Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 112, November 2018 | Page 18

ROAD RUNNING
When Srikanth Reddy Karumuri decided to come to South Africa for
work and travel, he wasn’t looking to make any major lifestyle changes.
The IT specialist from India, who previously worked in London, was
just interested in travelling abroad and experiencing a new country
and culture. He had no clue that South Africa and its running addiction
would change his life. – BY PJ MOSES
Then in April 2016, three years after coming to SA,
he entered his first race, the Nantes 10km, on the
recommendation of his work friends who ran for
Brackenfell Athletic Club. He decided to err on the
cautious side, opting to rather enter the 10km walk instead
of the run. “I was so new to this world that I did not even
know what to do with the race number they gave me,
but I immediately fell in love with the vibe. Then, as I was
walking along, I saw all these older people running past
me with those 60 and 70 age tags. I couldn’t believe it and
felt ashamed that I was walking. I decided right there that I
would definitely move my lazy bum and run my next race,
not walk!”
Bitten by the Running Bug
A few days after that first taste of a race experience, Sri
ran the Safari Half Marathon, and with very little training
he managed to finish in just over three hours. He says
it was tough, but he was completely hooked now, and
decided it was time to join his friends at the Brackenfell
club. That, in turn, led to still more running adventures.
“Everybody was talking about qualifying for the 2017 Two
Oceans and Comrades at the Cape Town Marathon, so
of course I said that I would do that too, not knowing how
hard it would be, and how much training it would take. I
started to run almost every day and joined a training group
on weekends that was organised by Comrades legend
Wietse van der Westhuizen. I also took advice from all the
more experienced runners around me, and that made me
confident that I could achieve my goal.”
When Sri sets his mind on a goal he does not let up until
that goal is achieved, and he proved this by finishing his
first Cape Town Marathon in less than five hours, thus also
getting his qualifier in the bag. “Running for time is not
that important to me, but if it is going to help me get to
another race that I want to do, then I will focus and get the
job done.”
Since then he has gone from strength to strength,
completing the Two Oceans twice and also earning his
Back2Back medals at Comrades. “I wasn’t too sure about
how my first Comrades would go, even though I did the
proper training and mileage. Then Hilton Murray told
me that I could join the team of runners who assist the
wheelchair athletes Chaeli Mycroft and Anita Engelbrecht
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ISSUE 112 NOVEMBER 2018 / www.modernathlete.co.za
courtesy
Indian
Ultra
Import
J
ust a few years ago Sri Karumuri weighed in at 115
kilograms and running was the last thing on his
mind, but all that has changed. Nowadays you’ll see
him running just about everything on the Cape running
calendar, and even further afield in SA, including road
runs, trail runs, even the odd obstacle race! “I didn’t know
much about running until I came here, because India is
not known for its long distance running, but I met some
runners at work and they got me interested,” says Sri. “I
was never a sporty person back home – I didn’t even play
cricket – but I was a regular at the gym, because it helped
me lose at least some weight.”