South African runner Hendrick Ramaala isn’t your typical 2:06 marathoner. He’s never been coached. He doesn’t train in exotic locales, choosing instead to run along the same 3.5K loop that winds around Zoo Lake Park with friends from his running club. In fact, the 37-year-old lawyer didn’t even begin to run until he was cut from the soccer team at the University of the Witwatersrand. Despite all this, Ramaala has put forth solid results. He’s a four-time Olympian, has twice placed second at the world half marathon championship, and won the 2004 New York City Marathon. The following year he placed second to Paul Tergat in the closest finish in the race’s history. This year Ramaala returns to New York for the eighth time.Running Times: You are heading into another New York City Marathon. How are you feeling?
Hendrick Ramaala: I’m excited. I know it’s going to be a hard one. There is a really exciting field this year with some hard guys. For the past six or seven weeks, since I saw the field, I’ve been training with that in mind. I expect a very hard race, which means I’ve been training very hard.
Do you believe it will be the hardest New York City Marathon that you’ve run?
HR: I think it’s going to be one of the hardest, yes. I mean most of them are hard. This year is going to be a hard field to beat. Many of them are between 2:05 and 2:07 marathoners. You’ve got champions, too. This means it’s going to be a very tough race from start to finish. Still, I’m ready.
Have you been training any differently for this year’s race?
HR: No. I did the same training, but my motivation is higher. I know I can still do it; I know I have another win in me. That is what has been motivating me. I expect to mix it up with the guys and fight until the finish. And if I lose, it will be after fighting big time, not giving it away.
So you haven’t been doing higher weekly mileage or switching up your hard days?
HR: No, it’s been the same training, but better.
So that means you are still running the same 3.5K loop around Zoo Lake Park?
HR: Same old laps.
It must be a like a big track to you now.
HR [laughing]: Yeah.
Are you still working out with your same training group?
HR: Yep. They have done very well for me. They got me in great shape for London. Everybody has been pushing me hard to get me ready for the race. But I am now done with the hard work; I am waiting for the race. I can’t push the training hard. I am cutting back. I’m ready. I don’t want to train any more for it. I’ve done enough. If I train harder now, I will be asking too much of my body and get injured.
From watching you in the Olympics and in other marathons, I know you are a big proponent of front running. You like to push the pace at the beginning. Though it’s paid off for you before, it doesn’t always seem to work out. Why do you choose to always run aggressively like this? Why not sit back in the early stages of the marathon?
HR: It is the only way I win the big races. I’ve always struggled, but would prefer that instead of running other people’s races. I am not the kind of guy who likes to wait for other guys to make moves. When I’m in good shape, I initiate the moves. I run according to the way I feel. If I feel good, say at 10K, 15K, or 25K, I’ll make a move.
After 32K, we are all tired. It’s very hard to make a move at that time. We are all just hanging on. At that point, you are just hoping that the other guys fall back. For me, that is not the way to go. I make moves when I am still strong, which is usually just after halfway. I want to make a move when I am at my strongest, not when the other guy is at his strongest. Guys like Martin Lel or [Sammy] Wanjiru, you can’t break them near the finish. You have to make them work hard early. If you hope they fade at the end, you hope for nothing.
Those guys are very hard to beat. They won’t give up. You can wish or pray, but it’s not going to happen. Those guys come to races well, well prepared—guys like Jaouad Gharib. They train so hard; they are ready for any eventualities, ready for anything. You better make your move when you are still strong. You have to get them tired early and run away at the end, so that the last few kilometers are just survival of the fittest. I’ve won races that way.
So you are gambling out there then.
HR: Always a gamble, mate. If you sit back and wait for things to happen, sorry, they don’t happen. If you see me waiting out there, then that means I am having a problem and struggling. It means I am hanging on.
The last time I spoke with you, you mentioned the need to have good rest before you run the New York City Marathon, because the race is so mental and New York is such a busy city. Are you going to arrive early to get acclimated?
HR: No. I arrive late. I started my cut back and so I will already arrive fresh. I will get in a long sleep at home so that I can get out of trouble, stay in my room, and relax. That is very important. You have to stay out of trouble in the streets of New York.
So you don’t want to get there too early.
HR: I want to get in as late as possible.
I’d like to move away from you and now talk about South Africa. South Africa is a nation of 44 million people, while Kenya has around 30 million. Despite the fact that South Africa is a much larger country, it can’t seem to keep up with Kenya. Why is that, and what can South Africa do to increase its depth of distance runners?
