There is a rule in ultra-distance running, and it is important for elite athletes with the ambition of victory: Do not chase records. For all his achievements on the road, national marathon record holder Gert Thys is perhaps best known today for his highly ambitious approach to the Comrades Marathon. Every 90km race, Thys threatened to break the record by running under five hours. He crashed and burned every time he tried. And the equally popular 56km Two Oceans ultra-marathon has many athletes paying, chasing a lucrative record bonus from the start. Equal…
There is a rule in ultra-distance running, and it is important for elite athletes with the ambition of victory: Do not chase records.
For all his achievements on the road, national marathon record holder Gert Thys is perhaps best known today for his highly ambitious approach to the Comrades Marathon.
Every 90km race, Thys threatened to break the record by running under five hours. He crashed and burned every time he tried.
And the equally popular 56km Two Oceans ultra-marathon has many athletes paying, chasing a lucrative record bonus from the start. He had also hit a wall and bombed out. Every time.
Start conservatively
Bruce Fordyce probably said it best: When you’re running an ultra-distance race, you start conservatively with the intention of finishing. If you feel good, you aim for the top position. Later if you are still strong, you aim to win. And in the end, if the record appears and you are fresh enough, you have to put your head down and move on.
Any other approach just won’t work. If you start too fast in an ultra-marathon, you will pay for it in the second half of the race. That’s how it is.
Well, that’s what we thought until the Nedbank Unified Breaking Barriers 50km race started bending the rules.
When it was launched a few years ago, organizers explained that the purpose of the race was for athletes to chase world records. And they have done an amazing job.
While other long distance races in South Africa are mass participation events that are generally held on challenging courses, the Breaking Barriers race is held on a flat course and is only open to elite athletes.
Destroy the records
As ambitious as it is, the organizers succeeded immediately in the inaugural edition in 2021 when Ethiopian athlete Keteme Negasa (2:42:07) and local favorite Irvette van Zyl (3:04:23) set a new 50km world record.
And last year, South Africa’s top distance runner, Stephen Mokoka, broke Negasa’s mark when he won the race in 2:40:13.
Read more: Mokoka broke the 50km world record in her ultra-marathon debut
Of course, with the record he’s been cutting in recent years, he’s getting harder and harder to topple, but a strong local and international line-up for tomorrow’s Breaking Barriers race in Gqeberha will once again be chasing the global 50km mark, at full speed. the setter ensures it will be fast from the start.
While this may have seemed like a silly approach a few years ago, organizers of SA’s latest ultra-marathon have proven that it can be done.
By bending the rules, barriers can be broken. Let’s see if they can do it again.