ROAD RUNNING |
||||
SMacPix , Daniel Morris , Ilma Stockton & courtesy Cian Oldknow , Seville Marathon , Durban International Marathon , Hollywood Bets Durban 10K , World Athletics |
SF : What are your thoughts on the fact that the women ran after the men for a change ? It ’ s almost like they were given top billing .
CO : I know the women ’ s marathon being on the last day was a huge historical celebration for Paris , so it was really amazing to be a part of that , but it also had its downside . As I mentioned earlier , I didn ’ t make the closing ceremony , and it was really weird to wake up the next day to find the Olympic Village had pretty much shut down . The grab-and-go coffee stations were closed , suitcases were being trollied out everywhere , and when I went for my morning run around the Olympic Village , I passed some Canadians who were obviously just coming home from the party , and one guy commented , “ The Olympics is over , you don ’ t need to train now .”
SF : I read that you reckon there ’ s another Olympics , if not two , in you . Tell me more , please .
CO : Yes , that ’ s the plan . The way I see it , I ’ m only in my first year of marathon running , and I have already reached one of my biggest goals , which was to go to the Olympics , so I think I ’ m really lucky , because I don ’ t think a lot of athletes can say that so early in their careers . I therefore went into Paris telling myself I was going to do my best , but I still have a lot to learn , so I need to take this experience and knowledge , and go forward and do bigger and better and bigger . I feel like I still have a lot more to give to the marathon , and I ’ m hoping it has a lot more to give to me as well .
SF : Speaking of your marathon career and fast times – sorry , I ’ m jumping backwards now – but earlier this year in Seville , you clocked 2:25:08 and moved up to second on the South African all-time performance list , with only Gerda having gone
Celebrating her Seville Marathon medal ( and that awesome 2:25:08 )
|
Standing out from the crowd in Seville on her marathon debut
faster . Tell me about that experience , please .
CO : It was amazing . We had set Seville as my goal race to try get the Olympic qualifying time , which was 2:26:50 . My coach , George Bradley , told me I needed to go out at 3:26 per kay pace , which was a bit daunting , because I wasn ’ t sure I could hold that for a marathon , but I went into the race relaxed , ready to trust the process , without putting too much pressure on myself . I reckoned that if I got the Olympic qualifying time , it would be amazing , but if I didn ’ t it would be okay , because it was my first try , and we would maybe have another shot later in the year .
I really , really enjoyed just about every step of that marathon , and when I crossed the finish line and saw my time was 2:25:08 , my brain was just like , Oh , Olympic qualifying time , we did it , that ’ s amazing . Then about 20 minutes later , I went to find my mum , and she said , “ It ’ s the second-fastest time ever by a South African lady !” We had known that if I did get the qualifying time , I ’ d be very close to that , but it didn ’ t quite click what that actually meant . However , when I opened my phone to over 200 WhatsApp messages , then I finally realised how big it was .
SF : Did you move up to the marathon this past year specifically because of the Olympics ?
CO : Yes , it was . At the end of October last year , I was chatting to George about upcoming 5K and 10K races I was thinking of running , because they would get me rankings points to try qualify for the Olympics 5000m or 10,000m . I said to him , if I wanted to get my ranking points up , I needed to look at doing those specific races , because I really wanted to try to get to the Olympics . George responded that he wasn ’ t sure that I could would be able to get there for that ,
|
but then he messaged me a few hours later and said , if I really wanted to go to the Olympics , my best shot was in the marathon , and that I was ready to step up to that distance . At first , I actually thought he was joking , but he said , if the Olympics were my goal , then let ’ s do it .
We were originally aiming for Dubai in January , but then after the World Half Marathon last October , I picked up a slight tear in my hamstring , which meant I wasn ’ t able to get rolling with marathon training quick enough – and you want to be as prepared as you can for your first marathon . Then a few people recommended Seville in late February , and things went quite smoothly from then on . I think I can still run faster than 2:25:08 , but I think it was a really great way to set my qualifier . I ’ m quite excited to have finally moved up to marathons , because since I was a kid , I was like , I can ’ t wait to do a marathon one day . The fact that we ’ re here now is just really cool .
SF : However , you didn ’ t actually make your marathon debut in Seville , did you ?
CO : Correct . I did the Johnson Crane Marathon in Joburg just before Seville , although it was somewhat unplanned . I was all set to make my marathon debut in Seville , but George said I needed to do a really long , hard 40km training run , and suggested I do it at Johnson Crane . I was like , OK , I can enter late , go in low-key and run to the 40km mark , but he said , “ Cian , not only are people going to notice you , but you ’ ll probably be leading the women ’ s race , so good luck with that !” George is normally very strict about what I need to do in training – that ’ s why I only did 42 kilometres of the 50km Joburg Ultra and dropped out , even though I was leading the race – but for Johnson
17
|