Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 153 October 2022 | Page 25

ROAD RUNNING

In terms of support , Tayla says she is also really blessed with a family that is firmly behind her running , with parents Steve and Sandy often at her races , as is older sister Caitlin . “ None of them run , so I ’ m the odd one out – my uncle , Brad Kavanagh , is the only other runner in the family , and he finished his 15th Comrades this year . But my mom is always with me at training , and helps out as well , plus she travels with me to all my races . That works for me and has become part of my structured routine before races , so I ’ m lucky to have her there .”

Making Plans

Looking ahead , Tayla says she and Andrew have decided that her focus in 2023 will be on the road , but with a bit of track racing included , and for now , given her age , she will stick with the shorter distances up to a maximum of 10km or 10,000m . “ I will work up in distance when I feel the time is right , and I think I will focus on marathons when I get older , but for now I ’ m just taking it in my stride while focusing on the five and 10-kay distances . I have run 21 kilometres in training and I enjoy the longer distances , so I ’ m looking forward to challenging myself at those … but later . For now , I ’ m just listening to my body , and my coach .”

She also says that she is really enjoying being part of the current upturn in women ’ s road racing in SA , with a number of young athletes regularly posting PBs as they improve race after race . “ The internationals are definitely helping with that ,” says Tayla . “ It raises the bar for us to extend ourselves and push for faster times , so the organisers are helping us by bringing them here – and it saves us from having to travel overseas to get better times . I have really enjoyed racing Tadu Nare since she was a junior , and have even formed a friendship with her . In fact , all the internationals I have met have been very humble and nice to interact with .”

The bottom line is that Tayla sees a long future for herself in the sport , and thus is being patient in terms of chasing her goals . “ Andrew and I have spoken about racing on the world stage , but you need points and rankings to get invites to those races , but I am rather focusing for now on bringing my times down . There ’ s no pressure from the coach , it ’ s more about enjoyment of training and racing , and I think that will set up a good foundation for a long career .”

Images : Anthony Grote , Tobias Ginsberg , Reg Cadecott , Action Photo SA , Rogan Ward

The most notable aspect of Tayla ’ s career since joining Andrew has been the strictly limited amount of racing she has done . “ I only run a certain number of races per year , so that we can focus on those races and give them 100 %, plus fit in a good amount of recovery between each race . We therefore do a training block , and then race when I feel ready . I enjoy this approach , because I don ’ t want to race every week , and with adequate recovery between races , I feel refreshed and enjoy the races more . People sometimes forget I am still very young , and that I have a long career ahead of me , so I rest when I can and avoid overdoing it ,” she says .

Tayla says she has developed a friendship with Ethiopia ’ s Tadu Nare .

Tayla ’ s Top 10km Results

Since 2018 , Tayla Kavanagh has seen her personal best rapidly improve from just under 37 minutes , to just over 32 minutes – a remarkable improvement of four minutes and 38 seconds in the space of just under three years ! This list contains all her PB performances from 2018 to 2022 , showing how she carved huge chunks off her PB each multiple times !

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