Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 105, April 2018 | Page 17

ROAD RUNNING
“Rio was good, except for the humidity. I don’t like
running in the heat, which is why the marathons in
Europe and the USA suit me so well. They are usually
quite cold. The Big City Marathons have also been
good for my career. Winning Hannover opened doors
for me, leading to invites to run in New York, Boston
and Berlin, and I love going back there, because I am
always treated well. The people in Hannover even
recognise me now. But Boston is the big goal now,
because I have not ran as well there yet as I think I
can, and then I plan to run another marathon before
the end of the year. I would love to go back to New
York in November, Besides the wonderful race, I also
love sightseeing in the city, visiting places like the
Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Times
Square.”
Winning the NutriBullet Bay to Bay 30km in
Cape Town
COMING BACK FROM
INJURY
Following his good performances in Hannover and
Rio in 2016, Lusapho was also selected to run the
marathon at the 2017 World Champs in London,
but an eleventh hour technical problem with his
paperwork prevented him from travelling to London,
and then he picked up the injury that put him out of
action for the rest of 2017 anyway. Now that the injury
is behind him, he says he is ready to push on again,
and wants to repay the faith shown in him not only by
Karen, but also his sponsors, adidas and Volkswagen.
We don’t worry about the competition, we just think
about doing better for us. But she’s never happy –
even when I win, she always says I can run faster!”
says Lusapho with a naughty grin.
Amongst his many running accolades are multiple
Eastern Province and Border titles at both junior and
senior levels in track, road and cross-country, and he
was South African Junior Half Marathon Champion
in 1997. He also medalled at both the SA Track &
Field and SA Half Marathon Champs, was crowned
SA Marathon Champ in 2011, and still holds the SA
record for 25km. Added to that, he has represented
SA in numerous international competitions, including
the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Marathons – he finished
43 rd in London, after taking a fall mid-race, and 24 th in
Rio – as well as the World Cross Country Champs and
World Half Marathon Champs.
BIG CITY PEDIGREE
However, it’s in the Big City Marathons where
Lusapho has really made his mark. Besides those
two top 15 finishes in Boston, he is the only athlete to
have won the Hannover Marathon in Germany three
times (2011, 2013 and 2016), with a PB of 2:08:32
run on that course, and finished third in the New York
Marathon in 2013, followed by 11 th place in the Big
Apple in 2014. Then in the second half of 2015, he
wanted to qualify for the SA Marathon team for Rio,
so he went to the Berlin Marathon aiming for a fast
qualifier, but was unfortunately forced to bail late in
the race.
When not running, Lusapho likes to spend time with
his two daughters, Avuzwa (8) and little Aluyolo (eight
months), with reading and sleeping filling most of the
rest of his ‘down time,’ but there has been little of that
lately as he has rebuilt his fitness. “We’ve been doing
altitude training in Hogsback, at between 1500m
and 2000m above sea level, and I’ve been doing up
to 220km a week in peak mileage weeks, with two
sessions a day. Most of my training in East London is
on the road or track, because the city doesn’t have
much in off-road options, but in Hogsback it’s great to
hit the trails.”
“the phrase “under the radar”
seems appropriate in describing
his character, and he prefers to
let his feet do the talking”
number of local races he does, preferring to focus
on quality training and a steady build-up to big goal
races overseas. In contrast, many a promising young
athlete in this country has burnt out quickly from over-
racing, or moved up to the ultras at a young age and
lost much of their natural speed. “I’ve got a few mor e
years left in my legs to do well in marathons, and
with the approach my coach and I are using, we’re
not going to change anything, we’re going to stick to
what works for me. I know what I’m capable of, and I
believe in what we’re doing.”
A notable aspect of Lusapho’s career thus far
has been his sparse racing schedule.
Not only has he resisted the
lure of the high-paying
ultra-marathons that
dominate the SA
road running
scene, but he
also limits
the
“Three weeks before the race I developed a niggle in
my leg, and it just got worse, so I ended up DNFing
in Berlin. I eventually bailed at 38km because I just
couldn’t carry on. That meant I was under pressure
in early 2016, but I knew I could clock a good time
for Rio, so I went back to Hannover and won my third
title there.” He duly represented South Africa in the
Olympic Marathon, but says the conditions knocked
the stuffing out of him.
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