Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019 | Page 39

TRAIL RUNNING
Prodigal Son of Trail & Tar
He’s one of the best runners in South Africa on both road and off-road surfaces, but Zimbabwean Prodigal Khumalo
still can’t decide which one to focus on, so for now he’s just taking it all in his stride. – BY SEAN FALCONER
P
lantar fasciitis is an unpleasant injury. It makes every foot-strike painful, and puts
most runners off wanting to run at all, let alone line up for the arduous Ultra-Trail
Cape Town 100km. Unless you’re Prodigal Khumalo, that is, the two-time
defending champion after wins in 2016 and 2017. Then you want to line up regardless!
But even a star runner can’t outrun an injury, and at the 36.5km mark of the race in
December, he was forced to bail, in spite of enjoying a strong start to the race.
“That was four seasons in one day, a tough day in the office for many of us,
because even Ryan Sandes and Rob Krar withdrew. I survived Platteklip Gorge
– what a mental test – but I had to call it a day at 35km. I was very disappointed,
but the injury made it impossible to carry on,” says Prodigal. “A few days after the
race, I went out and bought my favourite CD, called Blessings, because I needed
it after a long weekend of mental challenges. It reminds me to appreciate life, that
the good and bad days are part of the journey. I will be out of running for a while,
nursing a chronic injury that has been bugging me for months, but I have peace
with everything. The journey continues.”
Running Career
Prodigal grew up in Bulawayo, one of seven siblings, and only took up running at
the age of 18, initially focusing on the track and specialising in the 5000m. In 2003,
aged 21, he moved to South Africa to pursue a career in running, settling in Durban
because he felt it offered the best weather all year round for training. After moving
into road running, he has enjoyed great success over the years, including wins in
the 50km City2City Marathon in 2010 and the Zululand Ultra 56km in 2018, fifth at
the SA Marathon Champs in 2009 with a 2:16 finish, and a top 10 in the Soweto
Marathon. He also has two Comrades gold medals after coming home ninth in
2014 and eighth in 2017, but frustratingly missed out on further golds when he
finished 11th in both 2010 and 2018, along with three further top 20 finishes.
He also took up trail running in 2014, going on to win the Mont-Aux-Sources 50km
the following year. Now, having also won the UTCT in 2016 and 2017, the latter
in a course record time after an epic battle with Ryan Sandes, he is often asked
whether he sees himself as a road runner or a trail runner. “I actually prefer trail,
because I enjoy the scenery, and I do most of my training off-road, even when
training for a road race,” he says. “In road running it is all about times, and there
is a lot of pressure on you, but Maxed Elite has contracted me for both road
and trail, and I am receiving invites from abroad to run both as well, so at the
moment I’m still undecided... maybe I will choose in a year or two.”
All Fired Up
That said, Prodigal is nowhere near finished competing yet, and will no doubt be
thinking about a return to the UTCT in December 2019 and another go for the
hattrick. “Winning that first UTCT was the highlight of my running career till then,
because it was the longest distance I’d ever tackled, and that day was far from
ideal for running. I almost quit with 10km to go, but couldn’t because I was in the
lead, and I can’t explain how I managed to run through the pain, but I can tell you
that I really surprised myself!”
“After that race I told the guys I’m not coming back, but since I had made the
decision to also race trails, I decided to go back in 2017 because I thought to
myself, if I can’t do the UTCT, how can I take on ultras around the world in the
snow or deserts? I had to challenge myself... and I wanted to go back to defend
my title. There was still more pressure in 2018, because I knew the other guys
wouldn’t just allow me to get a third win, but the injury took me out of the race.
Now we’ll see about 2019.”
In the meantime, the 36-year-old father of two is focused on doing well on
both surfaces while also supplementing his earnings through coaching.
“I started a coaching company in Durban with Cuan Walker, but
have since branched out on my own, and today I have a training
group of about 50 athletes, some of whom have represented
SA. I call it the Inanda Orcas Academy, because I love the way
orcas, or killer whales, teach their young lessons. Developing
athletes is important to me, because I myself wasn’t given
the opportunity to start running earlier. So, in order to
give my young runners better opportunities than I had, I
have completed an ASA level-two coaching course and
attended personal training classes, and I see my long-
term future in coaching after I retire from running.”
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