Supplements Two Oceans Marathon Training Guide 2018 | Page 13

INSPIRATION
contacted the phone number attached to Roo’s collar
and she was duly collected from Brookside.
40 medals for Louis Massyn and
Tony Abrahamson in 2015
Roo went on to run another five Two Oceans Marathon
voyages after my return, until a debate of the time
ended in the banning of dogs from official races.
Nevertheless, she continued training runs for many
years until passing on in 1990. I rather lived in the
shadow of my famous running companion, usually
being referred to as “Roo’s owner!”
THE HALCYON DAYS
In the 70s runners were regarded as being on the
lunatic fringe, but the 80s running boom brought
running into full focus. During that decade there were
huge increases in numbers of races and runners. It was
also the era of scientific advances in the physiology of
running. Notably, a ball-by-ball account of Prof. Tim
Noakes’ research was delivered to runners in the form
of a regular newsletter that was the forerunner of the
SA Runner magazine, and those of us striving for better
times devoured the latest ideas regarding nutrition and
training techniques.
Tony still enjoys his annual voyage
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