Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019

Team SA receive the men’s team gold at the 2019 IAU 50km World Champs Alyson Dixon fortune to participate in, a year later – while European and even a Celtic cup have existed for almost three decades in Great Britain and France. While we have Comrades ‘sort of’ filling the 100km distance here in SA, giving us an unofficial 100km champs of sorts, South America held its first continental championships over that distance in Brazil in July this year, and it will grow. In short, the world is leading SA in terms of the formal championships over recognised distances, yet at present this country has great talent. It’s all about money! Growing in Numbers The new kids on the block are the continental 50km championships, which I believe will create the ‘missing link’ between mass marathons and the previous exclusivity of ultra-running around the world, leading to bigger numbers, greater competition, faster times, and a larger ultra-running community. It’s already started, and in some of the most unsuspecting regions, but that is what makes it exciting. While the 50km is already an established event in Europe and northern America, the Middle East is now set to host a 50km in Jordan, at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. This not only means good weather virtually all year round and a relatively flat route, but also an abundance of oxygen, which provides the potential for top-class distance performances. Also, Jordan’s stability as a country, together with a wealth of historical, biblical and religious sites, provides an excellent event for the running tourist, and in particular, any Comrades or Two Oceans hopefuls looking for a fast qualifier. Africa is also hosting its first ever IAU 50km Championships on 7 December in Sagamu, Nigeria, conveniently located just an hour’s drive from Lagos International Airport. The international invite list includes teams from all African countries and IAU members, with the top three individual finishers set to earn US $5000, $3000 and $2000 respectively. No other IAU championship has offered this sort of prize money – not even the World Championships – so some good performances are expected in both men’s and women’s races. The event will also be ground- breaking in that both local and international runners can compete in the mass event, run in conjunction with the African Champs elite race, provided they can complete the course in less than 6 hours 30 minutes, which again makes it a great Comrades and Two Oceans qualifier. The route combines both a lap of the track and 5km on the main road of the town, which will ensure that runners experience the great Nigerian hospitality and enthusiasm for athletics throughout each of the five 10km laps. There are four refreshment points each lap (every 2.5km) and the weather in December is the most conducive to distance running in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Indian Athletics Federation has also committed to a number of ultras, and very soon we can expect a range of top events on the Sub- Continent. However, for marathon growth, no country can beat China. In the last 10 months I have worked on four events there and each one has opened my eyes in some respect – even after 38 years in race measurement and organisation. In 2011, China had 28 marathons. By 2018, it had 1580 marathons, and five million marathon runners! And 2019 means still more marathons, more IAAF labels, and an even greater potential for runners to move up to ultra-running. Given the population, culture and demographics of India and China, we could well see some of the best ever performances being laid down in their events. The light-framed, generally healthy population, together with the cultural affinity for flexibility, meditation and peaceful disciplined lifestyle, make the Indian and Chinese potential for going beyond the marathon quite mind-boggling! there is every likelihood that our domination will be quickly eroded. This could happen either because talented marathoners around the world see they can earn more from being in ultras, or our runners could be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new ultra runners coming out of countries such as China and India. Even worse, our own arrogance and lethargy could be our downfall… such as that shown by the race director of one of South Africa’s most prominent ultras, who stated that he would not apply for IAU Gold Label status because he felt his race was already the best in the world. Meanwhile, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has IAAF Gold Lable status (and hopes to get Platinum Label soon), and will, if it doesn’t already, overshadow the traditional flagship ultras in global viewership. Perhaps that race director does not realise that the future is, and will continue to be, about viewers, because coverage brings return on investment for the sponsorships that make events viable. Thus the sponsorship of Comrades, and to a lesser degree Two Oceans, are currently limited in South Africa, and these ultras can only be saved by the worldwide growth in participation and viewership of ultra- running. And being part of the IAU will be a key aspect of that. Challenging Times At present, South Africa may well be the country with the greatest depth of ultra-running in the 50km to 100km distance, and certainly some of the world’s best events – such as the Om Die Dam 50km, which is the only SA event to have held IAU Gold Label status on the IAU fixture list for the past four years – but the ‘ugly truth’ is that unless this country starts to co-ordinate and rationalise how we grade, select and acknowledge our talent over these distances, ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Norrie has represented Scotland, Great Britain and South Africa in ultra-distance running and triathlon, and he is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer. You can read more from him at www.coachnorrie.co.za. 35

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 35