Fordyce’s Comrades tales: Crucial advice for novices – keep moving forward

I can still hear the late Don Oliver’s calming words delivered in his charming cockney accent: “Don’t you worry Comrades Marathon novices, you’re going to be alright. You’ve got Don Oliver’s pacing chart and his wise words to guide you home.”

How I miss him. For nearly 40 years Don and fellow Rocky Road Runners coach Dennis ‘Tombstones’ Tabakin advised novices at monthly training panel discussions. I was often an invited guest speaker at these evening talks, and I was privileged to watch these two experts help hundreds of novices take their first tentative steps on their Comrades journeys.

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Then, months later, Don and Dennis would help them complete those journeys. The Rocky Novice panel talks were so popular that every talk was jam-packed, and even experienced runners and Comrades veterans attended.

Don introduced every meeting with the same words: “And where are we now novices?”

If it was November, nine months before Comrades, he would calmly reply to his own question: “We’re slowly building our training base and we’re about to run our first half-marathon. Our journey has begun.”

And nine months later you could hear a pin drop in the lecture hall as he uttered the same words: “And where are we now?!”

He would continue: “We’re about to run the Comrades Marathon. The great day is upon us.“

Ready to run

But Don knew that his novices were ready and excellently prepared. Armed with his pacing chart, which was cleverly calculated to factor in the sharp descents and climbs of Comrades, and with the wise words of the two coaches ringing in their ears they did indeed have nothing to worry about.

Before wishing his novices well on race day, Don shared some last pearls of wisdom with them, and his words still echo in my mind.

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“Keep moving forward novices. On race day, don’t ever stop moving forward. Remember the race is gun to gun. Once you hear the starting gun the clock will be running and unfortunately those of you in the rear of the field – in batches E, F, G and H – will not be running. In fact, for a few frustrating minutes you won’t even be moving.

“You will probably lose up to 15 minutes at the start of the race. Once you get started, I want you to promise yourselves that everything you do on race day will be a step in the direction of the finish line. Never stop moving forward. If you make that solemn promise to yourselves, you will succeed.”

There will, however, be many temptations to delay you along the way.

Old friends standing at the side of the road will call out to you and you’ll be tempted to have a catch-up chat and exchange phone numbers. Enjoy that chat, exchange phone numbers, but do it on the move.

Make those friends walk with you. Keep moving forward.

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Spectators will generously offer you boerie rolls, drinks, even ice-cold beers. Take whatever you fancy but don’t stop moving forward. Define fast food – eat on the move.

Somewhere in shady Kloof a tall, leafy Natal Mahogany tree will offer tempting cool shade to sit under. Avert your eyes, walk on.

Physio stations

And then there are the dreaded massage stations, positioned cruelly to tempt every tired runner to linger a while and get some attention for aching, cramping legs.

“I know why you will want that massage, “Don would tease. “You won’t really need a massage, you will just want someone to love you, someone to offer you a little tenderness as you struggle through the last kilometres of the race.”

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Think about it carefully. You will probably have to stand in a queue and await your turn. You will lose much precious time at that massage station. And those masseurs and physiotherapists don’t really want to massage your sweat stained, Vaseline dripping, oily, Coca-Cola sticky legs. Do yourselves and the physiotherapists massive favours and move on. Keep going.”

“And finally,” Don would tease “We are all Don and Denis’s Rocky novices, we finish with heads held high, in complete control as we will have been all day. We don’t collapse with relief into our father’s arms like Fordyce. We will have had nothing to worry about all day. We finish with dignity. “

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