A CONFIDENT, well prepared Lusapho April jetted out of East London airport yesterday on his way to New York where he will compete in the world’s biggest marathon, The New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Lusapho was accompanied by his trainer and long-time mentor, Karen Zimmerman and her husband advocate Perry Beningfield.
Together with the world’s elite marathoners and an expected field of well over 50000 runners, April will be pounding the streets of the “Big Apple” on a marathon course which traverses all five of the city’s boroughs hoping to better the fantastic podium third place finish he achieved last year.
Long-range weather forecasts predict an ideal 3°C to 8°C for the race with a 30km/h breeze.
In last year’s race which, as always, embraces the finest marathon runners in the world, the South African was not mentioned once the entire duration of the race although he was nestled among the front-runners for the duration.
It was only in the dying moments of the marathon that the bemused American commentators frantically perused their programmes to find who the interloper was who had pipped a raft of the best marathoners on the planet.
Zimmerman, said they had spent 16 weeks, nine of which were in camp in the Hogsback mountains and the other six in East London, training for this iconic event and that her charge was in the best shape of his life.
“He is super-fit, mentally prepared and injury-free but of course, as all athletes know, it’s how you perform on the day but we are confident of a good run,” she said.
They are expected to arrive in New York today, via Amsterdam, and will be accommodated in a hotel in central Manhattan a few blocks from Central Park where the race ends.
“It’s within easy reach and Lusapho will be able to loosen up there with a few practice runs,” said Karen.
April, a former South African marathon champion, runs out of the Oxford Striders Athletics Club in East London and is sponsored by Adidas International, Jumbo Clothing in East London and the East Cape Academy of Sport, goes into the race with an impressive pedigree having won the recent Legends half-marathon on the Border and a second place in the Jumbo half-marathon. In recent years he has won the Hannover Marathon in Germany – twice and the Two Oceans half-marathon also twice.
The athlete who knows that to fall off the lead pack will be fatal says: “My coach and I have worked out various strategies to stay with the frontrunners. I am in top condition, confident and barring unforeseen glitches I will be in contention at the end.”
Lusapho goes for broke in the Big Apple
Lusapho was accompanied by his trainer and long-time mentor, Karen Zimmerman and her husband advocate Perry Beningfield.
Together with the world’s elite marathoners and an expected field of well over 50000 runners, April will be pounding the streets of the “Big Apple” on a marathon course which traverses all five of the city’s boroughs hoping to better the fantastic podium third place finish he achieved last year.
Long-range weather forecasts predict an ideal 3°C to 8°C for the race with a 30km/h breeze.
In last year’s race which, as always, embraces the finest marathon runners in the world, the South African was not mentioned once the entire duration of the race although he was nestled among the front-runners for the duration.
It was only in the dying moments of the marathon that the bemused American commentators frantically perused their programmes to find who the interloper was who had pipped a raft of the best marathoners on the planet.
Zimmerman, said they had spent 16 weeks, nine of which were in camp in the Hogsback mountains and the other six in East London, training for this iconic event and that her charge was in the best shape of his life.
“He is super-fit, mentally prepared and injury-free but of course, as all athletes know, it’s how you perform on the day but we are confident of a good run,” she said.
They are expected to arrive in New York today, via Amsterdam, and will be accommodated in a hotel in central Manhattan a few blocks from Central Park where the race ends.
“It’s within easy reach and Lusapho will be able to loosen up there with a few practice runs,” said Karen.
April, a former South African marathon champion, runs out of the Oxford Striders Athletics Club in East London and is sponsored by Adidas International, Jumbo Clothing in East London and the East Cape Academy of Sport, goes into the race with an impressive pedigree having won the recent Legends half-marathon on the Border and a second place in the Jumbo half-marathon. In recent years he has won the Hannover Marathon in Germany – twice and the Two Oceans half-marathon also twice.
The athlete who knows that to fall off the lead pack will be fatal says: “My coach and I have worked out various strategies to stay with the frontrunners. I am in top condition, confident and barring unforeseen glitches I will be in contention at the end.”
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