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Well-known South African road running twins Lebo and Lebogang Phalula have defended local runners accused of excessive participation in races.
The twins argue the lack of appearance fees in the country leads them to focus on single races as their livelihood depends on the sport. They also face the added pressure of fulfilling contractual obligations with their running clubs, compelling them to compete tirelessly week after week.
"It's not all about over-racing, because we train every day, so why are we not saying 'over training'? We are racing smart, not all the time we are running a PB (personal best) or the fastest time. As we run we just go the race and be able to obtain the top 10. [But] where there's a race that's paying big money, we can't say no, we are living through these races," Lebo told SABC Sport.
While athletes from abroad prioritise their races because they are lured with substantial appearance fees, the situation is quite different locally, where runners often struggle to secure such financial rewards. Therefore, they have to run week after week to make ends meet.
"Athletics is our job, remember? If you don't run you're not going to get what you want and we are living through athletics. It's not all about money. And also you must remember we're running for Boxer [Running Club] and you sign a contract. Contracts state races that you have to run. They are busy saying South Africans are over racing, so many of the runs that we run is Absa [Run Your City] and Spar Ladies [10km], and no other race outside that we do", Lebohang, argued.
