From the Ice Rink to the Marathon Route: South African Ice Hockey Captain Embraces the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Challenge Once Again

It’s not often that you see an athlete from a different discipline tackling a full marathon, let alone a professional one. However, not only did Uthman Samaai, South African Ice Hockey Captain, take on the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon last year, but he’s trading his skates for sneakers once more and will be joining us on the start line in 2024.

It’s a testament to his versatility and determination, proving that champions can shine both on the ice and under the African sun. As he takes on this challenge, we dive into his journey, motivations, and the inspiring story behind this intriguing athletic endeavor.

The pull of the elusive sub-16min 4km

Uthman’s affair with running started with the Bleep Test — a toxic relationship if you will; anyone who’s ever dabbled with the Bleep Test will attest to this. He hated running, yet loved the reward. With the addition of a new national coach, Björn Kinding, came the addition of a new challenge: a 4km time trial. And so, a much more positive relationship was formed, one of give and take with tangible results. “I much prefer this time trial compared to the Bleep Test, and ended up getting super into running, trying to beat my time each session with the aim of getting as close to sub-16 minutes as possible,” says Uthman.

As a runner, you may be intrigued to hear of a 4km time trial. What on earth happened to that fifth kilometer, you ask? Welcome to ice hockey math. Just like how a marathon is really only two half marathons, which is four ten-kilometer races and some change — totally doable — ice hockey math breaks the game up into fractions.

“The way ice hockey works is that you are on the ice for 30 to 40 seconds at a time, with the average time that you will be on the ice for a game equaling around 16 minutes,” explains Uthman. “So the logic behind this time trial is that you should be able to run flat out for 16 minutes total. Being a non-running athlete at the time, the idea of running at a 4 minute kilometer pace absolutely blew my mind. How was this even possible?” he adds. But like anything, hard work and consistency paid dividends, and after working on our 4km time trials consistently for 3 years, everyone on the team decreased their times, many getting close to that 16 minute mark.

4km to a Marathon, and the Olympic Dream

With speed now in the bag, Uthman set his sights on tackling distance. He first graduated to a ten-kilometer race and, before long, found himself at the start line of his first-ever half marathon. “Running is such a unique sport in terms of community,” says Uthman. “It’s very different from what I have experienced in other sports. Everyone is so welcoming and encouraging,” he adds. We think he means a little “peer pressure-ing” too, because with all this encouragement, Uthman quickly found himself signing up for his first-ever marathon: the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. “I was also really inspired by watching other races, where I saw people of all shapes and sizes completing marathons. If they could do it, why couldn’t I?” he explains.

While his affair with running blossomed, Uthman’s heart still belonged to ice hockey, with his team chasing an Olympic dream at the time. “We were going to the Olympic Qualifiers in December last year, and were doing various fundraisers at the time to try and make the dream happen,” he says. And so, in what seemed like a natural leap, Uthman combined the two — roping in a fellow teammate, Luke Carelse, to complete the marathon alongside him as a fundraiser.

In the end, the South African team was able to raise enough to get to their qualifiers through the support of the South African Ice Hockey Federation combined with various fundraisers, the marathon included, and performed admirably. Despite not succeeding in securing an Olympic spot, for their first-ever time at the Olympic Qualifiers, they made it to round two, squaring up against teams ranked significantly higher and still holding their own.

Running his first marathon stride by stride with his teammate

So what was race day like for a newbie runner? “Hard but rewarding,” is how Uthman sums it up. “You find out a lot about yourself after kilometer thirty,” he chuckles, recalling the notorious ‘loop of death.’ “I was on pace for my goal of sub 4 hours 30 minutes, but it slipped away on that section. I ended up finishing in 4:47, which I was honestly chuffed with for my first marathon,” he admits. Running stride by stride with his teammate from start to finish made the experience even more special. “The crowds were amazing, and crossing that finish line was an incredible moment. I was so proud,” he adds.

As for this year’s time goal? Uthman is keeping it under wraps to avoid jinxing it. You can follow his journey as he gets race-ready on his Instagram Page @uths_life, where he shares training tips, workouts, and his general experience. It’s a glimpse into how an “average” runner – but dedicated athlete – prepares for a marathon. In fact, why not join him and his teammates on our start line this year? As he said so aptly at the beginning of this piece “if others can do it, why not you?”