The halfway mark of the annual Comrades Marathon means just over a full standard marathon distance remains. And while this means a strategic distribution of resources for most, not to mention sheer survival for some, there are those up front who are actually immersed in a full on race. And while things were indeed tough at this point for most of the gold medal contenders of the 1991 edition, the eventual winner wasn't feeling much pressure at all. In fact, he felt as if he was soaring like an eagle. Which was pretty much part of his pre-race plan.
Nick Bester is a perennial figure in South African endurance sports circles. His penchant for hard work is legendary, as are nicknames (sic) such as "Yster" and "Ultraman". Then there is his versatility. Who else can claim the mantle of Comrades winner and a top-12 elite category finish at the ITU World Duathlon Championships, least of all in the same year? Yes, one could go on and on with many an athletic anecdote or achievement involving Nick over the past three decades. The ultimate sporting "jock" he might very well be but that is only what one can deduce from face value.
But all of the above scratches the surface really. You see, beneath his impressive athletic curriculum vitae and chiselled physique lies a deeply intelligent individual, one who has studied each and every detail of what works and what doesn't through many years of trial and error. Never one to follow the herd, Nick has always been his own man. Whether it be his endorsement of intensive weight training (then taboo for distance runners) or a diet centred around red meat (also unfashionable back then), it could be argued that Nick was quite literally ahead of his time. And it was this "out-of-the-box" and enquiring mentality that led him to enlist the help of an equally avant-garde individual circa late-1990.
'I wouldn't say that there was much difference in my physical training for Comrades 1991; up until that point, I felt that I was physically capable of winning,' he explains. 'I had tried every single training program and was pretty much settled on what was ideal for me from that standpoint. But there was something missing.'
Enter Dr. Andre Roux, a young sports psychologist working in what was effectively a fringe speciality in early 1990s. Together with Ken Jennings (of cricketing fame), Roux was a pioneer in what is now critically important component of many a professional sporting arsenal. Having already tasted success with Jannie Breedt and the Transvaal (now Golden Lions) rugby team, Roux was instrumental in Nick's pursuit of Comrades glory. Not that his approach involved any stirring pre-race pep talks, chest thumping or war dances.
'I actually ended up working with Andre for many years afterwards. In fact, there is still a You Tube video that he narrated for my 1997 Comrades duel with Charl Mattheus. And because it was the "down run" that year, I imagined myself as a kamikaze pilot.'
Now there are those who would dismiss such an approach as "airy-fairy", or "mumbo-jumbo" even. Others possibly couldn't imagine a link between "Yster" Bester and "alternative" visualisation techniques. Which begs the question: where exactly does the pursuit of this and a generally non-conformist approach to ultra-marathoning originate?
'I was always experimenting,' says Nick. 'And I still am. I don't watch movies but listen to music. And I read a lot, especially in the sporting, dieting and medical realms. So I've applied a lot of those learnings over the years, and have developed a deep understanding of my body. I can still tell what kind of day I'm going to have physically within a minute of waking up each morning. I guess I'm just a lifetime student of sport.'
Not that it has come easy. Growing up on a farm in the small Free State town of Odendaalsrus was the basis for many of the traits that made Nick a successful athlete. Farming is synonymous with long days and hard work, and this rubbed off on Nick from an early age.
'My father was still playing first team rugby well into his mid-forties,' says Nick. 'But he never had time to train. He just worked himself fit, and would run out onto the field each Saturday together with my brother who was in matric at the time.
'And growing up on a farm meant we ate a lot of meat,' he continues. 'Breakfast would generally be left over lamb chops from the night before with pap, lunch would be boerewors and pap, and dinner would be meat and vegetables. So my body just craves meat, although I do force feed myself fruit and vegetables because I know I need the nutrients.'
And what about what some pundits saw as sporting distractions during his Comrades heydays, otherwise known as canoeing, triathlon and duathlon? Were these extra-curricular activities for enjoyment or purpose?
'Both,' Nick emphasises. 'I was a low-mileage runner for most of career and used the other sports as cross-training to increase my aerobic base. In fact, I did pretty much the same thing throughout my running career. I would get on bicycle the week after each Comrades and gradually bring back the running after a couple of weeks. Then I would focus on getting fast – 10km races, duathlons and triathlons. November would mean time to buildup for the Leppin Ironman in February, followed by a good marathon in March. Only then would I focus solely on Comrades, cutting down on the cross-training but not completely.'
It is this sort of low mileage approach that Nick advises his athletes to follow these days. Yes, that's right. Nick does coach a handful of top athletes these days in his spare time. Gerda Steyn, Irvette van Zyl, Juan van Deventer and a few others make up the Bester stable. And unsurprisingly, he accompanies them on their high altitude training camps.
'Lesotho is a great place for training camps,' Nick enthuses. 'And being up in the mountains is perfect for hiking. When they are there, they hike every day for a few hours, often with weighted rucksacks. Hiking is great for building the aerobic system and additional strength, but without the pounding of running. So this substitutes the second daily run that many athletes do.
'Twice daily running and 200km weeks are against my beliefs,' he continues. 'They just grind an athlete down and are an invitation for injury. Juan is a good example – I cut his mileage in half when we began working together. But we increased the cross-training. Now he is fitter and, more importantly, healthier as a result.'
Header image courtesy of Nick Bester
*SA Runner July 1991 article by Ross Fraser profiling Dr. Andre Roux:
