Interview with Hendrick Ramaala

By Duncan Larkin

South African Olympian Hendrick Ramaala, 35, is no stranger to the ING New York City Marathon; this year’s race will be his sixth, and he won it in 2004. A year later, he fought desperately for a repeat, dueling with then–world record-holder Paul Tergat to the final step and losing by a fraction of a second, despite diving across the finish line. In last year’s race, the unusually slow early pace threw Ramaala’s race plan off, and he finished ninth.

The 2007 racing season has been erratic for Ramaala. In January, he ran 1:02:42 at the Nedbank South African Half-Marathon Championships, placing second. In April, he ran 2:07:56 at the Flora London Marathon and finished fifth—very respectable considering the field’s depth. In July, Ramaala returned to New York City to run the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE and struggled to an 11th-place finish in 1:04:21. He attributed that performance to a lack of sleep due to jet-lag and made the following prediction afterward: “I’ll tell you one thing: When I’m back here for the marathon, I won’t run like I did today.” In the World Championships in Osaka last month, Ramaala placed 27th, running 2:26:00 in oppressive heat and humidity.

Ramaala’s career highlights include two silver-medal races at the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships (1998 and 1999). He is a three-time Olympian and the winner of the 2006 Great North Run.

He currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is self-coached, and he does much of his training on a 3.5K loop near the Johannesburg Zoo. Ramaala holds a law degree from Witwatersrand University; he is married to French distance runner Rodica Moroianu.

MensRacing.com: As you get ready to race the ING New York City Marathon, how are you feeling? How has your training been going?

Hendrick Ramaala: Training has been going very well—can’t complain. I’m where I’m supposed to be in terms of my preparations. From now, I just need to maintain my fitness and my training until the race day.

MR: This is going to be the end of your 2007 season. How do you feel it went for you?

HR: It went reasonably well. I just need to finish it well; it’s very important so that I can enjoy my Christmas and then look forward to next year. The last race is the most important one because you don’t want it to spoil the whole season.

MR: You’ve run the ING New York City Marathon many times. You are very experienced on the course, having raced it in many different conditions. With that in mind, are you going to change your strategy this year in any way?

HR: There won’t be that much change. This [year’s] race is a little bit different than the last one because we are not going to have pacemakers. So, I wonder what is going to happen in the first 15K of the race. The first half of the race, we are not going to know how the race is going to unwind. If it happens that the race is slower, then somebody will have to pick it up, because we don’t want to do the same thing like last year, where the first half was too slow and then in the second half, we struggled to pick up the pace. For me, it’s going to be interesting to see how we run the first half. It’s going to be very important. If we are running very fast in the first we can run in 1:04-1:05:30. Then I can apply my normal strategies—my normal tactics. But if the race is too slow, then somebody has to go in front and push the pace. The main thing for me is that I’m feeling good. I’m in good shape. I’ve done the work. This gives me some confidence going into the race. I’m just hoping in the next two weeks I’m healthy. I just need to stay healthy—very important; stay healthy; stay out of trouble; arrive in New York well; get into the hotel; relax. I’m going into the race very fresh.

MR: Along the lines of relaxing and resting before New York City races, I read that you said that you didn’t run your best at the New York City Half-Marathon [Presented by NIKE] because you couldn’t sleep before the race.

HR: Yes. I didn’t sleep before that race. Oh, it was the worst. I had days not sleeping well before that.

MR: Do you attribute your sleep issues with the long flight or from training too hard?

HR: For me, a few days before going into any race, I need good sleep to relax and focus. The Saturday evening before the race doesn’t matter. Most of the time, I don’t get enough sleep then anyway—the body and the mind are getting ready for the pain. But it’s very important a few days before that Saturday to get good rest—rest well and focus; put your legs up. Focus, focus, focus, and rest well. Reasonable sleep is very important. You lose a lot of energy not sleeping. After all the good preparations, you can still lose the race in the last week if you lose the focus when you get into New York City. New York takes a lot of energy out of you. I find that out just by walking around—just wandering around the city. When you come back to your room, you are, like, tired, you know? The main thing is to lock yourself in and rest. That’s what I’m going to do. Two years in a row [2004 and 2005] that’s what I did: rested and rested. Last year the problem was that I came in early. I think it affected my focus. We were running around too much I think, because I arrived on a Tuesday if you remember.

MR: I do remember. I remember in our last talk that you wanted to get in early on purpose, to adjust for the long flight.

HR: Yes. It was a little bit too long of a stay, because when you arrive, you are out of your comfort zone. My home is my comfort zone. The more I stay out of it, the more I stay out of my program, the more I lose my focus. It’s very hard to keep focus when you are out of your territory.

MR: You mentioned something like that when you described your experience at the 2004 Athens Olympics—about how hard it was to rest and relax in the noisy athletes’ village where most people were celebrating because they were done with their events.

HR: Oh, yeah. Athletes’ villages are a no-no.

MR: Are you then not going to stay in the athletes’ village in Beijing?

HR: No. We won’t stay in the athletes’ village. The Olympic Committee knows. We already spoke to them about that. You know we were in Beijing this year.

MR: Yes. I had read that.

