Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 121, August 2019 | Page 22

IN THE LEAD
Unfortunately, living in Cape Town also exposed Siya
to danger. In 2017, he was living in the Mfuleni area on
the Cape Flats, and in order to fit in training as well as
get to work on time in Sea Point, he needed to hit the
road in the very early hours of the morning. “I had to
wake up as early as four o’clock to run, and because I
was new in the area, I didn’t know where to find other
guys who were training, so I ran alone. When I moved
there, I tried running from Mfuleni to Bellville and then
catching transport from there to work, but I was never
comfortable doing it, because I could see this was a
dangerous area.”
“For a week it was fine, but in the second week, I
was running one morning with my backpack when I
suddenly saw guys jumping the fence and coming for
me. I knew I was about to get robbed, but I decided
to cross the freeway and run, and fortunately just then
there was a police van coming, and the bad guys ran
away. The policemen stopped and then escorted me
until I had run to a safer area, but then it happened
again a few days later,” continues Siya.
“As I was approaching the same place, one of those
guy was approaching me from in front, with more
on the other side of the road, and I could see they
were after me. I had to accelerate my gears, and I ran
straight at him, but fortunate enough, there came the
police van for the second time, so those guys stopped
chasing me and just disappeared again. It was then I
decided that this was not going to work.”
He managed to find a slightly safer training option at
the track in nearby Blue Downs, but things were set
to change for him soon anyway. In spite of winning
the Cape Town Festival of Running 50km and
finishing second in the PPC Riebeekberg Marathon,
Siya says he began to question whether he could
pursue running properly while trying to hold down
a full-time job. “I could see my running was going
down, because I was on my feet from nine to six,
after waking up at 4am to train, and also running
for an hour after work. I told my employers I was
struggling to maintain my training, and they said I
had to choose.”
Request for Help
Around the same time, Siya went to East London
to run the 68km Legends Ultra. He had a fairly
good run to finish 14th in 4:41, but with six kays to
go his wheels had come off, and it was here that he
had a most fortuitous meeting. “I saw Coach John
Hamlett next to the road, supporting his runners. I
was running in front of his group, but I was struggling,
and I asked him to help me. He laughed and said,
‘Young man, you’re so finished,’ but he must have
seen potential in me, because he said I should come
to Gauteng and join his squad, and he would train
me.”
That saw Siya in a training camp with the likes of
Comrades winner Gift Kelehe as well as women’s
winner-in-waiting Ann Trason, and by the time the
2018 Comrades rolled around, he was in outstanding
form, prompting John to predict he could challenge for
a gold medal. Unfortunately, just a few weeks before
the race he picked up an Achilles injury, which put his
race in doubt. “I only realised I would be able to run the
Saturday before the race, when we did some fartlek
to loosen the legs. I guess it went well, because I
managed to run 6:09 and break my PB by two minutes,
and I helped Entsika win the men’s team prize.”
Having returned to Joburg after the camp, Siya stayed
temporarily with a friend in Dobsonville, but soon
needed to find other arrangements. “He was married
and I couldn’t stay there for long, so John organised
things with Entsika in Pretoria, and in July they said
I can come work in the engineering department,
until something in the office opens up. Then after six
months I was moved into the marketing department,
where I can use my marketing diploma qualification.
Entsika has made a huge difference in my life, because
after the camp I had nowhere to go, and no job, and
they have not only given me a job and the opportunity
“I also said to
myself, one day I’m
going to run the
Comrades and finish
in the top 10. That
was the day I made
it my goal.”
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ISSUE 121 AUGUST 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
to study further, but also support my running. You must
grab opportunities like this and make the most of them,
because they only come once in your life.”
Setting New Goals
In terms of running, Siya put the slightly disappointing
2018 Comrades and his injury behind him by returning
to the Legends Ultra and clocking 4:12 to finish third.
Early in 2019, he ran a 2:28 marathon PB in Secunda,
in spite of running a 60km long training run just a
week prior. “Then John said, ‘Let’s go to East London,
and I want you, Gordon and Gift to go out and run
sub-2:30.’ I was racing with the frontrunners, but
John pulled me off the group, told me to run my own
pace, and I ended up in position three in 2:26, feeling
relaxed. That’s why I was so prepared for Comrades.”
With that Comrades top 10 goal now ticked off, Siya
says the next goal he has set himself is to go after
the Legends Ultra title later this year. “At Comrades,
I reached 68km in about 4:24, on the Up Run, but
Legends is fast and flat, so I think I can reach the
finish faster, around four hours, which should win it.”
Looking even further ahead, he says marriage plans
will be made in a few years, to his girlfriend Maggie.
They met while working together, and Siya smiles as
he says, “Another thing I need to thank Entsika for!”
Danger Signs