Could the ultra-marathon — and for that matter the standard marathon, the long-standing backbone of South African road running and the life blood of Athletics South Africa — be heading towards intensive care?
On the eve of the country’s second-biggest ultra, the Two Oceans 56km, which kicks off at 6am on Easter Saturday, things are not looking that rosy for road running, a discipline that was one of the saviours of South African sport in the apartheid era.
In the days when the ‘masturbation theory†(they won’t play with us, so we will play with ourselves) was at its strongest, the Comrades Marathon — and to a slightly lesser extent, the Two Oceans — came to the rescue of a nation thirsting for live sport. Both boasted live television coverage, but the Comrades alone set records for the duration of the mammoth television production: at one stage a whopping 12 hours, from dawn to dusk.
Since the dawn of the new South Africa, things have changed.
The Comrades has taken a dip in numbers — this after it hit the heady heights of 25 000 runners during the ‘once-off†12-hour, millennium run in 2000.
The fact that most races beyond the marathon distance are down in number, is borne out by timing expert Derrick Chamberlain on his website www.raceresults.co.za.
‘Comparing a wide variety of races over the last two years, we find that they are down on average between 15% and 20%. The big ones [such as] the 50km Om die Dam and the Columbus Loskop, have kept the same numbers for the period surveyed.
‘We have discounted the 30-odd percent growth of the City to City as it came off a low base — remember the race almost died and was rescued at the last moment by the Gauteng provincial government.
‘We also ran a check on several 32km distances, as a feeder for the marathon — they also show a downturn of 12%,†he said.
In 2000 the Comrades Marathon Association — not known for its deviation from tradition — made a once-off concession to allow the hordes of runners 12 long hours to slog their way from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
The organisers, who swore that this would never happen again, buckled under pressure from their five major sponsors this year and made a commitment to permanently extend the cut-off time.
Incoming chairperson Peter Proctor and former chairperson Adrian Stowell took their five-year plan, including the extra hour, to the Comrades board of trustees and won.
‘We have done various surveys and I don’t think there is a swing away from ultra-marathons, but merely an upsurge in the shorter distances. Since the baby boom years of the Seventies and Eighties, there has not been any serious influx of new runners into the sport, plus the pool of Old Timers that kept us going for so long has finally run out of legs.
‘We had a Bosberaad and have come up with a few new ideas that we intend implementing in the future. Over the last few years we focused on taking the race to the masses with our road show, but this alone has not been enough. We had a look at the rest of Africa and asked the question, where do the Kenyans and Ethiopians get their seemingly never-ending supply of great marathon runners?
‘The answer was right there under our noses — cross country: they are all brought up running free in the wild. We plan to spread the word at the junior events from next year, planting the seed for future years, an investment for 10 years down the line, if you like.
‘The Comrades Marathon [Association] is very serious and aware of [its] responsibility as custodians of the sport,†Proctor said.
Long-standing race director of the Two Oceans, Chet Sainsbury, confirmed that entrants for his race did not top last year’s mark but said giant strides were made in the accompanying half marathon.
‘The big race still seems to be suffering from apathy generated by the revised route over Ou Kaapse Weg, caused by the closure of Chapmans Peak some years ago. We expect a resurgence in interest in the ultra next year when we revert to Chappies.
‘What is good for the race in general is the 35% increase in half-marathon entries this year. Our entry statistics show that the average age in the ultra is well over 40, while the half-marathon is well under 40. This must be good for the sport in the long term,†he said.
The Comrades Marathon can learn a lesson from the professional marketing that their ‘poorer cousin†has done for this year’s race, without which the Two Oceans might have seen a field way below par.
‘I am surprised that Comrades does not do more of the innovative marketing that we do. We advertise the race and our company on radio around the country well before race day. We just have to keep innovating. We are working towards and expecting a field of over 10 000 next year,†Sainsbury explained.
For all the aches and pains that the beyond-42 brigade may have, the short-term prognosis is good. Both the big ones boast record purses: this Saturday’s Two Oceans is offering a cool R150 000 for the first person across the line at the University of Cape Town campus.
There is also a bucket full of additional little perks on offer for the athlete who can better the 1988 record of 3:03:44 set by the late Thompson Magawana and 3:30:36 set by Frith van der Merwe in 1989.
For what is in essence a shade over three hours of work, they will get a 10-ounce gold bar valued at R25 000, a further R25 000 in cash from the organising club, Mr Price Celtic Harriers, and a 1400 LDV valued at R60 000.
Add to this the R150 000 or so that most professional clubs put up for having their athlete at the head of the field and it all pans out to be a fairly lucrative trip around the Fairest Cape Peninsula.