Wally Hayward Race on 1 May 2013

The race started at the Zwartkop High School in Swartkops, Centurion, Gauteng.

The marathon and half marathon started simultaneously (6:30 a.m.) – so the start was quite congested. 

It was really a big field I’ve run in – I would guess more than five thousand entrants, though I really don’t know. It took at least 15 minutes to reach a point where I could run comfortably without bumping into people, and I started about in the middle of the field.

The race was well organised, with marshals and traffic police at the necessary intersections. The water points were about three kilometres apart and well stocked (by the time I went through). 

As it runs through various residential areas in Centurion, there was quite a bit of support from the residents (not those in cars…) – some were simply cheering while others had a champagne breakfast at the side of the road.

The weather was quite cold until at least half an hour into the race, but when the sun finally showed up, it was a lot better. it looks like we’ll have an early winter this year. The route is not that bad, but it is certainly not flat all the way. Luckily, you only have to do Hakken Hill once (I’m sure that needs to be spelt with a “K”, actually) at the end of the race.

The end of the race was also well organised – and it is the second race that I have run this year where I could get a T-shirt at the time I had finished (2:20). The T-shirt looks to be of a nice enough quality, and you also receive a goodie bag.

The Wally Hayward marathon is a very well-organised race. As a result (and probably also because it is the last Comrades qualifier), the field is enormous and congested initially. 

The organisation is good at all levels (administration and water points), it has a pleasant atmosphere, and it is definitely a race that I will do again.

Wally Hayward:

Wally Hayward's exceptional running career spanned six decades. Though he represented South Africa at the Olympic Games and set numerous ultra-distance world records, he is best remembered for his remarkable achievements in the Comrades Marathon. His first attempt at the fabled Durban to Pietermaritzburg epic came in 1930 and was a textbook example of how not to run an ultra-marathon.

He wore cheap canvas takkies stuffed with pages from a telephone directory, only drank every 30km or so, and saw a substantial first-half lead dwindle away to just 37 seconds by the time he crossed the line in first place in 7:27:26.

Exhausted by his efforts, Hayward shunned the race for two decades, concentrating instead on shorter distances and seeing action in North Africa during the Second World War. In 1950, two decades after his first Comrades appearance, Hayward returned and again strode to victory. 

The following year, he made it three wins in three appearances and sliced a massive eight minutes off the record. After finishing tenth in the marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, Hayward returned to secure his fourth Comrades title in 1953, becoming the first athlete to break six hours as he won the 'down' race in 5:52:30. That same year saw Hayward embark on an ultra-marathon record-breaking blitz in the United Kingdom. 

In September, he won the prestigious London-to-Brighton race in record time, establishing a world record for 50 miles. The following month, he broke the world record for 100 miles by over an hour. In 1954, aged 45, Hayward became the oldest Comrades Marathon winner in history, claiming his fifth title in a new 'up' record of 6:12:15.

This achievement was only bettered half a century later when Vladimir Kotov won in 2004 at the age of 46. In the same year, however, the South African Athletics and Cycling Association declared Hayward a professional for accepting a trifling amount of expense money when travelling in Britain. 

He was summarily banned for twenty years. In 1988, at the age of 79, Hayward returned to the scene of his greatest triumphs and ran one of the most incredible races in the long, distinguished history of the Comrades. A full 34 years after his last appearance, he finished in a remarkable 9:44:15, a time good enough to beat half the field. 

He returned the following year for a final, rousing swansong at the age of 80, completing the race in 10:58:03 in front of a rapturous crowd to become the oldest finisher in Comrades history. 

A carpenter and draughtsman for the Johannesburg Municipality for most of his working life, Hayward had a road race named in his honour.

The inaugural Wally Hayward Marathon was run in 1977 and remains an integral part of the Gauteng running calendar. He died in April 2006 at the age of 97. Source: www.sasahof.co.za