AT PEACE WITH THE PAST 

Forgiveness keeps Zola Budd moving forward

During two interviews with Patti Sponsler, former world record holder, Zola Budd, expressed her peace with the past and shared some thoughts on the fresh restart of her career as a Masters (40+) runner. While FLORIDA TODAY ran part of those interviews on Feb. 5, 2010, the conversations in their entirety are printed below.

The Masters (40+) road racing circuit - which includes the Feb. 7 USA Masters Half-Marathon Championship - is often one of second chances. It is for those who came to the sport later in life as well as those who ruled the podiums of past years.

Of all names inked beside past world records, however, none may be more deserving of a fresh start than Zola Budd. At left, Budd on her way to the overall women's win at the Oct. 2009 Pawley's Island Turtle Strut 10K in South Carolina. Her finish time of thirty-seven minutes and thirty-three seconds brought her to the line more than nine minutes ahead of her closest competitor. Photo courtesy of Zola Budd.

After setting a 5K world record of 15:01.83 in 1984 on her native South African soil, the then 17-year-old Budd was thrust on the world stage by a greedy father and a British tabloid hungry to increase circulation.

Because of Apartheid, South Africans were banned from the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The tabloid convinced Budd to bring his daughter to England to compete for the British. Not only did the paper reward him handsomely financially but, because of Zola’s speed and her grandfather’s British birth, it expedited a berth for her on the British Olympic team.

The girl who had run with joyful innocence quickly fell victim to exploitation and her own political ignorance. Unfairly tagged as a symbol of Apartheid, people protested her presence.

Perhaps her most notorious moment came during the hotly contested 3,000-meter Olympic showdown between Budd and American world champion, Mary Decker Slaney. With Budd running barefoot on the inside lane just in front of Decker Slaney, the two bumped twice. Resounding boos filled the stadium as Decker fell to the ground and an unnerved Budd faded back to finish in seventh place.

Although race officials, after viewing race footage, exonerated her from any wrongdoing, Budd’s remarkable athletic accomplishments are still often palled by that Los Angeles shadow.

Today, at 43, the married Budd-Pieterse and her family are living near Myrtle Beach on a two-year visa allowing her to compete on the Masters’ circuit. Although the mother of three has continued to run, she stepped away from the competitive limelight to raise her children.

While Budd-Pieterse is registered for Sunday’s half-marathon, a knee injury suffered just before Christmas may limit her to Saturday’s 8K.

During two interviews with Patti Sponsler, Budd expressed her peace with the past and some thoughts on this fresh phase of her running career. Here are some excerpts:

PS: What brought you to US?

ZBP: I wanted to run on the Masters circuit before I turned 50. My kids are more grown up now so we can do it. (Zola and her husband have twin 11-year-old boys, Mikey and Avell and a 14-year-old daughter, Lisa.)

I am excited about the Masters circuit because it also does a lot for our junior runners. They know that there can be a long future in running for them.

PS: Do your children run and race?

ZBP: Sometimes they do but I don’t want them to take it too seriously. I want them to run only if they enjoy it.

PS: You have all those world records, including a 5K personal best of 14:48.07 (1985), what are you shooting for as a Masters runner?

ZBP: If I can run a steady six-minute pace for the 10K, that would be great.

PS: Many Masters’ athletes take up coaching voluntarily or for a tiny stipend; what intrinsic value do you receive?

ZBP: I think you have to be passionate and want to give back what you got. (Zola is a volunteer assistant coach at Coastal Carolina University near Myrtle Beach.)

PS: What did running give you?

ZBP: Endurance-physical and emotional.

PS: What do you want to pass on to the kids you coach?

ZBP: Most importantly is a balance and perspective on life. You can enjoy running more if you know that even if you fail in a race, you don’t fail as a person.

PS: You seemed to disappear from competition in the early 90s, were you still running?

ZBP: I was still running but not at a high level. I had children and the focus changed from competition to fitness.

PS: What effect has motherhood and aging had on your training?

ZBP: There is a big shuffle in training after kids. You have to find time when you’re not too tired and when you have someone to watch them. With aging, you can still train hard but recovery time increases dramatically. You have to take care of your nutrition and eat healthier. When I was younger, I could eat anything and was fine; now I have to be conscious of what I eat.

PS: What brought you back to competition?

ZBP: For the experience and enjoying it again. Running has come full circle. This time I am running for myself because I really enjoy it. You go through various stages and then come back to health and well-being. This is good. I don’t feel any pressure.

PS: Are you eligible for the prize money at the Melbourne race?

ZB:  No, I’m not an American citizen.

PS: As soon as most runners hear your name, one or more of the following come to mind: world champion; barefoot runner; political victim and/or Mary Decker. How would you want people to remember you in the future?

ZBP: It’s difficult to say. On a personal level the legacy I would like to leave for my children would be for them to carry on their lives in a balanced and fulfilled manner.

PS: I’d read you completed your undergrad in psychology and had just finished up your masters in religion-based counseling. Did you choose this field of study to help you with what you’ve been through?

ZBP: Yes, I had started looking into my own life. It is only through helping others that you really get to help yourself.

PS: Many of us get our identity wrapped up in our sport or work. When those things start to decline, how does one separate that from who they really are and keep their sanity, self-esteem, and peace?

ZBP: It’s difficult. When you’re doing well in that you forget what life is really about. It comes back to having balance and reminding what is really important to me every day. I don’t know what it is for others, but for me my faith keeps me sane.

PS: Has your spirituality helped you forgive those in your past?

ZBP: I practice proactive forgiveness. I forgive but it is hard to forget because you have to learn from your past.  I am at peace with the past.

PS: Most runners aren’t as fast as they used to be. How does one come to terms with that?

ZBP: It’s difficult. I’ll look at my watch at the five-mile mark of a 10K and think ‘I’d be finished by now’. (Laughs.) That’s why you have to be running for personal satisfaction.

PS: What piece of advice would you give the young and upcoming world champions?

ZBP: It is so difficult to be in that situation. You’re so caught up with it, thinking only about your next training. Your whole world revolves around it. You don’t hear what other people are trying to tell you. Only when you have it taken away do you realize there is a life outside of sport. It is liberating.

PS:What piece of advice would you give to newer runners, especially those ages 40 and up?

ZBP: Every moment that you can put into your health now is an investment in the quality and longevity of your life, especially if you are lucky enough to live into your 70s and 80s.

PS: Do you see any cultural differences between the US and SA in terms of Masters running?

ZBP: “Masters racing is very big here but small in SA. Most who are masters run with everyone else but it is starting to pick up in cross-country. They are starting to separate (masters) at the higher level and for money.”

PS: How about any differences in cultures in terms of women running?

ZBP: Not really. Maybe in South Africa the males are a little more competitive. They don’t like women beating them.

PS: They don’t like it here either.

ZBP: Laughs.

PS: I’ve read the in SA, taxis are referred to as Zola Budds, any relation?

ZBP: They started that in the 80s when I was running internationally.

PS: Are you still recognized in SA?

ZBP: In my age group. (Laughs)

PS: Good luck in Melbourne!

ZBP: We’re looking forward to it.