Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 14

ROAD RUNNING
Natural born talent is a strange thing, as ultra-running star Lehlohonolo ‘Lucky’
Nyombane has found out over the last three years: Sometimes you can fall into
something accidentally and find out that you’re quite good at it, even though you
have no history of being involved in it before. – BY PJ MOSES
Ironically, his interest in running was piqued by
a soccer programme on TV in late 2015, which
gave him the idea of trying out the sport. “I was
watching Soccerzone and there was a clip about
the Metropolitan 10km race. I thought it looked
interesting, so I decided, just two weeks before
the race, to run it. I enjoyed it very much and
finished in 49 minutes, and what surprised me
most was receiving a medal, even though I didn’t
podium. I felt good about that achievement and
enjoyed the race vibe.”
the Nedbank Running Club, to help focus his training
and improve his running, and still better results
followed. “At first I ran the shorter distances, but a
sub-3:00 marathon and fifth place at Voet of Africa
made me realise that I could do well at the longer
distances, too.”
A knee injury in 2017 before his ultra debut at the Old
Mutual Two Oceans Marathon almost put a spanner
in the works, but help was at hand. “If it wasn’t for
the help and advice of Shanaaz Solomons, a physio
and runner at Itheko AC, then I would not have made
it to my first Two Oceans. In the end she helped me
recover enough and manage it well, so that I could run
Ready for More
Lucky was hooked and soon started looking
around for his next running challenge, which he
found at the Gugulethu 10km at the end of that
year. “The second one went much better than
the first and I felt good. I then asked around
about clubs, because I was already committed
to running more the following year, and I knew it
would be better with a club.” That saw him join
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ISSUE 115 FEBRUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Lucky on his way to winning the Cape
Town Festival of Running 100km
G
rowing up in the small Eastern Cape town
called Sterkspruit, near the border with
Free State, Lucky focused his sporting
efforts on playing soccer, but that changed a few
years after he had relocated to Cape Town in
2011. “I had never given running much thought,
but when I came to Cape Town to study after
finishing Matric, I got an interest in running after
suffering many soccer-related injuries. I was
looking for something to keep me active, but not
risk the injuries that came with a life of soccer.”