SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
Less Racing , More Success
At the beginning of this year , 20-year-old Tayla Kavanagh ’ s PB for 10km was 34:18 , a time she ran in February 2020 in Durban . That gave the young Durban-based speedster the third-fastest time clocked by a South African woman in the severely shortened 2020 season , which came to an early end last March when the COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of all further road racing for the year . Still , her results in 2021 , once racing was possible again , still took the breath away .
Tayla Kavanagh wins the SA 10km Championship title at the Absa DURBAN 10K CITYRUN
Tayla began by posting a 33:51 PB in the Pietermaritzburg leg of the SPAR Grand Prix on 22 August – taking 27 seconds off her best – then went still faster in the Durban leg three weeks later , clocking 33:27 to improve by a further 24 seconds . Then in the final leg of the series in Gqeberha , one month later , she stunned the more established elites of the country when she screamed to a 32:51 , taking another 36 seconds off her PB , and posting the fastest time of the year by a South African . And still she was not done …
National Champion
On 31 October , running in the colours of KZN in the ASA 10km Championships that were run within the Absa DURBAN 10K CITYRUN , she blitzed the course to take the overall women ’ s win in a scintillating 32:10 , knocking yet another 41 seconds off her PB . That gave her not only a first senior national title , but also the third-fastest time ever by a South African in a women-only race , and moved her up to fourth in the all-time list of fastest South African women over 10km ! Only Elana Meyer ( 31:13 ), Colleen De Reuck ( 31:29 ) and Irvette van Zyl ( 32:06 ) have gone faster .
What this means is that in the space of just three months of racing in 2021 , she took two minutes and eight seconds off that 2020 PB , and in the process shown the crème of South African women ’ s road running a clean pair of heels . But where did Tayla “ all of a sudden ” spring from ? Those in the know have always felt that she was something special – and not just immensely talented , but also disciplined , diligent and hard-working – but there is more to it than that .
The youngster had been steadily improving as she matured and gained mor experience , but attributes her rapid improvement this season to a change of coach at the beginning of the year , when she joined Andrew Booyens . One of the key aspects of Tayla ’ s success is that she has always raced sparingly , but when she signed up with Andrew , this strategy was discussed and he told her in no uncertain terms , “ You will race very little .”
Pathway to Success
Tayla appeared on the scene in 2018 , and that year she ran only two races : A 1500m in Durban in January , where she clocked 5:03.53 , and in October she ran the Absa Durban 10K CITYRUN , clocking 36:48 . In that race she finished 12th overall and 1st junior , and she was still only 17 . The following year , Tayla only ran four races , including three 10km races on the road . That saw her improve her 1500m time to 4:52.10 and her 10km time to 34:49 . As mentioned , her 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic , so she ended up with just two races , both over 10km and both in February . Again , she took a chunk off her 10km time , bringing it down to 34:18 .
This year , the only events Tayla raced in were three of the six SPAR Grand Prix Challenge events and then the Absa DURBAN 10K CITYRUN , but it was all quality racing in what turned out to be a breakthrough year for her . Her win at the SA 10km Championships is largely attributed to the fact that she ran on fresh legs . Compare that to Kesa Molotsane and Glenrose Xaba , who finished 3rd and 4th respectively in Durban . Both had run in all six of the SPAR Grand Prix races over a period of eight weeks , which is hard on anyone ’ s body . That said , Kesa did still take five seconds off her previous Lifetime Best of 32:56 , as she clocked 32:51 in the SA Champs race .
But of all the women in the top 10 in Durban , Tayla was the freshest . She set the pace from the gun and was relentless in driving the front end of the race , and then she positively flew through the last 2km . How did she do it ? Well , the simple answer is , she picked her races . And after her big win , when asked if she would race the Absa CAPE TOWN 12K CITYRUN , the answer was an unequivocal no : “ My season is done .”
Strategy of the Best
One could argue that all young athletes should race sparingly , but the principle of picking your races is not a new one . A great example is marathon World Record-holder Eliud Kipchoge , who will only run two races a year , albeit they are marathons . Here in SA , another proponent of picking his races sparingly was one of
16 ISSUE 146 NOVEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za