HR: We saw the stadium; we drove around. The course is not finalized, but we saw most of Beijing. It’s mostly flat. The weather is very hot.

MR: In 2004 in Athens the marathon course was very hilly, but the conditions (humidity, air pollution) will be nearly the same.

HR: It is more humid in Beijing. I hear that they will clean the pollution up. And when they say they are going to do something, they are going to do it. We have to trust them. If they say there will be so many cars off the road, then there will be so many cars off the road. I suspect the atmosphere will be much better than it is now. It will be just the humidity. The course will have to be flat. I didn’t see any hills in Beijing. I enjoyed being there. I loved the place. I have no negative opinions about Beijing. I like the people.

MR: Would you consider Beijing as your last big shot for a medal?

HR: Yes. It is my last big shot. I think in 2012, I can go as a participant but not as a contender.

MR: You said the Beijing course will be flat. You seem to run better on flatter courses. Does this play into your strengths?

HR: You know, it’s about specific preparation. Like now, I am going into New York and I know that New York is a tough course. It’s undulating. It’s hard. So you can’t prepare for New York like you prepare for London. I had to add some serious endurance runs and cut back a little bit on my speed, because I might not need it. I will need my speed in the beginning and my endurance going into Central Park. You need all the strength you can get. Beijing, the only challenge there is the weather conditions. It can get really, really hot. I managed the last time I was there, though. Of course, it’s not going to be the same. It’s going to be packed. There is a big time difference between the Beijing of now and the Beijing of August next year. There will be one million more people—foreigners and more Chinese people in town. I am looking forward to it. I have to make sure I make the team. I have to qualify and then I can sleep well. But first is New York, which is in two weeks’ time. Now my mind is on New York and nothing else.

MR: The American men’s Olympic Marathon Trials race is going to be the day before the ING New York City Marathon. Are you going to watch it?

HR: I will definitely watch the race. I have my predictions. I need to follow the race very closely. If it’s on TV, then it will be easier to follow it. But it is a lap course and so I have to see some of it live and follow what’s going on. It’s going to be very interesting.

MR: Some say it is the most competitive American Trials in history.

HR: It’s packed with quality.

MR: Would you mind sharing your predictions with us?

HR: I have to say that one of the favorites is not going to make the team. One guy is going to surprise everybody. He will be a 2:11-to-2:14-range runner. He will spring a surprise. I don’t know who that can be. It’s going to depend on the pace also. It has to be a tough course because it’s in the park [Central Park]. The park is very hard. I have my predictions, but on paper we don’t know who is in good shape because the guys are not racing. They are all talking. I wonder if the guys that are just talking are really ready for this thing. I wonder, of the favorites in the Trials, who has run a 62-minute half-marathon recently? I don’t know who has run that fast in the past month. It’s a big question mark. Come race day, we’ll know who’s ready. In this kind of race, one of the favorites is going to struggle and one guy will spring a surprise and make the team.

MR: We’ve talked about New York; we’ve talked about Beijing. I’d now like to go into some more general questions. In our last interview, you said you like to run 1K-repeats. Are you still doing these? Have you changed your training in any way?

HR: Nothing has changed.

MR: And you are still self-coached?

HR: Yes. The difference between now and our last talk is that I have better runners in my training group. My guys have improved a lot and have made my life easier. They lead the sessions. When I run with them, I follow, follow, follow them. The boys are at my level now in terms of training. When it comes to sessions, they go out in front and I follow. It has reduced the stress of leading training in difficult conditions. It has made my life a little bit easier. But I am doing the same program—same course, same track.

MR: You run on the same 3.5K path near the Johannesburg Zoo?

HR: Same place, same time.

MR: You’ve probably memorized every rock on the ground there by now.

HR: Big time.

MR: Do you get bored of that? Do you ever want to mix it up and run different routes?

HR: No chance. I’ve been doing the same thing for over 10 years. So when I say I am going for a run, I go there. If I don’t run there, it’s not a complete run. I can’t gauge myself well if I don’t run on my loop. I enjoy loops because I can measure things there. I’m used to it. That’s where I started. It’s working for me. So it doesn’t do me any good to change. I’m not young enough to go start another thing. It’s too late to change.

MR: What’s next for you after 2012? You’re a lawyer. Will you stick with running or do something completely different in your other occupation?

HR: I have to keep my options open. For now, I don’t want to leave the sport. There’s a lot to do in this country of mine. There are so many things to do to improve the sport—like inequality. There’s a lot to do to get us on par with Ethiopia and Kenya. We have abundant talent. We have facilities, but we need to run things well. We need to get our things in order if we’re going to match the superpowers of running. I can’t just leave the sport like that—unless I get pushed out. A lot of people got pushed out. There are politics and there’s backstabbing to deal with over here.

MR: Before you retire from the sport, would you run an ultramarathon like Comrades?

HR: Yeah. After 40, I don’t think I’ll still be competitive enough to win it. It’s not my passion, but it is on my wish list. Maybe I’ll finish my career with a Two Oceans Marathon or a Comrades Marathon and then settle down. Until you win the Comrades Marathon in this country, you are not recognized as a runner—or even finishing it in ten hours. Until you do that, you have not made it as a runner in South Africa.

Interview conducted October 21, 2007, and posted October 27, 2007.