āMichaelās program improved upon whatever Iād built running barefoot and alone on those dusty grounds in Limpopo as a teenager. His philosophy was, āIf it isnāt broke, donāt fix it.ā āWeāll just keep doing what youāve been doing, Caster,ā he would say. He believed in stretching things out, moving along slowly, conditioning, and then when the body was ready, you hit it. He didnāt rush things; he didnāt push until he was absolutely sure. Michael was one of those coaches who didnāt believe in pain; he believed in slow buildups. Mariaās style was hardcore. If the plan for the day was to run 200s in 27s, then that is all we were doing, no matter what. Maria did not rest me well, but she made me a beast, she recreated in me an image of herself. Verster was different from them. Verster believed in gut feelings. Before every session, he would ask me how I felt that day. It was an interesting thing for me. And I could be honest with him. If I said, āI donāt feel like training hard today,ā he would honor that.