Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 67, February 2015 | Page 16

Ma

feature

Multiple ultra-marathoning SA, African and event record holder Johan van der
Merwe likes to go long. In fact, the longer the event, the better he gets, be it
chasing records on the road or going round and round the track in pursuit of
60-year-old SA records set by the late, great Wally Hayward.
– BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

Washie Welcome

Johan says he knew the Washie course record
was beatable. In fact, before his Washie debut, he
was so confident about smashing the record that
he posted about his planned record attempt on
Facebook. That prompted a call soon after from
a stranger who happ [