold medallists in both races. After the 2010 Comrades she moved up to joint third with nine golds, and at Oceans she is joint first on the list with eight golds. Put the two lists together and she comes out on top, but unsurprisingly, she says she wasn’t even aware of these records. “Until this interview I didn’t even think about how many gold medals I have. We all tend to think only about how many Comrades or Two Oceans we’ve run in total, and we look at the guys with 20, 30 or 40 medals as the real heroes. Still, It would be nice to have the records for the most golds.”

Farwa has also been the first South African woman home in eight of her nine Comrades, and she says the only time she was beaten by another local runner, Riana van Niekerk in 2008, she was struggling with exercise-induced asthma. “I didn’t even know I had it. I was diagnosed after that race, and the doctor told me I’d always had it, but it had steadily gotten worse. Now I take an anti-inflammatory for my lungs, which has solved the problem completely.”

There have been other races when things didn’t quite go according to plan. In the 2005 Comrades, her legs gave in near the finish, but in true Comrades spirit, she crawled over the line. “Before that I had thought it was easy to run Comrades. I didn’t know how it felt to be sore during the race – after the race, yes, but not during. It made me feel very humble.” She also had a bad run at this year’s Two Oceans. “I stopped running at 42, walked till 50, then bailed. I was just feeling so tired because I did a lot of mileage, hills and speed work just before Oceans in preparation for Comrades. We knew Oceans this year would be too close to Comrades to race it hard, so I was using it as a training run and it was easier for me to decide to bail.”

EARLY YEARS
Farwa grew up in Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, the third of seven children. She took up running while at school, inspired by watching Frith van der Merwe on television. “She was the person who made me want to run Comrades. She was almost beating the top men!” In high school, Farwa excelled in the 800m and 1500m as well as in cross-country, being crowned triple SA schools champion under the Apartheid-era sports federation for coloured schools. “I also ran in the seniors because I was fast enough, and did well in some 10km and 15km road races.”

After school, she attended teachers’ training college in Worcester for two years, where her running took a backseat to her studies. Still, she did compete in inter-tertiary meets, and is still proud of winning the 800m and 1500m against Theresa du Toit of Maties one year. “I hadn’t lost it,” she says with a big smile. Then, after college in 1996, she married Anwar, and he later became her running coach. Their first daughter, Fatima, was born a year later, and a second daughter, Kauthar, joined the family in 2000. The family recently moved down the coast to Bredasdorp, near Cape Agulhas. “We moved mainly for the kids, because there’s a lot of drugs and gangsters in Mitchells Plain. The bonus for me is that this is a perfect training area – lots of hills and nice quiet roads, and the air is much cleaner here.”

FAMILY TIME
As a full-time runner as well as wife and mother, Farwa has to juggle her running and family commitments. “With Anwar as my coach, we both have to get up very, very early! The kids have to be at school at 7:30am, so we have to get up at 4am to train and be back by 6am to get the kids up and ready.” Farwa says that when she’s not running, you’re likely to find her at home with her kids. “We don’t get a lot of time together because of the running. My husband and I have to leave them alone a lot, so when I’m not running I want to be with them. I love going to the beach or walking in the mountains with them, and watching Hannah Montana with them.”

Farwa says it is great having Anwar as her coach, and likes that running is always present in their house. “He knows me so well, and knows when I’m tired or not feeling well. He helps even more with the kids and the house when he knows I need more rest, and I can talk with him much easier than another coach.”

She normally does two training sessions a day. The morning sessions are usually 12-15km, while the afternoon sessions usually comprise hill or speed sessions. In peak mileage periods, on Wednesday mornings she does a long run of 25-35km, followed by a 12-15km afternoon run. Her running programme is supplemented by gym training, but not with weights. “I was given a pilates-type programme by my physio that only uses my own body weight,” she explains.

LOOKING AHEAD
Farwa says that Comrades remains her focus. “I still want to do well, especially next year when it will be my tenth. And I still want to break the ‘up’ record – in 2004, Elena Nurgalieva, Marina Bychkova and I were all ahead of Frith’s record at one point, so if I can just do a little bit better then I will be very happy. I know I can still do it,” she says. “Also, it will be nice to see how I will do in the veteran category in a couple of years. I hope to be running even better then, and still want to compete with the seniors. Becoming a veteran doesn’t mean the end, because in Comrades the veterans often run better than the seniors.”

