Gatebe showed he is built for the kill
Comrades is not an overnight thing, it takes years of preparation
THE ease with which David Gatebe chewed up and spat out the notorious Comrades Marathon down run last week is the stuff of legends.
Blitzing Leonid Shvetzov's supersonic 5:20:49 in the 2007 down run needed a flawless training regime to be married with extraordinary talent and meticulous preparation.
That is where the 55-year-old John Hamlett comes in with his military background and his 30-year involvement in coaching.
Gatebe, 35, has worked with Hamlett for the past 11 years, which was when he started running and adapting to Hamlett's unique mountain methods. One of them includes the whistle, which has produced 46 gold medals.
Intensity is part and parcel of the mountain training, but with his 5:18:19 run, Gatebe showed he is built for the kill.
“I’ve known Hamlett since I started running and I’ve always tried to meet his high standards. He has always had high regard for my talent, but he pushes us very hard. You should have seen when he pushed us in the mountains
While ultra marathon running is an individual sport, team work is a necessity to ensure the cream rises to the top
where we often clocked up 200km a week. At first it was tough, but with time we got used to it,” Gatebe said.
“The use of the whistle is often interesting because it’s a sign of how intense training gets, but it’s an excellent form of communication. We know certain whistles mean it’s time to accelerate and certain whistles mean it’s time to keep to a consistent pace, but at least we know how it works now. It prevents the need to talk during a race.”
While Hamlett has produced backto-back Comrades winners in Gatebe and up-run winner Gift Kelehe, the Germiston-born Kaizer Chiefs supporter was also behind Andrew Kelehe’s 2001 down-run win.
The younger Kelehe said Hamlett’s excellent track record pushes them to work harder, but Gatebe’s win was something that was always in the making.
After all, Gatebe showed he is an unconventional runner who responded seamlessly to Hamlett’s rigorous methods.
“We worked hard in the mountains with John and he pushed us, but you could always see that David was on the verge of something special. He responded well to the training, but John’s military background always comes through in his training. It is very disciplined, but someone like David was always going to prosper,” Gift said.
“David’s win is special because one trainer has produced three winners and a Comrades Marathon record holder. That’s just special and that won’t be repeated anytime soon. When I got the message of David winning the race while I was still on the road, I was very happy despite my disappointing showing. It’s a sign of a good racer and an equally good trainer.”
Hamlett is happy to let his methods and his athletes’ successes do the talking. While ultra marathon running is an individual sport, team work is a necessity to ensure the cream rises to the top. Hamlett is not the type to bask in the team’s glory, but the bunch of hard workers under his command make life easy for him.
“The thing with Gift and David is that they share so many physical similarities, but I was scared they could be in a position where they’d be racing each other. That could have been disastrous, but that didn’t happen. When they were in the mountains, they averaged 250-300km a week, but they never complained. There wasn’t any messing around and they were disciplined. That time up there strengthened our bonds because we’re a family and we know each other inside out,” Hamlett said.
“We’re a small team . . . and outshone some of the more illustrious teams who had more runners on Sunday. It shows the individual attention we pay to the athletes work, but what also be remembered is that winning the Comrades is not an overnight thing, it takes years of preparation.”