Sibusiso Nzima, Lungile Gongqa and Irvette van Zyl will represent South Africa in the marathon. Zimbabwe's Rutendo Nyahora will also compete in the marathon, and Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhasi will run the 5 000 metres.

 

The five athletes will be the first to admit that being part of the Nedbank Running Club certainly made it easier for them to qualify for the Games. The only thing they had to worry about for the past 12 months was putting in the long, hard hours.

 

The Nedbank Running Club's support structures helped the athletes with their diet, travel arrangements and physiotherapy. They also supplied the necessary running kits and paid their coaches. But most importantly, the athletes were paid a monthly retainer that made it possible for them to be more selective about when and where they have raced. They never had to run too many races.

 

Van Zyl will probably be the athlete to watch. Lindsey Parry, her coach, is confident that she might run a time faster than 2:30. If she sticks to their game plan, she might even come close to improving on Colleen de Reuck's South African record of 2:26:35 (Berlin, 1996).

 

Van Zyl boasts with a best time of 2:31:36, which she ran in London in 2013. In spite of cramping quite badly during the last few kilometres, she finished 15th in the London Marathon earlier this year. Her running time was 2:32:20.

 

Van Zyl and Parry agree that they have learned valuable lessons from her participation in London, which will hopefully stand her in good stead in Rio.

 

The humidity in Rio could make it difficult for the athletes to race for fast times. In all probability the marathon will be more of a tactical affair, which may suit van Zyl. If she manages to keep her cool throughout the race, she might finish in the top 15 or better.

 

Nyahora improved on her marathon time in April when she ran a time of 2:39:58 in Vienna, Austria.

 

According to Nyahora, the best decision she ever made was to come to South Africa and join the Nedbank Running Club. It gave her an opportunity to train and race in a competitive and organised athletics environment.

 

Nyahora's goal is to finish in the top 20 in Rio.

 

Judging by the four Olympic Games in which he had competed, Hendrick Ramaala is realistic about what he expects from his two protégés, Nzima and Gongqa. He predicts that it will not be the fastest runner who will win, but the cleverest.

 

'Sibusiso and Lungile are still novices when it comes to marathon running, and it will be their first time competing at the Games. So my advice to them is not to go out there and try to win. I just want them to run to the best of their abilities. Whatever happens, will happen. The fact that there are no real expectations for them to perform, will help. Who knows, one of them might just finish in the top 10. As their coach, I will be happy with a top 20 finish.'

 

It is interesting to note that Nkhasi beat South Africa's 5 000 metres Olympian, Elroy Gelant, in an exciting sprint finish to win the Two Oceans half-marathon in a time of 1:3:38.

 

With a best time of 13:21.68 in the 5 000 metres, the big challenge for Nkhasi in Rio will be to qualify for the final. However, if he only improves his own best time, it will still be mission accomplished.