One of my favourite runners of yesteryear is the Czech Emil Zatopek.  Known as a notoriously hard worker, at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Zatopek became the first and almost certainly the only man in Olympic history ever to win the three long-distance events, the 5000m, the 10 000m, and the marathon.  What is even more remarkable is that it was the first time he had raced the full marathon distance and did so only three days after winning the 10 000m final!  He won all three events within seven days, and set Olympic records in them all.  By the end of that year he held every world record from the 10 000m to the marathon, and in 1954 he added the 5000m world record as well.  All in all he set 18 world records during his career.

June and some of July promises to have a bit of a drought on the road racing circuit due to the commitment of Metro Police to the Soccer World Cup.  Already a number of races have been cancelled, so be sure to confirm your race before you head off on one of the chilly weekend mornings!

Fitness From Africa was again well represented at the 2010 comrades marathon. Our runners had varying levels of success, including 2 silver medals, 15 Bill Rowan medals and sixteen novices!

In one of the FFA newsletters earlier this year, a phrase was included that went along the lines of “don’t expect different results by doing the same things”.  I was training for my 7th Two Oceans with FFA coming into 2010, and decided that perhaps it was time to shake things up a bit. 

With Comrades 2010 just around the corner, the excitement is building! Along with it comes a fair amount of uncertainty and concern.  To help you settle the nerves, its time for some final planning!