2012

2011 taught me a lesson about Ultra Marathon running......it is not as easy as it seems. I finished the 2010 Marathon des Sables in Morocco in 72 hours, and I thought that if I can run 250km across the desert that I would be able to manage 82km on a paved road, with as much water as I would like, surrounded by close on 20 000 other runners, and thousands more next to the road cheering on runners, pushing them on between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

I am not looking for excuses, but my Comrades Marathon race was over before I even crossed the starting line. A torn hip-flexor muscle that I picked up on the 16th April 2011 sealed my fate, even though I resisted the pain, the advise of a specialist, friends and event he running great, Zola Budd. I went into that race with such high hopes, believe that I can run a the distance under 11 hours, make everyone proud that have supported me through the the MDS, and my charity foundation, the Ernie Els for Autism Foundation. After 65km of running, I pulled out of the 2011 Comrades Marathon due to a badly injured hip-flexor. I got into a sweeper van, with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart, vowing never to run this God forsaken run again. Ever.

Now I am back. Back for the down run. With the believe that I will complete this race, the race of races, The Comrades Marathon.

Bring it. I will be ready.

Running on Empty

As a runner I am always looking for inspirational people in the running world, and since I started with ultra running I have come across some true legends. They are all unique in their own way, and inspire you in different ways, from folks like Karnazes and Engle, Caballo Blanco and Barefoot Ted, Jenn Shelton and Ryan Sandes, but one man stands out head and shoulders above the rest, Marshall Ulrich.



When you ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up, you get answers like "I want to be a fireman", or "I want to be a doctor". Well, when I grow up I would like to be Marshall Ulrich. Marshall is an old school runner and I believe he is one of the most humble human beings on earth. He has achieved so much in is life time, that it would be hard for any person to try and match what Marshall has done.

When I am running Comrades next week, I'll be thinking of Marshall when it gets tough, as he ran across America from San Fran to NYC, averaging between 70 and 50 miles per day, for more than 46 days, day in and day out. Respect!

Marshall has a book out which I am reading at the moment called Running on Empty. Please get it as soon as possible!!! It is availible on Amazon and iBooks as a download.