Ex-Comrades champion remains competitive

around those, and achieve consistent results because of that,” Meiklejohn said.

The father of three – Luke (20), Kate (16) and Stuart (14) – says that he is taking on competitions “one year at a time”, but will ideally consider retirement from the Comrades in three years. He is hoping to end his wonderful sporting career after his 30th race.

He said over the decades the Comrades has changed, as each year brings younger participants, so he relies on his training and experience to stay competitive.

“It’s changed in the sense that I have to accept one slows down with age, but it doesn’t mean that with dedication and consistent training I can’t achieve good results, albeit in my age category,” he said.

He reiterated that so many years of running had given him “a good understanding of his capabilities” and now, more than ever, he relies on it to stay in the game.

“I was amazed yet again at Comrades this year when I was lying about 268th at halfway and finished up coming 65th,” he said proudly.

Choosing ultra-marathon as a focus, Meiklejohn usually dedicates himself to about 12 weeks of training to prepare for races. During this period he concentrates on speed work, strength training (hills and gym work) and weekend long runs of 32-60km.

“In the peak training period I would achieve over 200km each week before I start to taper, four weeks before race day. There would also be days in between my hard training days where I ran easier and treated myself to regular sports massages,” he said.

It is hard to believe this champion once dreamt of being a professional golfer or soccer player.

When he is not training, Meiklejohn can be found mentoring and advising underprivileged individuals in sports. He works closely with the iThemba Projects, The Red Cap Foundation and the PMB Community Chest, among others.

Follow him on Twitter: @ShaunMeiklejohn or me: @SheetalCross.