[Article and interview by NYC based book author Liz Robbins for the NY Times]Before Hendrick Ramaala became a marathon champion, he tried out for the soccer team at his university in Johannesburg, South Africa. When he didn’t make the squad, he ran on the school’s grass track to stay in shape while studying for a law degree. But instead of practicing law, he dedicated himself to elite distance running, preferring to train without a coach.
Humble, charismatic and ever determined at age 37, Mr. Ramaala won the New York City Marathon in 2004, finished as a painful runner-up by three-hundredths of a second in 2005, and came in third in New York in 2007. He trains in an unusual setting for an elite distance runner: he runs on a 2.17 mile (3.5 kilometer) loop around Johannesburg’s biggest city park, Zoo Lake.
Whenever I see Mr. Ramaala at races or when I visited him in South Africa, he is always talking to younger runners, generously giving advice. Today he is preparing for the 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod in early August, followed by the New York City half-marathon the week after and is hoping to run his eighth New York City marathon this fall. He recently took time to share his thoughts about his love of the sport and offered training tips for runners of all distances. Here’s our conversation.
How do you stay motivated without a coach?
First, the point is that I love the sport of running. I enjoy getting out and doing distance, going to races and competing, watching others run, reading about the sport — that is, I enjoy being part of the sport. It’s easier to motivate myself. When I get an opportunity to run in big races, I get motivated to train harder, to focus; I take it as an honor.
When I lose a race or run badly, I get motivated to work harder so as to get better results next time. When I run well in a race, I get motivated to keep it up and even do better the next time. I feel good about it. I train with a group of guys, and they motivate me to keep up in training as they are younger and hungrier for results. I am still learning new things from other runners, and still learning from mistakes we all commit in training and races. I listen to my body and try to do what it tells me to do. I can feel when I am too tired to train or when I am ready for a race. A coach cannot feel that for me.
What advice would you give to recreational runners to stay motivated for races?
I think they must first get all the advice available out there. They can even join others to form training groups or even get a coach-adviser-mentor.
Planning is very important. If, say, you want to run a big city marathon, then you have to plan well. Running in smaller and shorter races before your main race will keep the motivation high. You will be measuring your progress in those small races, and you can see mistakes you commit or the right thing you have done and improve on them.
Don’t overtrain or overdo things, as that leads to burnout and injuries. Build up your training slowly, because as a recreational runner you don’t have enough time to do what full-time runners do — for example, heavy loads of training, taking naps after training or training camps.
What do you do to train for a half-marathon, and what would you recommend?
For the half-marathon, one does not need to do the load required for marathons. You will still need a long run (25 to 30 kilometers, or 15 to 18 miles), an interval session (repeats on the track or road or park), tempo run and recovery runs. For the half-marathon, I need more intensive workouts than in the 10K, as “halfs” are won in under an hour these days. I need six to eight weeks to prepare for a half, and my mileage can go up to 170 kilometers (105 miles) a week. I also race one or two 10K races before my half-marathon race to sharpen.
You have told me that, at the peak of your marathon training, you will run 12 laps around Zoo Lake (26 miles) on some days, run on the large hill near your house on others, then do speed work on the grass track at the University of the Witwatersrand. What else can you tell us about your training?
Marathon training can take up to 12 weeks to complete. You need a buildup (base) training phase and then a specific marathon training phase. I go 200 kilometers (124 miles) a week or more when I get ready for a marathon. At the end of this heavy training, you will need a tapering period of two to three weeks. I do a minimum of 10 to 12 long runs in that period. Four to six of those will be around 40 kilometers (24.8 miles), the rest between 25 and 30 kilometers (15 to 18 miles).
I also include interval sessions on the track (two times a week); some hill runs (once a week); tempo runs (twice a week) and recovery runs. Four or three weeks before my marathon race, I normally race a half-marathon to test myself. When doing marathon training you need to take lots of rest, get sports massages, consume lots of liquids, eat lots of good food and focus more as the load of training is taxing on the body.
As a professional athlete in South Africa, what are your impressions of the World Cup coming to the country and your city next year?
The whole of South Africa is excited about the World Cup coming to RSA. Africa is excited about it coming to our continent for the first time. It’s going to put our country in the spotlight, and we are ready to put on a good show.
Do you miss playing soccer?
No, I don’t miss playing soccer. I enjoy watching other guys play. I am scared of getting injured — you get injured easily if you play soccer. I am more addicted to running these days. I do everything for my running.
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