Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | страница 17

THE RUNNING MANN
I ran the first few kilometres with Jeremy, who
pointed out the local landmarks. These primarily
consisted of places where he’d vomited during his
second Washie 100 Miler in July. No-one in East
London cares about how many Comrades you’ve
run – Washie carries all the kudos here. In fact, the
only downside of running a marathon in East London
is that everyone asks you, “When are you going to
come and run Washie?” I don’t mind talking about
sex, politics or religion, but 100-miler conversations
are taboo! And this month I would far rather talk
about two inspirational runners who also took on the
Tony Viljoen.
Great Greeff
The Masters Marathon was started in the late
1970s as a way to encourage athletes to continue
participating in athletics events after they’d “passed
their prime.” In East London, “past your prime” is
considered over 35 – and the inaugural race in 1978
had a strict no under-35s restriction. Four decades
later and the rules have been relaxed to allow
youngsters to run the race socially. However, this is
a marathon that still caters specifically to the older
generation, and thus prizes are only awarded in five-
year brackets from 35-39 all the way through to the
oldest finisher.
This year the prizes stopped at 75-79 in the women’s
section, with 75-year-old Paula Richardson finishing
in 5:20. In the men’s field, the incredible 84-year-old
Caspar Greeff pushed the categories all the way
to the 80-84 division, with a 5:30 finish. In doing so
he became the oldest ever finisher of the race and
probably set the record as the oldest South African to
complete a marathon. I’ve checked with those in the
know, and no-one could identify any older marathon
finishers in South Africa. Riël Hauman, the demure
and normally sedate statistician, added “Caspar is a
freak!”
If Caspar did set the oldest South African marathoner
record at the Tony Viljoen Masters, it was a very short-
lived mark... Just two weeks later he lined up at the
start of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and cruised
to another comfortable finish. In both marathons,
his daughter Michele took on guardian angel duties,
ensuring her sprightly dad finished in good health.
(She has a vested interest in ensuring that her dad
keeps in peak condition – father and daughter have
a date in November when they plan to run Die Vlakte
Marathon from Heidelberg to Witsand together.)
Caspar and his daughter
Michele Murry complete the
Sanlam Cape Town Marathon
19)
Obituary: Tony Viljoen (1933–20
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Elder Statesman of Running
Caspar is a living legend on the South African running
scene. He was a founding member of Rand Athletic
Club (RAC) and ran his first Comrades in 1969 at the
age of 34, ending up with 38 finishes and concluding
with a 10:13:57 in the 2011 ‘Up’ run as a 76-year-
old. He’s also the only person to have run a silver
at Comrades in his 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. Had he
not delayed his running career until his mid-30s, no
doubt he would have boasted a five-decade history of
Comrades silvers.
Likewise, Caspar also has (note the present tense)
a distinguished Two Oceans career, which started
with a silver medal (3:57:58) in 1976, includes 28
ultra finishes, and category wins in the masters (over
50), grandmasters (over 60) and great grandmasters
(over 70 – his best time here was 4:58:44). He is
now steadily clocking up Two Oceans Half Marathon
finishes and is halfway to a permanent Light Blue
Number. For the last few years he has been, by some
way, the oldest competitor in any of the various Two
Oceans events.
Impressive Tally
However, despite having a head for numbers, he’s
lost count of the total number of marathons he’s
completed, but says he “can remember finishing at
least 146 ultras.” And not just any old Mickey Mouse
ultras, either. Apart from his 38 Comrades finishes,
he ran 11 Karoo 80km Ultras, a handful of 100 milers
(with a best time of 14:28, when he finished second
at Washie), several 100km races (his last was as a
70-year-old) and two London-to-Brighton ultras in
the UK.
Perhaps the most memorable of all his ultras was run
in Beaufort West when he arrived in the small Karoo
town without his running shoes. Whilst most would
have begrudgingly resigned themselves to spectator
duties, for Caspar it was a simple choice between
running barefoot or in his work shoes. Don’t tell the
hipsters, but Caspar’s Hush Puppies got him around
the Beaufort West Ultra in about the same time he had
run it the previous year in traditional running attire!
The temptation in an article like this would be to use
the clichéd phrase, “He shows no signs of slowing
down,” but Caspar readily admits he has slowed
down significantly as the years catch up with him. At
81, he was still completing races at an average pace
of under six minutes per kilometre, but says, “Now I
am 84 and much slower.” Speed is, of course, relative,
and there are plenty of reports on social media of a
friendly Caspar ghosting past runners less than half
his age.
Caspar is unique amongst octogenarian athletes,
most of whom start running very late in life and
therefore have the benefit of running on “fresh legs.”
Caspar has been running marathons for 50 years.
He’s a professor of actuarial science and, as director
and chairman of the Independent Actuaries and
Consultants company, still works mornings to provide
advice to the other actuarial staff. By all accounts, the
desk next to him is in hot demand from colleagues
hoping to gain intellectual and athletic osmosis.
Greatest Achievement
Caspar has achieved more on the roads and trails
than most of us could ever hope for. However, his
greatest achievement may well be as a dad. After
publishing my blog online, I received an email from his
other running daughters, Karen, saying, “Stuart, what
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