Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 15

ROAD RUNNING
the race, even with the injury. I was able to run a time
of 3:42 for a silver medal.”
Along with that coveted Oceans silver, Lucky has
clocked bests of 32 minutes for 10km and 1:11 for
the half marathon, a marathon PB of 2:35, and 6:52
at Comrades. And his rise to the top in Cape Town
ultra-running culminated last July in his winning
the Cape Town Festival of Running 100km, which
doubles as the Western Province 100km Champs,
with a new course. “The 100km was only a month
after Comrades, but I felt that the strength I had from
training for Comrades would help me during this one.
It was a fantastic race, even though I struggled a bit
around the 85km mark because I felt hungry and tired,
but thanks to my teammates I managed to pick up the
pace again and moved into second position. I then
pushed on till I got to first position with about 10km to
go, then I backed myself and crossed the line in 7:39
to take the title!”
Balanced Approach
Working fulltime as a junior refrigeration technician,
Lucky only has limited time for training, so while
elite pro runners often do around 200km a week in
mileage, he has learnt to get by on 80km per week.
“To be a fulltime runner would be nice, because I love
running, but I don’t view it as a good thing, because
I keep thinking about what might happen if I injure
myself and can’t provide for my family. So I still see
running as a hobby and a sport where I can have fun,”
he says.
“What motivates me is to see how far I can push myself
and improve my PB’s as I train to improve as a runner.
Running needs you to be disciplined. If you focus and
train hard, keep to your training programme and eat
healthy food you will do well and reap the rewards. I
have done about 80 races since I started running and
I just keep shifting the goal posts for myself. I have my
eye on a sub-6:30 at Comrades as my next goal, and
from there who knows what will be next?”
Lucky in action at the 2018 Comrades (left) and Two Oceans (right) ultra-marathons
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