ROAD RUNNING
See you again , Comrades but they took the cushioning pads off the rugby posts and gave that to me to sleep on , and all I had for nutrition before the race was a packet of dates . That was already a challenge , but then the race ended up being a really tough marathon , more off-road than on tar , and when I got to 40 kilometres , I knew my qualifying time was out the window . I just walked the last two kays and finished in 5:05 .”
Fortunately , Eugene then heard he had one last shot at qualifying , at the False Bay 50km the following weekend . Once again , he found himself struggling to make it home on time , but this time he had friends around him , and that proved the difference . “ I had used that race as a long training run the year before , finishing in six and a half hours , but now I needed to run 5:49 to qualify , and I nearly didn ’ t make it , but I had Comrades legend Wietse van der Westhuizen and George October from Durbanville Athletic Club pushing and pulling me through , and a whole group of other runners also helping me . At times , Wietse was even swearing at me to keep me moving , and if he had not been there , I don ’ t think I would have qualified . In the end , I made it with 20 seconds to spare , and I was ecstatic !
Then it was off to Comrades , where Eugene spent the day before the race hanging out with running friends in the Green Number hospitality area at the Comrades Expo . “ I had a lot of positive encouragement from other Green Number runners , and somehow I felt confident that I was going to do it this time . To motivate myself , I was even wearing my Green Number cap , which I had bought the previous year . As I said , I just felt this time I was going to get that Green Number .”
So , What ’ s Next ?
Of course , since finally achieving his goal , everyone has been asking Eugene if he plans to go back to the Comrades and run with his permanent number . He says he hasn ’ t made a final decision yet , but is definitely thinking about it for 2024 . “ Of course , I ’ d like to run in my Green Number , but I also want to make amends for my DNFs on the Up Run . I mean , I have not finished one since 2006 ! I still enjoy my running , so even if I don ’ t run Comrades every year , I will still do the ultras , especially the Two Oceans ,” he says .
“ My other favourite race is the Hewat 100 Miler . I ’ ve done it four times , although it should have been five , because one year I only ran 150 kilometres . They told me that I needed to run another two 10km laps , but I knew I had only one lap to go . I was running out of time , and wouldn ’ t have made it if I had to do another two laps , so I bailed . I ’ ve also run the 100km 12 times at the Hewat Festival of Running – I ’ ve never run less than 100km at that event .”
The other question he gets a lot is what drove him to go back to Comrades year after year , in spite of all those frustrating DNFs . “ It was just my determination to get my Green Number , because that was a goal that I had set for myself . But I think it was also a blessing for me that I didn ’ t finish in 2013 . If I had finished that year , and earned my Green Number way back then , maybe my running career would have also ended then . I have met so many friends through running since 2012 , especially because I didn ’ t finish the Comrades so often ,” says Eugene .
“ For me , that is what running is all about . At Comrades , and at the Two Oceans and the Cape Town Marathon , it ’ s like there are no differences between us on the day , we are all friends , and that is what I like about the sport . Okay , the top runners , they compete for the prizes , but we in the middle and at the back , we just want to enjoy ourselves . That is how I approach my running , and that ’ s why I like to use up all the time when I run races !”
The False Bay 50km was literally Eugene ’ s last chance to qualify for the 2023 Comrades , and running friends literally pushed and pulled him to the time he needed
36 ISSUE 161 | www . modernathlete . co . za
Images : Courtesy Eugene Lekay