Comrades Route Tour Archives - Page 2 of 2

Comrades 2022 training

IN THE LONG RUN….

25 June 20222 July 2022
by Bruce Fordyce

Every weekend, while training for the Comrades marathon, the Comrades King, the late, great Wally Hayward, would leave his house in Germiston very early in the morning and run all the way to Pretoria’s Fountains Valley.

After what Wally described as “a refreshing dip and a wash in the fountains” He would run all the way back to his home in Germiston. The round trip was in excess of 100 kilometres. In Wally’s opinion this weekly long run was an essential part of his Comrades training programme.

“But I’m sure that nowadays you youngsters run much further than that on your long runs.” He enquired when we chatted about how training had evolved over the years. Read more “IN THE LONG RUN….” →

Comrades 2022 training

A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

7 June 20228 July 2022
by Bruce Fordyce

As we started the quadriceps pummeling descent of Field’s Hill in the 2012 “down” Comrades marathon. Zola Budd-Pieterse turned to me and muttered “ Jissie dis ver”. “How much further do we still have to run?”

Zola and I had been running together for the at least an hour. Earlier in the day I had been about to pass her, when in a rare moment of genius, it dawned on me Read more “A BRIDGE TOO FAR?” →

Comrades 2022 training

DO WHAT I SAY NOT WHAT I DO

24 May 20228 July 2022
by Bruce Fordyce

The niggle in my lower left leg began to irritate me two or three days before the Two Oceans half marathon that I was hoping to run on Easter Saturday. At first, I chose to ignore it, but the pain persisted and when I attempted a gentle three kilometre jog the day before the race the pain became sharper and more intense.

At that point my sensible, wise running angel sat on my shoulder and Read more “DO WHAT I SAY NOT WHAT I DO” →

Comrades 2022 training

THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESFUL COMRADES TRAINING PROGRAMME…

12 May 2022
by Bruce Fordyce

Photo credit Tim Graham/Getty Images

As Comrades runners start the hard winter training grind culminating on race day on August 28th many of them are still wrestling with exactly what type of training they should be doing on a daily and weekly basis. Should they be running hills? Should they include speed sessions? How many long runs should they complete? and how many kilometres should they run each week and, each month?

At this critical time of the Comrades marathon preparation, I am asked these questions on an almost daily basis. These questions are not as simple to answer as they might appear to be. The problem is that rather like running shoes there is no “one size suits all” answer. So much depends on what each race runner’s goal is. Is he or she hoping for a top 10 finish, a silver medal or 12 hours, Vic Clapham medal? It also depends on how much time they have at their disposal to train. How much time can they steal from work and family and social commitments. Finally, and most importantly it depends on how wisely they selected their parents! In other words what type of genetic advantage or disadvantage they bring to the task. Read more “THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESFUL COMRADES TRAINING PROGRAMME AND HOW I MET THE QUEEN” →

Comrades 2022 training

IT’S TIME – MAY IS THE NEW MARCH

28 April 20228 July 2022
by Bruce Fordyce

Now that the Two Oceans dust has settled, and the postmortems of the great race have been completed it is time to take stock and make plans for the Comrades marathon in August.
When the Comrades marathon association first announced that the race would be run on August 28th there were howls of protest from some quarters. (We all understand that change often makes people uncomfortable. Try changing a runner’s familiar training route if you want to see an adverse reaction to change) But the rationale for the August date was more than adequately explained Read more “IT’S TIME – MAY IS THE NEW MARCH” →

Tag: <span>Comrades Route Tour</span>

IN THE LONG RUN….

A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

DO WHAT I SAY NOT WHAT I DO

THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESFUL COMRADES TRAINING PROGRAMME…

IT’S TIME – MAY IS THE NEW MARCH