Where have all the serious runners gone by Chris Readman

I have been running in Cape Town for some 15 years (with work and sleep breaks in between of course) and have seen athletes and races come and go. My Club, ATLANTIC once boasted a mature squad of more than 10 athletes who could run sub 2.30 Marathons. The Club time trials would attract more than 20 runners on a Wednesday night. 10 guys would get together at 6 a.m. every Sunday, rain or shine, to go for a long run. Average races would attract 700 - 1000 entries as runners did them either for PBs, paced training runs or just for the social vibe. Two Oceans had only a 56Km race with a 6 hour cut-off.

And now? Atlantic still has 250-300 members but no Sub 2.30 Marathoners and perhaps only a handful of Sub-3s. We do have a small squad of "development" runners, financed by the Club, who can run 3 minutes-a-K but are mainly juniors who concentrate on track, cross country and up to the Half Marathon. Our time trial has dwindled to a handful of the same few people each week. Hardly anyone who is not "elite" does any track training or speedwork, even though we have free access to an empty stadium right next door to our club house and free coaching advice. Weekend long runs are now sporadic as most prefer to do their own thing (like sleep late and watch sport on TV).

Fewer people are running races regularly. Travel and escalating entry fees may have something to do with it but it seems runners now pick their races - Knysna Forest Half Marathon, Gun Run, Two Oceans, Foot of Africa, City Marathon. Don't expect them to travel at 6 a.m. to a 15Km race in the townships.

As new clubs have sprung up, more events appear on the calendar. There are now too many (some weeks in the summer there may be 4 local races to choose from) and the entries are watered down accordingly - 500 entries these days would be considered good. Fewer people are putting in the training required for Ultras - so now we are seeing the growing Half Marathon at Two Oceans, City Marathon has a Half Marathon and 10Km, and there are relay options in the Gun Run, Bay to Bay etc.

The new phrase of the nineties was "Are you doing the half or the full?"

Then, to cater for the masses (and get more entry fees in) there was a move to extend the cut offs. This worked for Two Oceans - proof being the vast numbers who needed the extra half hour to finish) and the 2000 Comrades up run which attracted 24 000 entries - double the usual field - and still thousands crossed the line in the extra hour.

The shift in focus and lack of commitment to proper training is not only being experienced by Atlantic. Most local clubs have felt this to a certain extent. Serious athletes are moving to sponsored clubs and the middle of the pack people just don't get butt out of door like they used to. The younger set coming into running appears to be a transient "yuppie" brigade who will burst onto the scene sporting the latest designer sportsgear, sunglasses, heart rate monitors etc. in a bid to impress their friends by running a high profile event. And they are happy just to finish in the top half of the field. A year later instead of coming back to run a quicker time they are into something else like ocean kayak, triathlon, cycling for instance. Life is transient. So much to try.

It's about TIME. The constraints presented by longer working hours, family commitments and too many other things to do. Township runners on the other hand have plenty of time. some through unemployment, some with lack of funds to spend on entertainment and travel. Running is what they are good at and they love it so much that they will go out twice a day if necessary and run races every weekend.

But through all this evolution in the local running scene one thing stands out: The old timers are still at it! Yes, those good seniors are now competing as vets, vets are now masters and masters are now grand masters. The same winning names from 15 years ago are featuring in their age categories today because they are used to the running lifestyle. Their lives are structured around the running programme instead of running being slotted hastily in when there is a rare evening free.

There is no substitute for hard work and structured training because we get what we deserve in this game. Life may be high-paced and we are used to getting what we want quickly but in running there are no short cuts or quick fixes.