The exception that proves the rule : 48 not out for Barry Holland
Trust Your Training
The exception that proves the rule is Barry Holland with a record 48 consecutive Comrades finishes – and he ’ s on the inside lane to become the first human to successfully complete the same ultra-marathon 50 times . I asked Barry about his confidence levels at the Comrades start line : “ Lining up for Comrades , I have never once in 48 runs felt that I would not finish . I have always believed that you have to trust your training , and I have always done enough to ensure that I got home . I have not always been totally confident that I would achieve the time I set out to run , but bailing Comrades has never been in my vocabulary ,” he says .
However , even the man with the most Comrades finishes admits he was very lucky to come away with another medal in 2022 . Barry ’ s preparation was far from ideal , with two bouts of “ smack me down ” COVID and a debilitating heart condition diagnosis , arterial fibrillation , that required cardioversion ( a process in which your heart is shocked back into rhythm ).
Having successfully negotiated the race build-up risks , Barry navigated the first third of the race before realising , “ I was in trouble , and it was going to be a long day . For some reason I have still not fathomed out , I started to cramp – and I haven ’ t cramped in decades .” A sudden calf cramp resulted in a nasty fall , and Barry took a second tumble as a result of “ sheer exhaustion when I was battling to control my legs , and just couldn ’ t stay upright when I was trying to stop on the side of the road .”
A battered and bloody Barry Holland thought , “ All was lost and that I was heading for a dreaded DNF ,” but credits Dolphin Striders clubmate and friend , Warwick ‘ Wozza ’ Taylor , for getting him to finish Comrades # 48 with less than 20 minutes to spare . “ Warwick went above and beyond anything a runner and friend could possibly expect . His calmness was nothing short of remarkable . There is not a shadow of a doubt that if Wozza had not been by side last year , there would not have been a 48th medal !” So , it looks like the power of paired work also applies to ultra-marathon running .
An Ideal Environment
Whilst pre-race COVID , torn hamstrings and mysterious cramps are difficult to predict , they have to be contended with when they arise for ultra-runners . When you are running shorter distances , these risks become irrelevant or insignificant . There are , of course , risks that are obvious and easily avoided , like don ’ t eat seafood or curry – and definitely don ’ t eat seafood curry – the night before a marathon . Despite this , some people do need to learn these lessons the hard way … In my early days of running , I remember running a half marathon after eating a Chillie Whizz Burger at Chuckleberry ’ s . Let ’ s just say I ended up getting badly burnt ( pun once again intended ). However , there are many other unknowns and subtle risks that can have a significant impact .
One of these is the environment in which you operate . You will see that Camille ’ s PB chart has two marathon entries . The “ still very fast but significantly slower than her PB ” time of 2:48:31 is in fact the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero outfit ( achieved at the 2012 Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa , Oklahoma , dressed as Spiderwoman ). After the race , Camille was quoted as saying , “ It was one of the wildest things I ’ ve ever done ! Much tougher than I expected . I was hitting 20 + seconds [ per mile ] slower than what I ’ d expect , right off the bat , and I couldn ’ t seem to go any faster .”
The lesson here for employers or managers is to make the environment in which your teams work as pleasant and conducive as possible for optimal performance . ( It also says you should stop forcing employees to wear silly outfits if you want them to perform at their best – in the corporate environment , a silly , sub-optimal outfit would be a jacket and tie .)
Camille Herron got her kicks on the Route 66 Marathon with the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero outfit
Barry credits friend and clubmate , Warwick ‘ Wozza ’ Taylor , with getting him to his 48th finish
Apples and Oranges
We normally think about size simply being volume , when in reality it is volume plus risk . There is a difference between how ‘ far ’ a marathon is ( which has a definitive answer – 42.195 kilometres ) and how ‘ big ’ a marathon is . Let ’ s compare the two race profiles below of the Border Masters Marathon in East London and the Surrender Hill Marathon in Clarens .
I ran the Border race in 2019 , and this is my route description : “ The Border Masters Marathon is pure , unadulterated marathon running erotica . Nothing but feathers ,
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