54-MILE MARATHON RACE

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

54-MILE MARATHON RACE

The Empire Games in Sydney last year showed the type of distance runner South Africa continues to produce, and it is not surprising that the Springboks should star as marathon men, to judge from an account of the recent activities of one of the greatest of them all, Johnny Coleman, which is contained in a letter from Coleman to Mr B. R. M'Kernan, of Dunedin, who was trainer of the New Zealand track and field team at the British Empire Games in Sydney. Coleman, a Durban railway guard, is the (British Empire marathon champion, and he has conveyed to Mr M'Kernan appreciation of the ‘ Sports Special,’ which has kept him in touch with New Zealand sport. The Empire champion ran in the South African marathan championship (26 miles 385yds) at Krugersdorp, in the Transvaal, but could get only third to Gibson and Hampton. He was satisfied that the altitude beat him there, as he is used to coast level—it was 6.500 ft above sea'level where the race was run.

On May 6, just a month later, Coleman ran in a marathon in Durban, which he won in 2h 42min IDscc. He then ran from Durban to Warner Beach, a 20.6-mile race, and won this in 2h 6min. The time was good; but surpassing all else came the last race of the season on May 24, the Comrades’ marathon, from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, a distance of 54m I.OOOvds. This Coleman won in 6h 22min ssec, breaking his own record by Imin 6sec.

“ This,” he declares, “ is a race that needs stamina, will-power, and hard training.” He trained for the event from January 5 to the day of the race, May 24. and covered 1,850 miles, including the short distance races, the time he took to cover such extensive mileage being 224 h 13min.

Second place in the Comrades’ marathon went to A. K. Boyce, also of Durban, who made a splendid rally in the last gruelling 20 miles to finish second in 6h 26min 34sec. More than an hour later John R. Ballington, brother of the famous Hardy, who won the Comrades’ marathon four times, crossed the finishing line third, his time being 7h 28min Isec.

Johnny Coleman, who defied superstition by wearing No. 13, said after the race that it was his last Comrades’ marathon. In future he is to concentrate on the “ short ” distances of 26 miles, hoping to be a competitor at the 1940 Olympic Games in Finland. He revealed that he badly twisted his knee when he slipped at Kloof a few days before the race. It was only through his wife’s care that he was able to run. Coleman said he set out at a fast pace to widen the distance between Boyce and himself, making his first stop for a drink and a massage at Cowie’s Hill—46 miles from Pietermaritzburg—instead of Kloof, where he stopped in his previous race. He was then able to carry on, but he admitted this was the hardest run that he bad had in his life. He had to go all out in the last mile.

South African's Remarkable Effort Empire Champion's Hardest Run [By PxsTor-.]

It was dark when the runners—2s of them —went sent on their long journey at 6 a.m. A crowd of about 200—some of them still in their evening dress and others with overcoats over their pyjamas—watched the start Towards the finish more than 200 motor cars followed Coleman through the Durban streets to the Track Ground.