Running rebel Johnny looks back

It's a long way from Bedfordview to Colorado, but covering vast distances and adapting to new challenges has never been an obstacle for SA road-running great Johnny Halberstadt.

Described by Comrades legend Bruce Fordyce as "the best distance runner South Africa has ever seen", Halberstadt won almost every major local road race in the 1970s and early 1980s, while being at the forefront of the professionalism. He has since become an award-winning businessman in the US, where he and his family have lived since 1994.

His dominance was matched only by his freakish versatility - and the controversy he unleashed in 1979 when he refused Springbok colours over the government's failure to grant a passport to fellow athlete Mathews "Loop-en-Val" Motshwarateu.

A sub-four-minute miler and a 2:11 marathoner, he won SA titles in cross country, half-marathon and standard marathon before winning the Two Oceans and Korkie ultra-marathons.

But despite the trophies and shunning a Bok blazer, Halberstadt is also remembered for his two battling second-place finishes in the Comrades Marathon, in 1979 and 1981.

Comrades, which takes place today, was one race he admits he could never quite get to grips with.

"I had high ambitions but I never really mastered Comrades," said Halberstadt, 60, from his home at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. "People said I went out too fast but when I went slower it just meant I broke down at 67km instead of 63km. Problem is, the race is 90km!

"It was some part of the answer but not enough. Running is a combination of science and artistic expression and you must be in command of your billions of cells and orchestrate them to work together."

Every sporting event has its "nearly men" and the Comrades is no exception. Thanks to Fordyce, who won nine times between 1981 and 1990, Halberstadt, Bob de la Motte, Hoseah Tjale and Mark Page all had to settle for second place.

Fordyce, who pipped Halberstadt in the 1981 race, said his influence was far-reaching. "Johnny galvanised SA running when he returned from the US," he said. "He made us realise our times were mediocre and set a great example by running world-class times."

Halberstadt first visited the US in the early 1970s on a scholarship, attending Oklahoma State University, where he won the 1972 NCAA 10000m title and broke the SA 5000m record. When his running days ended, he and his family moved to the US.

Sixteen years later, he and former South African Mark Plaatjes, the 1993 world marathon champion in US colours, own and run the Boulder Running Company - four running and outdoor lifestyle shops situated in Colorado. Two years ago, they won the Boulder Chamber of Commerce's entrepreneur of the year award.

"It was the right time to leave in 1994 and follow other things," he said. "The US is the land of innovation and you've got to follow your passion. But South Africa is still hard to beat in every respect."

The company also won the award for best speciality running store in the US in 2006 - beating 740 other shops. "Look, we're a small operation in US terms," he said. "But we go way beyond customer service and don't just say: 'What do you want? Here's the stuff.'"

Halberstadt has been married to Shona for 30 years, and the couple have two children, Jason, 27, and Caitlin, 25. Apart from adopting a hands-on approach in his shops, including taking out rubbish and vacuuming floors, he also remains involved in research into footwear technology, while his patents are used by many big companies.

He has few regrets, including the Bok colours debacle and his unashamed embracing of professionalism.

"I seemed to be controversial without even trying," he said. "When the Springbok story came out, all hell broke loose and I was called a 'sports terrorist'. They wanted to disqualify me from Comrades for wearing a branded cap, saying I was contaminating the sport. I said that if that were the case, everybody should be forced to run in Bata takkies and only drink water.

"Looking back, I'll always be grateful to all those officials who put up with my nonsense. Comrades changed my life and I've never forgotten that."

Johnny Halberstadt's best:

Mile: 3min 59sec.

5000m: 13:44.

10000m: 28:50.

Half-marathon: 63:35.

Marathon: 2hr 11min 46sec (1982, Chicago).

Two Oceans (56km): 3:05:37 (1981).

Comrades: 5:46:00 (1981)

100km: 6:47.