Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 34

OUT OF THE By BOX Norrie Williamson THE FABULOUS 50 To a large degree, the 50km race distance is considered as little more than a long training run for and stepping stone towards the Comrades Marathon by many runners in the South African context, but there is a growing momentum for this event worldwide. A t the recent International Association of Ultrarunning (IAU) World 50km Championships, run in Brasivo, Romania in August, Team South Africa brought home a silver medal in the men’s race, courtesy of Lungile Gonqa, as well as a team gold thanks to having three men in the top six and four in the top 11. South Africa’s performance in the men’s race was not that unexpected, but there had been some hopes of higher finishing positions amongst the women. Still, it was a very successful outing for the country. Lungile Gonqa 34 Popularity of Ultras With a 2:29:06 marathon best, 40-year-old Alyson stepped up to the 50km with minimal change to her marathon training, for her first ever ultra. She went out from the gun and returned a 3:07:20, taking over a minute from the long-standing World Record 3:08:39 set by SA’s Frith van Der Merwe during the 56km Two Oceans Marathon in 1989. Dixon had a minor setback in the last laps, but her blistering finish clearly demonstrated her strength. Indeed, she was back racing the following Sunday, this time at the 21km Great North Run in Sunderland in the UK, which she completed in 1 hour 28 minutes in a Superwoman costume, posting a Guinness Record for the fastest female superhero over a half marathon. Any female marathoner with a sub-2:30 marathon would have a similar potential in this ‘short ultra’ distance. The same would be true in the men’s event, and as the top marathon times in the world come down, ever closer to two hours, so the incentive ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za The point is, this growing focus on shorter ultras is more suited to current or retiring marathon runners, and worldwide, national teams should start to reflect this in the future. It needs remembering that in many countries, the ultra is only considered to begin at 100km and beyond. (Although short of that distance, Comrades may, due to the hilly course, be considered in either grouping by some runners.) However, it’s hoped that, unlike Alyson Dixon, who has made it clear that this was her first and only venture into international ultra-running, they will get hooked on the ultra distances once they have ‘tasted’ that first 50km or six-hour event. For those runners who do step up, there have been World Championships at 100km since the first held at Torhout, Belgium in 1987, which I had the honour of competing in. It was quite a limited affair 32 years ago, but is now a fully-fledged IAAF distance and world record event. Gradually, these events have evolved, and continue to evolve, with various regional and world events now added – the IAU now hosts World Championships at 100km, 24 hours and 50km, and all-told, ultra-running around the world now attracts around 70,000 runners each year. Of course, one could argue that around 20, 000 of these are South Africans, but the global ultra community is getting bigger, and the number of federations holding national or continental championships, and sending teams or individuals to championships, is increasing. The European 24-hour championships began in 1992 – another I had the Meanwhile, the establishment of the IAU 50km World Championship has spawned similar distance races for continental championships, and is expected to become the stepping stone for more runners around the world to step up to ultra-marathon distances. While top contenders can cover 95km-plus in six hours, the average overseas club runner can exceed 50km in that time period, and thus 50km and six-hour events can attract marathon runners, as British Rio Olympian Alyson Dixon took pleasure in displaying in Romania last month. and earning power of ultra-running increases as more of the 2:10 runners will find the 50km more attractive. It’s a simple step, and we can expect to see Thompson Magawana’s 50km World Record of 2:43:38, also set in the Two Oceans in 1988, drop to under 2 hours 40 minutes in the near future. If it ever became more financially beneficial for a 2:05 marathon runner to compete over the distance, then 2:35 would be on the cards.