“Last Friday, I was training in my hometown of Harara, Zimbabwe, when my coach called me and asked if I could run a 50K race,” says unheralded distance runner Collen Makaza. “He said it was in Ireland. I said okay.”
Fast forward nine days to the International Association of Ultrarunners 50K World Trophy Final held this on Sunday, August 29, in Galway, Ireland, in conjunction with the inaugural Galway City Marathon and Half Marathon. The 50K was only open to elites such as Makaza, with the marathon and half open to all. Most of the 50K elite field qualified for the race via 13 selection races held worldwide earlier in the year, but a few participants were given at-large entries based on previous marathon times. Makaza landed a very late at-large bid.
He made the most of it. Makaza won the race by nearly six minutes in 2:47:21—three minutes and 43 seconds off the 2:43:38 50K world record set 22 years ago by South African Thompson Magwana. (Note: This record is considered unofficial, as the IAAF doesn’t recognize records for the 50K distance.)
As with the marathon participants, the 50K runners did two loops of the half marathon course, then finished on four smaller loops near scenic Galway Harbor. As such, spectators had plenty of chances to see Makaza do his work—in fact, it all looked quite effortless. The smooth-striding Zimbabwean broke from a small pack consisting of South Africans Sandile Ngunuzza and Joseph Mphuthi at 34K and cruised the rest of the way. En route, he clocked a none-too-shabby 2:18:36 marathon split. Ngunuzza finished second in 2:53:05, with American Michael Wardian taking third in 2:54:56.
Soon after finishing, when Makaza was asked about his effort, he said simply: “It was easy. There was no pain. I felt good.”
“I’m quite fit at the moment, and was training to run a marathon in South Africa in October,” continued Makaza. “But I’m glad I decided to come here. I almost didn’t make it, as I had problems getting a visa. We finally managed it just in time—on the way to the airport.”
Makaza is in the middle of his competitive-season training cycle, which consists of just 55 miles a week. But he gets a lot of bang for those 55 miles. He does 18-mile runs on Sundays and Wednesdays, and speedwork on the track on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Typical sessions are 20 x 400-meter repeats in 62 to 63 seconds and 20 x 200-meter repeats in 28 to 29 seconds. “The last 200 is always faster,” says Makaza. “More like 26.” Mondays and Fridays are total rest days. What about Saturdays? “I go to church,” he says, smiling. During his base-mileage cycle from January to April, Makaza regularly logs 155-mile weeks.
As with most intrepid distance runners who don’t breathe the rarefied air at the highest level of the sport, Makaza’s life seems exotic and exciting on the one hand, but also lonely and difficult as well. He spends a large part of the year training with his coach in South Africa, which keeps him away from his wife and 4-year-old son. The other part of the year, he lives with them in Harare, close to the track where he trains. Makaza works as a prison officer in the Zimbabwe Prison Service, though he is currently on extended leave to pursue his running. Even still, he and his family must live in the prison employee camp.
Makaza flew home soon after the race, but was looking forward to a week of total rest from running, after which he’ll begin building up for the next race. As of Sunday, August 29, Makaza didn’t know where that would be.
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