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INSPIRATION
Jonathon’ s longterm goal is to run one more Ultra than his father eventually manages
Images: Action Photo SA
My dad has finished the Ultras 30 times and is still going, so I knew that if I wanted to have any chance of coming close to his number of finishes, I would have to start running the Ultra as soon as I was allowed to!
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Favourite TTOM race so far?
It is really hard to choose a favourite. My first run was a bit of a disaster − I ran through terrible Iliotibial Band( ITB) Syndrome for the sake of achieving a finish, put myself on crutches for a week, and on top of all that, it was the first year my dad didn’ t finish the ultra, as he hadn’ t trained enough.
Last year was really special, as it was my first run in my Blue Number, and my dad was awarded his Triple Blue Number. I think my favourite was 2015, though – that was when I managed my first Sainsbury medal. I improved on my first Ultra time by almost an hour, and felt like I had proven I was not just there to finish anymore.
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Hardest TTOM medal to attain so far? Definitely the one I have not attained − Silver! I’ ve been chasing a Silver for a while now. It’ s no secret that an Oceans Silver is one of the hardest medals to get in SA road running. To put together a sub-3 marathon in the first 42km and then hold onto that pace over Constantia Nek is superhuman! I’ ve managed the sub-3 to 42km part, but just cannot get over the’ Nek fast enough.
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You are clearly in legacy-making territory, so do you have a goal in mind? My immediate goal is to get that Silver! Longterm, I want to see how many Ultras my dad finishes before retiring from running, and then do one more than that. A fellow Rocky, John Mugglestone, has also done 46 Ultras, and I must say I do like the idea of being the Rocky with the most TTOM Ultra finishes...
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What advice do you have regarding the discipline of pacing yourself appropriately for the TTOM Ultra Marathon, especially for young runners whose instincts may be telling them to go fast early and just see where that takes them? The best advice I was ever given for Oceans − and that I seldom follow, to my own detriment − is to take it easy down Chappies! Trying to recover time lost going up Chapman’ s by flying down the other side only ever leads to smashed quads that can’ t even manage the flat once you hit Hout Bay, let alone climbing Constantia Nek. Rather cruise down Chappies, ignore your watch, and feel fresh for the pull through Hout Bay. You’ ll be surprised at how much time you can make up there if you are feeling good.
Pacing-wise, it’ s a tough race. You want to be fast for the first 28km, given the hills in the second half, but not too fast. What is too fast? Who knows really; but just make sure you have not blown by Noordhoek. The race really starts at 28km, but most importantly, take it easy down Chappies!
Every Easter holiday was spent in Cape Town watching my dad run the Two Oceans Ultra. As soon as I started running at 10, I knew I wanted to do the Ultra.
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What does your recovery routine after the
Ultra look like, or does the secret lie in the training and prep beforehand? As I get older the focus has definitely shifted more to recovery. A few years ago, my approach was to do as much training as possible – lots of mileage, lots of hill training, lots of track sessions. After a couple of big injuries, though, I am now getting better results by including a lot more cross-training, like yoga, using a stationary bike, going to the gym, and swimming. I think I would be in a much better place now if I had focused more on recovery and cross-training sooner!
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David Beard, veteran of 30 Ultra finishes, inspired Jonathon to start running at age 10
You admit that you made mistakes in your early Ultras, which have changed the way you approach the distance, so please share your top tips for young runners looking to get into the Ultra game? Consistency in training and getting your weekly mileage up well ahead of the race is key. I tried cramming in miles before my first run and was also undertrained. Unsurprisingly, I was slow and came away from the race with an injury. A good rule of thumb I was taught is that you want your weekly mileage to be the same or greater than the race distance you are training for − and the more weeks spent obtaining that mileage, the better, so aim to hit at least 56km a week!
I also used to squeeze in six standard marathons between January and Two Oceans each year, but I learnt that it’ s far better to do two, maybe three marathons, then do slower long runs outside of organised races. Doing this got me to the start line of Oceans far better equipped to race it than doing‘ as many marathons as possible’ ever did.
Qualifying early is also great, as it really takes a lot of pressure off your training between New Year and tackling the Ultra. Variety in training also works wonders – mix in those intervals, time trials, hill sessions, long slow runs, and so on. Don’ t make the mistake of doing the same training run every day!
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