INSPIRATION
one year. I can confirm that running back-to-back marathons is much easier than running Comrades, but I prefer to run my marathons on Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend relaxing and drinking beer. Julian doesn’ t drink. This is a vice … because I firmly believe that running two marathons a weekend is one of the side-effects.
Julian’ s 29 Comrades represent just 3 % of his marathoning tally!
which had better odds, him finishing Comrades this year or Tottenham winning the English Premier League next season. Julian is a naïve optimist, without skipping a beat he said,“ Tottenham winning the league.”
When I asked him recently, Julian gave himself a 10 % chance of making the 12-hour cutoff this year, upping it to 20 %“ if the weather is good.” However, Julian then remembered that with the two-group start this year, he’ ll be at the front of the second batch, and he adjusted his calculations accordingly:“ This will save me at least five minutes, so let’ s add another 5 %”. Personally, I’ d give Julian a 30 % to 50 % chance – the even odds dependent on whether he manages to stick to his promise to not run anything longer than 10km in the final few weeks before the 8 June.
The World According to Karp
Whilst Julian is entirely predictable when it comes to diet( his staple before a marathon is chicken viennas), drink( black coffee, tomato juice or sparkling water – depending on the time of day) and desire( his affections are evenly spread across the multitude of marathons in South Africa), he can still sometimes surprise with his answers to questions. When I asked him what he considered his greatest achievement in running, it was not a specific race or result, but the people and friends he has made along the way.“ Achievement in running is encompassed in the privilege, passion, people and places visited whilst being involved in the greatest sport on earth,” he says, adding that he runs to be with the people he loves and truly feels at home with.
However, I was able to get Julian to tell me what he looks for in a marathon:“ The uniqueness of the event, the event organisation, value for money and the history of race. The only criteria that is not a factor is distance from home or difficulty to get there, as travel is part of the journey.”
An Authentic Influencer
If someone makes you run more marathons than you are planning to, does that make the person a good or bad influence? Whilst Julian ritually runs two marathons a weekend( and three if the opportunity allows for it over a long weekend), I am strictly a one marathon a weekend guy. However, Julian did convince me to join him for a weekend double in PE( now Gqeberha) and Mthatha
However, I am glad to report that the influencing happens both ways. Last year, I found a new marathon in Gqeberha on Good Friday. I told Julian about it, but thought I’ d be flying solo, as he sent me a message saying,“ Pity to miss this, but the flights are too expensive.” A few days before the marathon, he sent me another message:“ I am getting FOMO on the Friday marathon – please forward your flight details and I will see what I can do.” And a day later, this communication saga was concluded with,“ I’ ve booked my flights. You are a bad influence on me, Mr Mann.”
It was another fantastic marathon, but then, every marathon with Julian is memorable. As the African proverb says,“ If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” I’ d like to add, if you want to run far and have a great time while doing so, travel with Julian. I have been privileged to travel with him to many marathons, and each and every one has been unforgettable.
It will be truly fantastic if Julian is able to complete both his 1000th marathon and 30th Comrades on 8 June. However, if there is one person whose greatness transcends Comrades, it is Julain Karp. No one will remember whether he finished his running career with 29 or 30 Comrades, but we will remember Julian as the first South African to complete 1000 official marathons, for the friendliness he’ s shown to every runner on the road, and as the undisputed G. O. A. T. of South African recreational running!
Julian’ s advice to fellow marathon-running aficionados is simple:“ I believe in three pointers. One, run clean and appreciate the fantastic venues we are privileged to run in; two, respect other athletes; and three, run your own race – if you train hard and correctly, you will achieve all your goals.”
That said, if I had R100 for every time Julian said,“ That marathon was fantastic, definitely a top 10 marathon,” I would have enough money for a lifetime supply of running shoes! I once tried to write an article on“ Julian Karp’ s Top 10 marathons” but the never-married bachelor clearly has commitment issues. I was given a very, very long list, and couldn’ t afford the disk space to try and fit all of Julian’ s favourite marathons onto my blog site!
Everywhere he goes, Julian makes new running friends
About the Author
Stuart Mann is better known as The Running Mann blogger, specialising in humorous race reports of all his races. At the time of writing, he has run over 270 marathons and ultras around the world, and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa, while his dream is to get sponsorships from a shoe company( to pay for his running shoes), a travel company( to pay for his race travels), and a beer company, so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style. You can follow all his adventures at https:// runningmann. co. za.
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