When one looks back through the history of athletics , one comes across some incredibly versatile athletes , who enjoyed success both on the track , in the middle distances , and on the road . Some of the standout examples are Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele , both of whom won World or Olympic titles at 5000m and 10,000m and then went on to successful marathon careers , with Geb breaking the Marathon World Record in 2007 , and Kenenisa running what is still the secondfastest ever marathon time in 2019 . Kenya ’ s Paul Tergat was another great example , winning multiple track medals at Olympics and World Champs , as well as four World Cross Country titles , before going on to break the Marathon World Record in 2003 . Here in South Africa , Hendrick Ramaala and Stephen Mokoka both set SA Records in the 5000m and / or 10,000m , and went on to become premier marathon athletes on the world stage , including Hendrick winning the New York Marathon in 2004 , and then
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later tackling the Two Oceans Marathon , finishing second in 2014 . However , these athletes mostly competed in the longer track events – 5000m and 10,000m – before eventually moving up to the marathon distance .
What is far less commonly seen is for elite-level track athletes who specialise in the shorter middle-distance events , such as 800m or 1500m , to successfully make a competitive move up to marathons , let alone anything longer than the marathon , but that is what SA Record-holder over 1500m and 3000m , Juan van Deventer , has achieved . He won the bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2008 African Champs and then went on to finish sixth in the 1500m final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics , and also represented SA at the World Indoor Champs in 2010 , but his track career was ended when he was hit by a car while out training in 2011 , and left with a seriously damaged knee .
However , in a stunning comeback from that careerending injury , he has made a successful transition to
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the road , culminating in his winning the Om Die Dam 50km ultra-marathon in March 2020 , just weeks before lockdown began . As if that was not already incredible enough , the 38-year-old went a step further , adding the men ’ s title in a three-day trail running event at the recent Thirsti AFRICANX Trailrun in the Western Cape , in his first ever trail outing !
Taking the Trail Plunge The 2021 AFRICANX was very different to the 10 previous editions of the race , thanks largely to the fact that the event attracted some seriously speedy road running elites . This in turn was down to the fact that road races in South Africa are still pretty much suspended due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions , whereas trail running events have been able to get up and running again . Several road runners have therefore temporarily swapped over to trail running , not only to try win much-needed prize money , but also to give their clubs and sponsors some return on their investment , through media coverage and publicity .
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Images : Tobias Ginsberg |