The Inside Lane with our Editor Mike Finch.

Mike Finch

Editor-In-Chief

@MikeFinchSA

Bruce: (still) The Man!

I REMEMBER 1986: standing on the side of the road in Kloof, as the news began to filter through the excited crowd that the leader of the Comrades Marathon was close.

As we did every year, my dad and I had driven up to Kloof Main Road to watch; and all the talk, naturally, was about the chances of Bruce Fordyce crossing the line first again.

Fordyce had already won the Comrades five years in a row, and every newspaper article and TV sports story in the preceding week had led with predictions about who would challenge the blonde-haired flyer this year.

As it happened, it was the tall, lanky figure of Bob de la Motte who came through first, with Fordyce, Danny Biggs and legendary shuffler Hoseah ‘Horse’ Tjale all running together some two minutes behind.

But by the time De la Motte reached Westville, Fordyce was within striking distance. And then it happened: famously, Fordyce strode past De la Motte on the run up towards 45th Cutting, to be the first and only person to win more than five Comrades Marathons and establish a new ‘Down’ record.

I had grown up idolising Fordyce, and as a teenager I would try to emulate his running style during my own training runs…

Over the years, I’ve been privileged to get to know Bruce. I was a young journo when I covered his final 1990 win, and stood shyly behind the older, more experienced journalists at the post-race interview, honoured to be within touching distance of the man.

I had grown up idolising Fordyce, and as a teenager I would try to emulate his running style during my own training runs; while imagining myself in a future Comrades, pulling ahead through Kloof and on to a famous victory in front of my adoring family.

Since I started at Runner’s World in 2000, Bruce and I have collaborated on many stories, commentated together during the Comrades broadcast on TV, and spent a few evenings sharing a beer (or a few).

But my familiarity with Bruce has not been at the cost of my admiration.

I remember a few years ago that Nelson Mandela and Fordyce were voted the two most recognisable faces in South Africa; and there’s little doubt that his name carries a weight of expertise, knowledge and charisma that few sportsmen or -women can match.

That’s why I was so excited to run an extract from his book, Winged Messenger, in the magazine. As much as it offers tons of insightful advice on how to tackle an event like the Comrades, the real magic of this book is the extracts from his running diaries over the years.

In our extract (page 72), we’ve focused on 1976, when Fordyce first started to run. Like most beginners he battled early on, but he understood that training smart was always more sustainable than training hard. It became the hallmark of his running career.

Quite simply, Winged Messenger is a book that should be part of every runner’s collection. It’s a classic ‘dip in, dip out’ read, but every page is a mixture of history, advice and motivation.

Just like Fordyce’s running career, it’s a winner!

FORDYCE WISDOM

“The problem once again is that I was putting pressure on myself to get faster every time I ran. I was going to be disappointed if the next run wasn’t quicker still. Eventually, for a variety of reasons, it just can’t be faster.”

“The beauty of running, unlike so many other sports, is that its simplicity allows us to squeeze in short, quick runs when time is limited.”

“Not every run is pleasant, and sometimes we have to grit our teeth and just get them done.”

“The veterans told me that sleep the night before the race isn’t critical. It’s the night before the night before that getting a good night’s sleep becomes important.”

From Winged Messenger, by Bruce Fordyce, published by Kwarts Publishers

Turn to p72 for more