FARWA’S PBs:
10km  35:53
 
15km  54:08
 
21.1km  77:25
 
42.2km  2:49:46
 
Two Oceans  3:43:34
 
Comrades  6:18:23

FARWA’S TWO OCEANS RECORD
1999  4:07:48  13th
 
2002  3:49:35  6th
 
2003  3:43:34  3rd
 
2004  3:45:51  5th
 
2005  3:50:20  6th
 
2006  3:47:17  5th
 
2007  3:53:03  9th
 
2008  4:07:33  7th
 
2009  3:59:45  4th

FARWA’S COMRADES RECORD
2002 6:41:20 4th
 
2003 6:32:38 8th
 
2004 6:18:23 3rd
 
2005 6:19:21 4th
 
2006 6:41:32 6th
 
2007 6:24:30 4th
 
2008 6:59:40 8th
 
2009 6:45:33 5th
 
2010 6:38:41 5th

ALL-TIME WOMEN’S GOLD MEDALLISTS

COMRADES
 
Maria Bak 11
 
Marina Bychkova 10
 
Farwa Mentoor 9
 
Valentina Shatyayeva 9
 
Elena Nurgalieva 8
 
Grace De Oliveira 7
 
Olesya Nurgalieva 7
 
Tatyana Zhirkova 6
 
Berna Daly 5
 
Valentina Liakhova 5
 
Yolande Maclean 5
  
TWO OCEANS
 
Grace de Oliveira  8
 
Farwa Mentoor  8
 
Elena Nurgalieva  7
 
Olesya Nurgalieva 6
 
Sarah Mahlangu  5
 
Tatyana Zhirkova  5

Crossing the finish line as the winner of Ironman 2010 was one of his greatest achievements. Although he has never doubted that he was capable of it, many people wrote him off, saying he would never win again after finishing second three times and failing to complete the race last year. So when Raynard crossed the finish line as the 2010 Ironman winner he proved to everyone that he still has what it takes and that his racing career is by no means over!

“I knew that I was capable of winning. I kept a low profile and on the day just got on with it,” says Raynard. He has raced Ironman every year from 2006 until 2009 and finished second three times, which is by no means a bad accomplishment! After failing to complete the race last year due to asthma, nobody really expected him to be up there with the best this year, nobody but Raynard who believed in himself and showed the world why he has won seven Ironman and two Ironman 70.3 titles. He also has a host of top ten finishes all over the globe. This total includes two top ten finishes at the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, an event Raynard has set his heart on winning in October this year. He is currently in Europe preparing for this race, regarded by most as the ultimate in triathlons.

STARTING OUT
Raynard was a cross-country runner at school; he loved athletics and also played soccer. At the age of 16 he got his first bike and competed in his first duathlon, finishing second. “From that day on I was addicted to the sport!” A young Raynard participated in many duathlons and canoe triathlons before moving to an actual swim triathlon. “My swimming was always my weakest and most challenging discipline, but I seem to have mastered it over the years.”

Once he found a special connection with swim triathlons, he started specialising in them, winning multiple South African titles in Olympic and long distance triathlons, as well as numerous Olympic distance races in Europe. In 2000 he switched to Ironman.

Raynard loves triathlon because of the challenge it holds and of course, because he is good at it! “I sometimes wish I had golfing, tennis or rugby talent as I would be a far wealthier man right now, but I guess you can’t choose where your talents lie; you can only be grateful that you have them.”

TRAIN THE BODY, TRAIN THE BRAIN
Training for a race such as Ironman takes dedication and the ability to train skillfully. Raynard was forced to rest for two months in November and December due to injury. “I think that was a blessing in disguise as I had not had a rest for a long time and had been racing like crazy.”

After his injury healed he put in some quality training for Ironman SA 2010, including a big bike week of 1 000km. Alec Riddle, who has coached some of SA’s top marathon runners, helped Raynard with his running. “My run training wasn’t so much about mileage, but about specific types of sessions which helped my running speed and speed endurance.” Most of his swimming was done on his own, with daily 5km sessions at a gym. “On average my weekly mileages were around 600km of cycling, 100km of running, 30km of swimming and three gym sessions.” Training for the run is his favourite pastime because it takes the least amount of time, but when it comes to racing, the bike wins!

Though he looks like a man of steel, Raynard has off days like all of us where training is the last thing he wants to do! “The training is the hard part,” Raynard explains, “It is the racing that is fun. When you do well at the races, it motivates you to get out there and train. So when I am feeling lazy and not wanting to train, I remember what it feels like to win, and that always gets me out there. The hardest time is over holidays and weekends, when everyone is relaxing. Luckily my family is very supportive and this always helps when motivation is down.”

When you miss a training session there’s no time to make it up. “And it’s similar in daily life; there’s no time to make things up that should be done now.”

