Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 126, January 2020

ROAD RUNNING Zithulele ‘Zet’ Sinqe and Willie Mtolo Gert Thys From the mid 80’s to the end of the 20 th century, South Africa could arguably claim to be a world powerhouse in the marathon, but what has transpired since 2000 is worrying. For a country that at one stage boasted the fifth-best marathoner in the world, to only having 15 athletes in total breaking 2:10 in their careers, is serious cause for concern... but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER A quick glance at the best marathon times run by South Africans makes for interesting reading. In the period from 1984 to 1990, we had four athletes break 2:10, three of whom broke 2:09. Bearing in mind that you could win international marathons with a 2:12 at that time, and a 2:08 was incredibly rare, to have three runners break 2:09 was phenomenal, and to have two of them do so in the same race was almost unheard of! So when Zithulele ‘Zet’ Sinqe and Willie Mtolo ran 2:08:04 and 2:08:15 in the same race in Port Elizabeth in 1986, it instantly turned South Africa into a global powerhouse in the world of marathons. Zet’s time was at that point the fifth-best ever run in the world, while Willie’s was the 14th-best. A year earlier, Mark Plaatjies (who would go on to become World Marathon Champion in 1993, running for the United States after emigrating) had run 2:08:58. Josiah Thugwane Fast forward to the period from 1996 to 2000 and you find five SA athletes who broke 2:10, and just look at the names here: Josiah Thugwane (2:07:28 – Fukuoka, 1997), Lawrence Peu (2:09:10 – London, 1997), SA’s Sub-2:10 Marathons, By the Years 1984 1 Ernest Seleke 1985 – 1990 2 Zitulele Sinqe, Willie Mtolo, Mark Plaaitjies 1991 – 1995 1 David Tsebe 1996 – 2000 5 Gert Thys, Josiah Thugwane, Lawrence Peu, Ezael Thlobo, Andries Khulu 2001 – 2005 1 Ian Syster 2006 – 2010 1 HendrickRamaala 2011 – 2015 0 None 2016 – 2019 3 Stephen Mokoka, Desmond Mokgobu, Lusapho April 30 ISSUE 126 JANUARY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za But then it all seemingly fell to pieces. From 2001 to 2005, only one SA athlete broke 2:10, and from 2006 to 2010 again only one. Even worse, from 2011 to 2015, SA did not produce a single sub-2:10, and it is only since 2016 that we again have three athletes who have gone sub-2:10 – and only one of them has done so consistently. So how could a nation that used to be one of the world’s best in middle and long distance fall so far and so fast? Is Comrades to Blame? Let’s immediately dispel the myth that it is the Comrades Marathon that steals the best marathoners in the country at a young age, leading them to lose all their speed as they chase ultra mileage. “Most of our top athletes in the marathon and below are actually afraid of ultras,” says leading coach Lindsey Parry, quoting the example of one of the athletes he coaches, Philani Buthelezi, the two-time winner of the Dis-Chem Half Marathon who took almost two minutes off his half marathon PB when he clocked 1:02:45 in PE at the 2019 SA Half Marathon Championships. “I spoke to Philani about the Comrades being a possible long-term plan... First we need to bring his marathon time down under 2:15, which he was on course for at last year’s Cape Town Marathon, before the wheels came off badly in the last three kilometres and he lost more than three minutes. He has the perfect build, is incredibly strong on hilly terrain, is getting better all the time, and he is only 30. If we were to focus on getting his marathon time down to 2:14 or better in the next three to four years, and then shift him to Comrades, imagine the damage he could do! The top athletes who run Comrades are at best current 2:20 marathoners. But Philani is not interested. He admits he is afraid of the distance.” Another example of a top marathoner who has learnt a healthy respect for the ultras is Hendrick Ramaala, South Africa’s second-best ever Marathoner with a Reclaiming Our Marathon Glory Andries Khulu (2:09:36 – Berlin, 1997), Ezael Thlobo (2:09:54 – Prague, 1998) and Gert Thys (2:06:33 – Tokyo, 1999). That is quite an honour roll, in particular Gert, Josiah and Lawrence, who were all part of the 1996 South African Olympic Marathon team, with Josiah being crowned Olympic Champion. And it was Gert who had that incredible 18-month stint where he ran three marathons all under 2:08 (2:07:52 in Boston, 1998; 2:07:45 in Chicago, 1998, and his SA Record 2:06:33 in Tokyo, in 1999).

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 126, January 2020 | Page 30