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Two-times BUPA Great North Run champion Hendrick Ramaala is planning to add to the Great South Run title to his list of achievements this weekend in
Portsmouth.
South Africa's leading distance star will take part in Tyneside's sister race when competing in the BUPA Great South Run on Sunday.
Ramaala winner of two World half marathon silver medals in the past, was approached to enter the south coast meeting after finishing runner-up in
this year's Great North Run. He also has the distinction of running the worlds fastest 10 mile of the year when he posted 45:59 in last months
Zaandam meeting in the Netherlands
Nine days ago the 32-year-old law graduate showed his pedigree to bounce back, when finishing runner-up in the GNR having only four weeks earlier
dropped out of the Olympic marathon with a hamstring injury.
"I had to get my career back on track as quickly as possible and having won the Great North race twice knew it would be a boost to my morale if I had a
high placing," said Ramaala.
He might not have matched the speed of Dejene Berhanu the Ethiopian whose time of 59minutes 37seconds was the quickest-ever half marathon on British
soil.
But Ramaala's clocking of 61min 38sec, was still a world class performance although he was disappointed at not retaining the title he had won for the
second time 12 months earlier.
"Now I'm looking forward to something special in Portsmouth," said Ramaala, whose partner French international Rodica Moroianu has taken part in the
event before.
Ramaala also knows fellow South African Gert Thys is a past GSR champion and believes he can himself win the title for his homeland.
Matthew Turnbull, athletics director of the race, said: "It didn't take too much to twist Hendrick's arm to compete in the race.
"He does want to put the bad memory of Athens behind him and certainly he showed in the Great North Run, he is still one of the World's top men.
"I also owe him a favour as he has stepped into the gap left when Craig Mottram was forced to withdraw from injury."
Mottram the Australian Number One distance runner, after a long hard summer track season, injured himself at the post Olympic Brussels Golden League
meeting and returned home.
Organisers are now putting together the final arrangements as the BUPA Great South Run for the first time, begins a high profile two-days celebration of
road running in Portsmouth.
On Saturday the popular Junior and Mini races will be held in Southsea, while nearby the public have the opportunity to test out their own fitness.
The David Lloyd mile offers every contestant the opportunity to wear an electronic chip which record their personal time accurately for the
distance.
"You never know what talent we might discover and believe me it is a highly popular challenge," said Turnbull, after highly successful David Lloyd Miles
in Balmoral, Manchester and Newcastle, already this year.
Further information:
Nicola Hedley, Nova International, 0191-272-7033
Source Nova
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