RACING ALL OVER THE WORLD
Raynard has raced all over the world and has won many races including Ironman South Africa (2005/2010), Ironman Wisconsin (2009) and Ironman Austria (2005). In his first ever finish at the 2005 World Championships in Hawaii, he became the first ever South African to finish in the top ten, with a seventh place.

“All my Ironman victories have been special, but winning in Canada was extra special because of the history of the event and all the big names in the sport who had won the race before me.”

To make it to the top takes an incredible amount of hard work, discipline, self-belief and of course, the ability to perform well at big races, Raynard explains. He tries to mentally prepare by visualising the race beforehand. “An Ironman is so long and so many things can affect your race; you just have to be mentally prepared for any misfortunes. You need the patience to push through bad patches. At Ironman Wisconsin it took about four hours to get through a bad patch, but I eventually did and went on to win the race!”

It is this mental strength that has helped Raynard achieve the extraordinary: he has recorded the fastest time ever for an Ironman race by a South African. He has also recorded one of the fastest bike splits ever in an Ironman, and that was on his way to victory at Ironman South Africa in 2005. In spite of this, Raynard stays humble and says, “Times don’t really mean much in Ironman races because the courses vary so much, but it is nice to know that I have been close to the exclusive eight-hour mark.”

THE SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY
Winning is always an awesome feeling but when you cross the finish line it is a relief to get there and hold off whoever is behind you. “The last 10km hurts a lot, so it is always a relief to finish. Getting off my feet is all I’m thinking about at that point. But after the finish the feeling of satisfaction and elation hits you.”

Raynard has raced against many great competitors. At Ironman the first person to ever break the eight-hour barrier was Lothar Leder from Germany. “He seemed to be at every race I did in my first few years. He always had my number until I beat him convincingly at the half Ironman in SA in 2004!”

THE WAY FORWARD
Raynard’s goals are to win an Ironman event on every continent. He only has South America and Australasia left to conquer. “The problem with this goal is that the only Ironman in South America is in Brazil, and it’s only four weeks after SA’s Ironman. So to achieve it I’ll have to skip Ironman SA one year – tough decision. Another short-term goal is to do well at the ITU World Long Distance Champs. Raynard’s ultimate long-term goal is to successfully coach youngsters in the sport. “We also want to get our coaching centre in PE up and running and I’d like to get more involved with Velocity Sports Lab.”

Raynard turns 37 in November but has no plans of retiring soon. “I am still racing well. After Hawaii, I will take a bit of a break and then plan the new season.” He believes he has managed a long-lasting career by listening to his body and resting accordingly. “Also, just the drive and the excitement of racing and winning keeps me going. A big win is always enough to get the motivation back up.”

“Sport has been everything from the day I left school. It has led to everything I have in my life today, from my wife who coached me in the beginning, to the house we own. Without triathlon
I wouldn’t have any of that right now.”

ALOHA HAWAII
Speak to any hardcore Ironman and he or she will tell you the ultimate Ironman race is in Hawaii. Raynard’s biggest dream is to win the World Championships in October. He is currently staying in Europe focusing on training and preparing for this event. “Hawaii is the holy grail of triathlon; every triathlete dreams of winning the most famous race in the sport. To win there, you need everything to be perfect for you and hope the other
100 guys that are there to win don’t have the perfect day!”

NEW FACES IN THE CROWD
There are many new faces to look out for in the sport of triathlon. “In South Africa, James Cunnama has a great future ahead of him, if he doesn’t over train and race too much. There are always new youngsters popping up at various races who show huge potential. It’s what they do with that potential that defines them as athletes.”

WITH THE FAMILY
Family plays a big part in Raynard’s life and he says that, without their support, he would not have been half the athlete he is today. He met his wife, Natalie, when he first started triathlon. Natalie managed a big swim school in Johannesburg and helped Raynard get his swimming on track.

“She also used to race triathlons competitively, so the two of us spent many years racing internationally together. I think that is why our marriage is so strong, because she understands my training and racing commitments and helps keep me motivated. She’s actively involved in all aspects of my career, from sponsors, to website, massage therapist and nutritionist!” Their two kids, Kade and Jordan, definitely have their parents’ genes and are both particularly good at swimming.

Raynard admits to it being difficult travelling worldwide with a family. “When the trip is over three weeks, we try to all go. This involves taking the kids out of school, arranging their schoolwork, getting someone to look after our house and dogs, and just trying to get settled elsewhere. Remember it’s not like we go away on an extended holiday; it’s work for me, so it’s not all fun and games. Obviously we do explore and we have been extremely lucky to have travelled the world together. These are all life experiences, which we will never forget. The kids have seen and learnt things that they can never experience at school and they love the travelling!”

