Will the real SA record holder please stand - The ABC Exercise Physiology - Time-to-Run Cape Town - Scientific aspects on topics that interest runners


		Exercise Physiology


		Cape Town - South Africa


	Will the real SA record holders please stand up :

When is a SA record a SA record ? Who is the holder of the SA men's half marathon record? Or to be more contentious, who is the holder of the women's SA marathon record? In the first instance, is it Hendrik Ramaala or Shadrack Hoff? In the latter, is it Elana Meyer or Colleen de Reuck? If you were thinking Elana Meyer, officially you would be correct. That is the way it is recorded in the record books. Elana Meyer has a best marathon time of 2:25:?

Whereas Colleen has a best time of 2:26:? However, the situation is far more complex than that. Officially, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) does not recognise records over the marathon distance and beyond. Indeed, the fastest time in the world over the marathon distance is regarded as a world "best" rather than a world "record". In order to qualify as a world record, certain criteria must be met. Firstly, the finish of the race must be within 30% of the race distance from the start. This rules out point to point courses. Secondly, the race may not have an altitude drop of more than 1 metre per kilometre. This is to prevent athletes from running times that may be aided by either wind or a downhill course.

The SA "record", or more correctly "best time" held by Elana Meyer over the marathon was run on the Boston marathon course in the USA. This is a point to point course with a drop in altitude from start to finish, and is therefore considered to be an "aided" course. Thus, according to IAAF rules, any time run on the Boston course would not be recognised as a world best performance. Why then is a time run on the Boston course by Elana Meyer taken as the SA "record" when these times are not considered by the IAAF and USA governing body as been acceptable for world or national "record" status? It could therefore be argued that the SA marathon "record" should rather be that set on the Chicago course by Colleen de Reuck.

Similarly, the half marathon best time set by Hendrik Ramaala was on the "illegal" ???? course. On world ranking lists these times are marked with an asterisk and a footnote indicating that the time was run on an "aided" course. In the case of ultra-marathons similar problems exist. The Comrades marathon has an "up" and a "down" record. However, for both runs the race distance is not constant, and therefore the fastest time may not necessarily equate to the fastest run in terms of running speed. Fortunately, as the records stand at present all works out correctly and the best Comrades "up" and "down" runs are attributed to the fastest runners over the Comrades course. This topic has been covered in detail previously. | continued below |

In the case of the 100-km distance, the only ultra distance recognised by the IAAF, the SA record is not in doubt. That time is 6:25:07 held by Bruce Fordyce on a loop course in Stellenbosch. The women's record is 7:31:47 held by Helene Joubert on a loop course in Winschoten, Netherlands. Records, or rather, best times for other ultra distances, such as the 100-miler, are governed by the Ultra Marathon Race Handbook, the accepted rulebook for the ultra distances and recommended by the IAAF. As with the IAAF rules, it states that world best performances can only be set on courses in which the finish is less than 30% of the total length of the course from the start. Again, this is to account for potential wind assistance and downhill courses. For this reason the Ultra Marathon Race Handbook states that times set on point-to-point courses, which are faster than world bests set on courses that conform to the standards, shall be recognised as "noteworthy performances". However, they would not be eligible for world best performance status.		The fastest time over a point-to-point and thus potentially “aided” course is that of Rae Bischoff set in 1998. Thus the time set by Michelle should be regarded as the SA best time and that of Rae a "noteworthy performance". It is interesting to note that the time of Rae Bischoff places her fourth on the world all-time ranking list and that of Michelle Stewart 12th on the world all-time list and is the fastest time in the world since that of Rae Bischoff. An important point should now be noted: Rae Bischoffs' time is included on the world all-time ranking list despite the argument that it does not meet the requirements for a national or world best performance. This is because there is a big difference between rankings and records. To qualify for a ranking, all that is necessary is reasonable evidence that the mark was set in a race, that the course is not downhill, and that it has been measured accurately. To qualify as a record or best time, the mark must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and it must meet the requirements already discussed.

It follows that these standards would also be applicable to national records. This throws into doubt the SA record time held by Wally Hayward for the 100-mile distance. The time set by Wally was on a course that has never been certified. Besides being a point-to-point course, it was almost certainly short. This was before the days of calibrated bicycle measuring and in fact the distance stems from the days of stagecoaches. Road changes in the subsequent 200 years before Hayward’s mark was set make this record dubious. There is also confusion over the women’s 100-mile SA "record" time. However, the fastest time over a certified course is that of Michelle Stewart in 15 hours 44 minutes (pending course certification).		Thus the level of proof to be included on a ranking is far less stringent than that necessary for a "record". It is interesting to note that sometimes-even race organisers are unaware of the distinction. In a recent 100-mile event a SA "record" incentive for a best time over a certified distance was offered, but times run on point-to-point courses and potentially incorrect distances were set as the times to be beaten for the incentives (those of Bischoff and Hayward). So what are the SA records and who holds them? With the records situation as it currently stands, elite world-class runners in SA should merely seek out the fastest downhill, wind-aided course they can find to establish new SA records. Maybe Time-to-Run browsers should debate the issue.
Time-to-Run The ABC - Exercise Physiology section