“ I remember in 2007 I ran the Two Oceans Ultra with no sleep , because I was busy laying a floor in my house , and in the wrong shoes . Instead of road shoes I had a pair of trail shoes on , and they were very hard on your feet when you ran on the road . By the halfway mark I was close to quitting , but a lovely lady at the side of the road offered me some Coca Cola and salt to keep me going . I finished off her whole 1.5-litre right then and there , and chucking the salt in the drink gave me all the energy I needed to get myself to the finish . I made it across the line with ten minutes left on the clock .”

Beside his goal for a tenth Comrades medal , Eugene also wants to run a marathon in every province of South Africa , even if he can only do one province a year . “ I started this year by doing the Meerkat Marathon in the Northern Cape . I love the idea of travelling for more races , and this is a perfect reason to do so . Other than the marathons , there is also the Washie 100 Miler in the Eastern Cape that is on my bucket list . I have heard only good things about this tough race , and would love to complete it at least once .”

However , more important than medals or ticking off races for this veteran of the road is the bond that he has built with many running friends through decades of sharing the roads . “ We encourage each other and always look forward to spotting familiar faces at various events . It feels like we are the last of a vanishing breed and the sense of loss is felt harder every time that I hear somebody has passed on to the big ultra in the sky . At 54 , I still feel that I have a few good years of adventure left , and having retired from full time teaching gives my wife Rozetta and I the freedom to plan our travels better . As long as I can run , I will keep entering and keep doing what I love .” And chasing that elusive Green Number , no doubt .

I started my athletics career when I was still in school and grew up doing a lot of track racing and learning about race walking through track . For me it has always felt a bit more nerve-wracking racing on the track , as it feels like I am surrounded by judges on every corner . ( Which you actually are , because there are normally four judges on a 400m track , together with a main judge .)

As I always tell new race walking athletes that have just moved up to a new distance , the track should not be seen as your enemy , nor should you look at your distance as a large , frightening number of laps . What really works for me is taking it one lap at a time , concentrating on my time per lap and always trying to improve on the previous one . It goes by so quickly , and before you know it you will get that golden sound of the final lap bell ringing in your ears . The most crucial thing is to concentrate on something completely different than the amount of times that you have to walk around the same loop .

Lastly , it always feels like I have to concentrate more on technique when I am racing on the track , as you go around bends much more and also may be passing or lapping slower athletes , so concentrating on the perfection of locking your knee properly with every step is of utmost importance . How you walk around the track can either let you finish without any problems , or it can get you ‘ into trouble ’ with the judges and result in you standing in the pit lane watching as your fellow walkers are passing by . My motto is simply to keep your feet on the ground at all times . Literally and figuratively !