ADVICE FROM A CHAMPION
Raynard advises novices to start slowly, especially those wanting to get into Ironman racing. Also, first try your hand at sprint distance triathlons before trying to race an Ironman. “And if at any point it’s not fun for you anymore, then you should stop. Enjoyment is vital in this sport.”

For those runners wanting to convert to triathlon, Raynard has the following advice: “The running part of an Ironman is probably the hardest discipline of all three, so for a runner to convert to Ironman is relatively easy. Generally a runner can pick up cycling quite easily. But sometimes, if they have no swimming background, this becomes the biggest challenge. This is where it is vital to get a coach and ensure proper technique and sessions from the outset.”

If you are able to complete a half Ironman, you are usually able to finish an Ironman event as well. Remember, if you’re a novice, it’s not about the time it takes to complete the event but about actually enjoying being out there. “Don’t get too competitive too soon. Obviously strive to do your best, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself that you start to hate it.”

When considering a coach to help you with any aspect of your training it is vital to get someone with experience and knowledge of the sport. “Just make sure you shop around first. Nowadays it seems that everyone who has completed a triathlon is a coach. You want someone you can trust and who has achieved in the sport or as a coach.”

The biggest mistake most novices make is to splash out on the most expensive equipment with the hope that it will make them faster or make it easier, says Raynard. He advises to rather start slowly and gradually upgrade your equipment.

PERSONAL BESTS
 
Ironman 8:09
 
Half Ironman 3:54
 
Olympic Triathlon 1:49
 
5km Run 15:46
 
Marathon 2:39

FAST FACTS
Favourite food/drink: A good red wine and a braai
Favourite place in the world: Port Elizabeth (home sweet home)
What no one knows about you: I’m quite shy and like my privacy
Best holiday spot: Disneyland
Proudest moment: The birth of my kids
Best bike in the world: Cervelo P4

HELPING HANDS
Raynard is very grateful to all his sponsors. “They have allowed me to be a professional in South Africa and focus on my training and racing. My current title sponsor is PBS Consulting, an IT company in Johannesburg.” Raynard says Velocity Sports Lab is probably the main reason that his ‘Hawaii Dream’ is possible. “Trevor McLean-Anderson heard that we were trying to raise funds to cover the cost of the trip to Hawaii and he asked how they could help.”  He has been with many of his other sponsors such as GU, PUMA, Moducare, Cervelo, Action Cycles, Oakley, Online Innovations and Orca for many years. “They have stuck with me through all my ups and downs.”

To win or excel in triathlon you need to be prepared to sacrifice. And you need the support of your family and friends. “Training for a triathlon takes up a lot more time than training for a single sport, so if you’re not prepared to commit to putting in the work, don’t bother. There are no easy steps or miracle programmes or coaches.”

SONETTE NELL, OVERKRUIN ATHLETICS CLUB, PRETORIA
Goal: The elusive Bill Rowan medal (sub-9)
Result: 9:42:33

Start to 30km: I knew I could achieve my goal and physically I was ready. I felt very strong over this section.
30km to 60km: I still felt very strong and ready for what lay ahead.
60km to finish: I was mentally strong and a bit tired, but ready to finish.

What was the hardest part of the race?
I started too fast over the first half. I hung onto a sub-9 hour bus (there were two). The one I was in did not run at the correct pace for a sub-9 hour.

And the best part?
The start. It was the best experience ever! The athletes and the spectators were unbelievable! Another great part was when I finished, of course.

Were there times when you wanted to give up?
No, there was not one single second when I wanted to give up.
I never give up!

When did you realise that you were not going to achieve your goal?
At about 18km to go.

What factors lead to you not achieving your goal?
I started too fast in the first half, which lead to me not having a lot of energy left for the second part.

How did you feel crossing the finish line?
Wonderful! It is always the best feeling ever!

How did you feel physically after the race?
I think all of us who completed the Comrades felt stiff afterwards.

Were you disappointed?
Yes, I was. But now I know which mistakes I made.

Did this discourage you for future races?
No, not at all. It only made me stronger and I am ready for many more to come!

How long are you resting before training again?
I will rest for about four weeks before I slowly start training again.

Will you be back at Comrades in 2011?
For sure!

Are you going to try for a Bill Rowan medal again?
Of course. That is my goal and I will achieve it!

Is there anything you will be doing differently in your training for next year’s Comrades?
Yes, I need to do more strength training and work harder in all areas to achieve my goal.

What are your next short-term and long-term goals?
To achieve all my goals now and in future, to work harder to reach the top where I want to be!