This is Wally, again...

22 - Wally Hayward Marathon No. 3, Pretoria, South Africa, 1 May 2017

Ever since my first Wally Hayward Marathon in 2015, I have always looked forward to the “Wally”. Who would not? The race commemorates one of the giants of long distance running in South Africa. Being able to complete a race named after such an icon is great honor and something to look forward to. 

I was, however, a bit jittery going into the 2017 Wally Hayward Marathon. I was nursing a knee and an ankle injury. I knew it would not be easy, but I would not miss the Wally for anything. My first one was my best time to date (4h06). In 2016, I tried to beat that time and finished four minutes behind it. The temptation at the beginning of 2017 was to go and beat my 2015 time. But by the time the race came, just finishing the race was an achievement.

As usual, I started with the pack in the middle. The joyful pack that is always not sure whether to try and upgrade its Comrades Marathon seeding or not. They go out fast, but telling each other that “we are just running for mileage.” Deep inside them they will be doing the calculations trying to find the right pace to get that magical sub 4h00 or sub 4h20.

My first lap went well. I managed to keep up with the sub 4h20 bus for a while. But by the time we got to the 27-kilometer mark, I knew it was not going to happen. Running on the flats sections hurt. Running on the down hills even hurt more. The only portions that I could manage were the uphill sections, because I was not even trying to run these. I walked on all the uphills. 

I made a commitment to run at least 17 marathons in 2017. Some of the notable ones were the Benoni Northerns, Wally and Gaborone that I had to run in consecutive weeks. There was no way I was going to skip any of them. With a bit of inspiration, I was going to achieve this.

Sometimes you find inspiration and hope in the strangest places. As I was battling to finish the last eight or so kilometers and feeling defeated, I remembered a boxing match that I had watched on 29 April 2017. This match pitted Vladmir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua. Joshua went into the match as the underdog, at least in my books. Klitschko was the defending champion. He had experience on his side. He was naturally the favorite and that boosted his confidence. I watched the early rounds when Klitschko dominated. In the sixth round Joshua was knocked down. He looked down and out. He was almost knocked out. I remember closing my eyes a couple of times when Klitschko landed his blows on Joshua. Each blow looked fatal. However, Joshua did not give up. He regained his strength with each round that passed. In the end, he knocked Klitschko out in the 11^th round and claimed the title.

I felt down and out as everyone passed me hobbling, tired and in pain. But Joshua's determination came to mind. I was not going to quit. He remained resolute and conquered his Goliath, Klitschko. It was my turn to show courage and determination and conquer my own Goliath, the pain.

I shuffled, even managed to do my trademark 40-kilometer jump and took a picture. It was not easy, but after 4h29 I crossed the finish line. My third Wally, and my worst Wally time, was done. It was now time to focus on the next Wally, 2018, to try and improve my time.

As you know (or should know) by now, if it's not on Facebook it did not happen. I documented the run on Facebook as follows:

#100BEFORE40 marathon 6/17 Marathons for 2017 (Mi Way Wally Hayward Marathon) done and dusted. Next stop, Diacore Gaborone Marathon... BW here we come to run Gaborone for a day. No need to be elected😂😂😂