BAC gears up for the Comrades
Twenty-time Comrades Marathon silver medallist and coach Frank da Ascencao helped put the finishing touches to the preparations of the Boksburg Athletic Club for the imminent Comrades Marathon on Wednesday evening, May 10.
Da Ascencao anchored the talk and gave a brief route description for this year’s Comrades and elaborated on the critical sections of this year’s ‘up’ run.
Realistic target times based on the season’s best marathon times and advice on how to best approach your target time were also discussed.
The Advertiser had a chat with two runners from the club, Nicholas McCann and Byron Jones, who will be doing their fourth and second Comrades, respectively.
McCann said everyone should experience the race because the support you get is like no other.
His training includes two sessions per day, with March and April being the intense time period where the main focus is mileage.
Come May and the focus shifts to speed work. His best time is 6:45:00.
Jones, whose training regimen is similar to McCann’s, had the following to say when asked why he does the race: “All the marathon races are a preparation for the Comrades. Every race revolves around the Comrades, so if you’re a runner, it’s a natural progression to run the Comrades because you always want to achieve higher challenges.
“It changes your life because you make major sacrifices. Even your circle of friends changes and you end up being friends with co-participants.
“I enjoy the lifestyle.”
The 92nd edition of the world’s largest and oldest ultra-marathon will take place on June 4. – @SabeloBoksburg