HR: You are right. In Kenya, the runners are mostly from the same tribe and from the same region. The main thing is that they have role models and training camps. They have a system. They get them ready and get them out of the country—racing in Europe and America. Their training camps are professional. So are yours in America. I think America is starting to get it right with their training camps, getting athletes to train together under good coaches like Alberto Salazar. I follow U.S. running. I see changes. You are getting more and more good guys. They were there, but they were not discovered.
That is the same in South Africa. We have all this talent, but do not know what to do with it. Our coaches are struggling and our athletes are struggling. You need a structure and a system. The runners need to know that, if they train, they will have shelter, accommodations, a place to sleep. Athletes must worry about training and performance and not what they are going to eat, the bread-and-butter issues.
My country is struggling. We don’t have a system. The guys at the top are not interested much. They will talk it, but will always say the money is not coming. We take coaches to school, we talk all this big talk and then nothing happens. We need sponsors like soccer, rugby, or cricket have. They have the whole corporate world behind them. They get sponsors any time they want. In Kenya, athletics is the main sport; in Ethiopia, athletics is the main sport. In South Africa, athletics is maybe fourth or fifth on the list. We will struggle to get all this help like sponsorships and training camps. The other guys are grabbing everything out there. Take rugby: The kids are getting help from their schools; they have all these tournaments at the school level. Athletics is losing the talent to rugby, cricket, and soccer. How are we going to get the best athletes? The school kids go to these sports, because the sports are world-class in our country. It’s kind of frustrating. I wish I could do something, but I have my career.
It sounds like Athletics South Africa is kind of a mess right now, considering what you just talked about along with the Caster Semenya situation. When your career winds down, will you be getting involved to clean it up? You are a lawyer and a world-class runner, so this looks like the perfect combination to make a difference.
HR: That is possible. Once things slow down for me, maybe I’ll take these things seriously and get more involved. I can see where the problem is. I’ve spoken to a lot of athletes, commentators, and experts on what is needed. There are all these politics coming in, though. Nobody wants to hear the truth. It’s all about politics. You don’t need to run the federation to fix it. You don’t need to be in a powerful position to fix it. You just need to get a group of kids who have talent and promise and give them bread and butter, shelter, get them into a camp, let them train, and promise them trips to America or Europe. After that, you will get support. In this country, you get rewarded for winning. The new talent doesn’t get spotted. In this country, you get spotted by winning a gold medal. How you got it is your business.
And that seems to go with how you made it. You didn’t have a coach and kind of made yourself in this broken system. Would you agree?
HR: When I was coming up, we didn’t have coaches. For me, it’s too late, I’m not going to have a coach. When I was growing up, it was the 1990s. The 1990s and the 2000s are completely different. Most of the athletes were on their own. Why? Because there was nobody else there for them. You were on your own then. These days, we have some coaches coming up with the athletes. Still, I am optimistic. I don’t think we can catch Kenya or Ethiopia, because they are just way too far ahead in the front. I think we can get somewhere in the near future.
We are paying for our system now. It’s time for us to play catch-up. We have the talent and have the infrastructure. The athletes just need support. It’s not going to happen right now. It takes three to four years just to make an athlete.
As you near the end of your career, what would you like to accomplish? Is this your last New York City Marathon?
HR: Believe it or not, I think I am getting stronger and stronger. I am getting wiser. I don’t mind training hard. I got this marathon business. I just need to be motivated to continue. The way I’ve trained this year, I’m more motivated. I think I still have some personal records in me in the marathon. I think I can do much better. I’m really looking forward to next year. I’ll do New York first.
I think I still have a lot of energy. Let’s not forget Carlos Lopes broke records at 38. I started my career late. You know, I never ran as a junior. I’m stronger than ever—not in the shorter distances, because I’ve lost the focus. When it comes to the marathon, I really get motivated. I will do everything for my marathon career. For a 10K, I’ve given up. I just go there to prepare for the marathon. The half marathon is a stepping stone to the marathon.
You know, it’s exciting to be part of these marathon majors like New York. Just to be there is a big thing. Just to be training for the big races like the world championships or the Olympics is exciting. I get up early; I go train. I am ready to do anything for these races. I may retire in two or three years. I still think I can break personal records and win big races. And after New York, there is Boston and Paris and Fukuoka. There are still the smaller marathons—the Mumbais, Houstons, and Singapores. There is still Comrades, too.
So you will run Comrades?
HR: It’s a tradition here. You haven’t finished your career well if you haven’t run Comrades. I’m getting more and more exciting with the sport the more I age. I don’t feel the age yet. I feel it when I run the 10K, but not the marathon. I’m more mentally stronger. I can take the marathon much better than before. I have 24 marathons in my body. I’m getting rougher. The more I run, the more I get to know this. I’m looking forward to three more years. My mind and body are still together. I just need to keep the motivation high.
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