The Comrades' ups and downs

26 May 2016 - 02:00 By KHANYISO TSHWAKU

When one looks at the winning times in the Comrades Marathon, they draw a picture that is as interesting as it is misleading.The down run times are faster, but hide the brutal nature of the race, which tends to favour the lighter runners. The up run, torturous as it is, is seen by many runners as the easier of the two.It also explains why there has not been a back-to-back winner since Stephen Muzhingi, who won the marathon in 2009, 2010 and 2011.While the women's race has been dominated by twins Elena and Olesya Nurgalieva, the difference in the two races was clear when 2014 down run winner Eleanor Greenwood could only manage sixth place last year.Last year's up run women's champion, Caroline Wostmann, had an equally disappointing down run, finishing sixth and she was not even the best South African finisher.Wostmann explained the difficulty of adjusting between the up and the down runs, saying: "To train for the down run you have to make some mental adjustments. Last year every time I was running uphill I was pushing hard. Now when I am running downhill I think about my form, floating down instead of pounding down."When somebody says down run, your automatic reaction is 'yeah, it is going to be a pleasurable run'."Then you remember that the first 60km are in fact very undulating. When you get to the last 27km you are still basically at the same elevation you started at. By the time you get past Fields Hill, your quads are screaming and your body is aching. You actually wish you were running uphill. In other words, running up is exhausting and running down is painful."Nine-time winner Bruce Fordyce said though he always found the up run easier, finding the right pace was the most important element in both races.He said: "On the up run, you can let the competition get away and reel them in later on but that's a dangerous tactic on the down run. While you can make up a lot of time in the second half of the down run, it's painful. The best thing to do is to start slowly and be ready for the final third."..

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