Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 18

ROAD RUNNING
Israel still looks as strong
today (far left) as he did
when he won the Two
Oceans Marathon in 1992
EARLY SUPPORT
Living legend Israel Morake made his name in the sport some 30 years
ago, but today he is still involved in running, by identifying and nurturing
the next generation of young athletes and ploughing his experience back
into the sport. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
I
n the late 1980s and early 1990s, the South African
marathon and ultra-marathon scene featured an
incredible list of world class athletes that regularly
did battle on the roads around the country. The likes
of Zithulele Sinqe, Willie Mtolo, Thompson Magawana,
Ben Choeu, the Tsebe Brothers, Rami and David,
Xolile Yawa, Bruce Fordyce, Bob de la Motte, Mark
Page, Ephraim Sibisi, Mark Plaaitjies and Hosea Tjale
were all prominent in this era.
The country was considered a real power in global
running, in spite of the sporting isolation enforced
on South Africa due to its apartheid policies, and
so for Israel Morake to record four top 10 finishes in
the Two Oceans Marathon, including a win in 1992,
and a fourth place finish at the Comrades Marathon
that same year, shows how good he was. In spite of
having to contend with all these giants of SA road
running, Israel still made a name for himself, and fully
deserves the title legend of the sport.
18
SOCCER’S LOSS
Israel was born in February 1958 in Aliwal North
before moving to Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape
and spending much of his early life there. Sterkspruit
lies close to the Lesotho border and is situated on
the banks of the river that gives the town its name.
It was here that he went to school and like most
boys his age, could often be found kicking a soccer
ball around. It was only much later in life that Israel
discovered that he was pretty good at running, and
developed a passion for it.
“I had moved to Johannesburg with my mom when
I was 17 and decided to run the RAC time trial,”
recalls Israel. “I do not remember exactly where I
finished, but I did well, and Tony Dearling, one of the
top runners at the club, told me I should I consider
running and stop playing soccer. I did and joined
RAC.” And thus began a running career that would
see Israel Morake become a running legend.
ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
That shoe-fitting turned into a sponsorship, of sorts.
Israel was asked to help in the shop, and was taught
all about biomechanics and the science of running
shoes. At the same time, he was able to develop his
running talent, and with the guidance and training
partners that RAC offered, he soon flourished. At
that time, RAC was by far the strongest club in the
country, in the era before the pro elite clubs were
established, and their notorious 8km time trial was the
breeding ground for the team that won the famous
Gunga Din trophy at the Comrades Marathon many
times.
Under the guidance of RAC’s Vreni and Dick
Welsh, whom he still holds in high esteem and who
he credits with a great deal of his improvement,
Israel won his provincial colours and represented
the then Transvaal first in cross country, then on
the road. “I finished in the top 12 at the SA Cross
Country Championships, and I was quite happy
with that. The same year I ran the SA Half Marathon
Championships in Durban, clocking 64 minutes 18
seconds.”
THE PURPLE PATCH
He also clocked a scintillating 44:15 in a 15km race in
Bellville in the Cape, which in that highly competitive
era was still only good enough for sixth position,
behind the great Xolile Yawa and five others, but by
then he had already made the move to the longer
distances, and it was soon clear that this was where
he would find his niche. As he continued to improve,
he began to challenge the ‘big names’ over the longer
distances, and in November 1988 he won his ‘home
race,’ the RAC Tough One 32km race.
While 1989 was a frustrating and lean year for Israel
in terms of results, it all turned around in 1990 as he
Ploughing
Back
While Israel showed great promise, his talent still
needed to be developed and nurtured, and he was
fortunate to have “fallen in with the RAC lot,” as
he puts it. Jan Louw was a member of RAC and
also in partnership with Jax Snyman, himself an
accomplished runner, at the “Sweatshop”, one of the
most famous running shops in the country at the time.
It was Jan who tracked Israel down and offered him a
pair of running shoes. “But he said I must come to the
shop to fit them,” says Israel.