ROAD RUNNING
“ It was a day I would like to erase from my memory banks . I love to run hard and am very aggressive in my approach , always have been , but that was the biggest mistake of my running career ,” says Maxime . “ Of course , we run to win , or to the best of our abilities , but to purposefully hurt someone ? No , that is not right , and not something I would ever want to do .”
Maxime quickly apologised to Luan , but the damage was done , and he was vilified and verbally abused on social media , even to the point of receiving death threats via direct messages . It was a moment that could have broken him , but it is testament to his strong mind and determination that he was able to take the vitriol and pressure in his stride . “ It got to the point where Hendrick suggested I switch my phone off for almost a month . Getting all those messages and seeing what was happening on social media was definitely not good for me . Even a month later , when I ran the 5000m at the USSA Championships , I was taking abuse on every corner of the track .”
Still , there was a positive to come from this story , as Maxime was able to put all the negativity around him aside and focus on that USSA 5000m final , which he won , breaking 14 minutes for the first time , on the high-altitude track of UJ ( 1600m above sea level ). “ It was there that I saw that I could really go places with athletics . It was always my goal and my dream , but that race rammed it home to me .”
A Strong Mindset
Maxime ’ s aggressive front running tactics have been strongly influenced by Hendrick , who has had a profound influence on the young athlete since he joined the Zoo Lake group in 2015 . Hendrick often used to say that some of his rivals were more talented than him , but that he worked that much harder than them . He would not let others dictate how he raced , and often threw in surges in races against some of the best in the world , treading where others feared .
That attitude earned Hendrick two individual silver medals at the World Half Marathon Championships , a win in the 2004 New York Marathon , and a closely contested second place a year later in New York , against arguably one of the best runners to have graced the planet , Paul Tergat . Out of 12 starts in what are now World Marathon Majors , Ramaala finished on the podium five times , and never outside the top 10 . He was a prolific racer who did things his way , and that has rubbed off on Maxime .
“ I learnt from Hendrick . I often watch the 2005 New York Marathon on YouTube , where Hendrick decided at 1st Avenue he was going to take the race to Paul , and it took a monumental sprint finish and a dip on the line for the Kenyan to win . That inspires me ,” says Maxime . “ I watch the Kenyans . They are aggressive . I watch videos of Khalid Skah , who also didn ’ t fear the Kenyans , and would take them on in their style of racing . Same with the Australian , Criag Mottram . It is this that has helped me become the aggressive frontrunner I am now .”
The Right Running Home
Maxime joined the Zoo Lake Group because his friend , Alex Ramaala – Hendrick ’ s son – would join in with the group on regular occasions . “ Alex used to beat me when we raced , and it was only when I finally beat him with a kick in an 800m race that I started to think I could be competitive .” There the influence of Hendrick showed . “ He saw something in me and persuaded my parents to let me train properly with him and the group .” Unfortunately , it was also around this time that Maxime started to attend boarding school after a family fall-out . “ On weekends and during the holidays , I would stay with Hendrick and train with the group .”
Gradually , Hendrick began honing Maxime into a lethal running machine , but it wasn ’ t easy for the youngster . Hendrick was still racing competitively at that time , and while Maxime always liked to run from the front , even in those early days , Hendrick would repeatedly show him a clean pair of heels in fartlek sessions . “ He used to say he would watch me , and then decide when to make his move . It was frustrating , but it laid the foundations .”
So much so that in 2019 , Maxime announced on Facebook that his ambition was to become a professional runner , and that was met with a generally negative response . Many , including some illustrious former athletes and even current SA Record Holders , were adamant in their view that it was just not
Even in training with the Zoo Lake Group , Maxime likes being at the front
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