ROAD RUNNING
MARATHONING
Around the World
At the rate he’ s going, Julian Karp will pass the 40,075km mark in marathon or ultra race mileage before the end of 2018, which will mean he has literally marathoned the distance around the widest part of the earth … and then he’ ll just keep going, because he simply loves the long races! – BY SEAN FALCONER
With his distinctive long grey hair flowing, 57-year-old Julian Karp eases his way through one marathon or ultra after another. In 2016 he did 62 races of 42km or longer, and this past year he added another 51, bringing his tally to 704 races, including 227 ultras. That in turn includes 25 Comrades, 20 Two Oceans, 9 Om Die Dams, 10 Karoo Ultras, 5 Washies, 6 Loskops, 5 Cape Town 100km, 10 Chatsworth 52km, and many more. To date his marathoning mileage totals over 36,400km, and Julian says his motivation to run them is simple to explain.
“ It’ s all about the people that I run with and have become friends with over the years, that I share adventures with, who are just as passionate about running, like the incredible guys down in the Transkei who will do anything for you, and the folks in Bloemfontein and Kimberly, and Louis Massyn and the boys in Welkom. When I go to these races it feels just like I’ m going home,” says Julian.
Julian running the 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon
“ It’ s also about the privilege of running, like being allowed to run the West Coast Marathon in the West Coast National Park in the Cape, or the Skukuza and Entabeni races through game reserves further north. Also, I love to see how much effort people put into our races in this country. In Nairobi you get warm water every 5km … if you’ re lucky! We really are spoilt in SA, and have nothing to complain about, because our races must be top in the world in terms of organisation.”
Getting Going
Born in Johannesburg, Julian played competitive tennis at school and turned out for the Wits under-21 soccer side, but torn knee ligaments at 18 ended his playing career. He then focused on his financial studies and articles, and while serving in the navy also studied biokinetics and completed an advanced diploma in exercise science.“ While at Two Military Hospital, I was exposed to biokinetics, and that helped me to rehabilitate my knee. Back in Joburg a mate asked me to join him on a short run, and the rest is history,” says Julian.“ In those days I was cruising along at 10 minutes per kay, and we would run in the same area as Bruce Fordyce, who would always greet and encourage us.”
Having moved back to Cape Town, Julian was then invited by a work colleague who ran Two Oceans to join for some longer runs, and that saw him step up through 21km and 32 to his first marathon.“ Then in the late 80s I did my first Two Oceans, followed by the Comrades, but I decided quite early that I was more into endurance than speed, and started doing mostly longer races, including 100-milers. Touch wood, the knee is still holding up all these years later.”
Coming home at the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon
Now semi-retired and living in La Mercy, near Durban, Julian divides his time between helping his brother with a new business venture in Johannesburg and building a new house down on the coast, and the rest of the time flying around the country to run marathons.“ In 2016 I took some time off work and completed marathons in Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia, to name a few, and I’ m thinking of running some marathons in West Africa, so the last two years have been an incredible adventure,” he says.
Travel Tales
Of course, with so many races packed into a hectic travelling schedule – he jokes that the cabin crew on the airlines know him by name thanks to his frequent flights – Julian can look back on some interesting race experiences, including many weekends with two marathons on consecutive days, and much late night travelling!“ I remember one year when I was working in Bloemfontein, we finished a Friday night stock-take at midnight, and then I drove to Pretoria for a race. I even got there in time to catch a bit of sleep in the car before I ran,” says Julian.
“ I often used to work till 7pm, then fly to Joburg on the last flight and arrive at midnight, before driving to races. I would sometimes arrive just in time for a start, but one year I
Images: Jetline Action Photo & courtesy Julian Karp
16 ISSUE 102 JANUARY 2018 / www. modernathlete. co. za