Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Runner's World South Africa

“…think strategically about your post-run pong.” STINKY SHOPPER I like to do errands after my long run, but I worry that I stink. Should I go home and take a shower first? – GARY, Port Elizabeth Oh, puh-lease! Just think about what happens if you go home and shower first: during the drive, your car billows out harmful CO2 emissions – which means that all of a sudden, the earth will shrink to the size of a pea. When the entire population of the world is being evacuated, pending our new life on Mars, who do you think we’ll blame for the inconvenience? Fact: people stink. From the guy who farts in your office lift, to the woman eating slap chips in the close confines of a minibus taxi. At…

BuildMeUp, Buttercup WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUARY Mpumalanga 01 / STEFANUTTI STOCKS VALENTINE’S NIGHT RACE Sasol Recreation Club, Nelson Mandela Drive (previously President Swart Street), Secunda; 10km: 7pm; 2km: 7:05pm Wynand 071 858 4228 / Tersia 083 320 9119 In the true spirit of love, this race is suitable for the whole family – even your kids and grandparents can walk or run the 2km route. Each lady who finishes the 10-K will receive a Valentine’s gift. FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY Gauteng North 02 / KFC RANDBURG HARRIERS 10KM VALENTINE’S NIGHT RACE Randburg Central Sports Complex, corner Silver Pine Avenue and Republic Road, Randburg; 10km: 7pm; 5km Fun Run: 7:15pm Michelle Knotzer 011 028 0110 / 072 276 9635 randburgharriers.co.za Prizes will be awarded to…

How can I get through running in the summer months? 1. Run at the coolest time of day, which is usually just before sunrise. 2. Avoid running during the middle of the day – usually the hottest time. 3. Plan shady routes, and/or routes with water fountains. 4. Wear loose fitting, light-coloured technical clothing that wicks away sweat and dries quickly. 5. Consume adequate amounts of water and sports drink. 6. Avoid getting sunburned – injured skin loses its ability to sweat, making cooling less efficient. 7. Examine any medications you may be taking, as some may increase your sensitivity to heat. 8. Slow your pace down to adjust for heat and humidity. 9. Run by feel or perceived exertion level rather than pace. If a run feels hard, it…

“Don’t run on an incline all the time...” Circumstances have prevented me from running on the road. Is the treadmill a good substitute? – CANDICE, Stellenbosch The treadmill is a great substitute for running on the road, because essentially you’re still running. Your running mechanics and energy expenditure will differ slightly on the treadmill – because you’re landing on a softer, moving surface – but for many people it’s the only realistic way to maintain running fitness. In fact, it’s such a good substitute that Alberto Salazar won the Comrades Marathon in 1994 by training almost exclusively on a treadmill. He had opted to do so to avoid running in the unfavourable climate in his hometown. FOLLOW THESE BASIC RULES: • Vary the gradient, to ensure your run doesn’t become…

IF YOU WERE GIFTED a few kilograms this holiday season, skipping your morning meal is not the way to get rid of them. In fact, 78 per cent of people who lost weight and kept it off ate breakfast every day, according to the US National Weight Control Registry. To fuel your run and recovery, and stay full, you need the right breakfast – one that has protein. When you wake up, your body needs the power-building nutrient because your muscles are breaking down protein, according to research from McMaster University in Canada. “You want 30 grams at breakfast,” says researcher Stuart Phillips. CURB YOUR APPETITE A breakfast with at least 30 grams of protein slows the release of the hormone ghrelin, which triggers feelings of hunger. Consuming protein at…

These moves work your abs as well as your hips, glutes, lower back, and hamstrings – all the muscles that help you maintain proper running form even when you’re fatigued. “I get hurt when I stop doing this routine consistently,” says Jason Fitzgerald, founder of StrengthRunning.com . Do each exercise for 45 seconds. Go through all the moves twice; it will take about nine minutes. After a few weeks, increase to one minute for each. PLANK ● Lie on your stomach, then prop your weight on your forearms and toes, forming a straight line from head to feet. Hold. BRIDGE ● Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Lift your hips, forming a straight line from shoulders to knees. Extend…

Leave your phone with your cheering squad. This may seem unthinkable, but unplugging allows you to take in the sights and sounds of the event you paid to enter. And when you’re not listening to music, you’re better able to tune in to your breathing, your effort level, and the runners around you, says coach Elizabeth Corkum. Pace yourself. The excitement at the start makes it easy to shoot out at an unsustainable pace. This could lead to feeling burned out later on in the race, or worse, failing to finish. First- or second-time half marathoners might run the first 15km easy and the last 5km a bit harder, while more experienced runners could run the first 10 or 12km at a moderate pace before picking it up. Walk through…

“The great thing about children is that you never really know their potential until they’re late into their teens...” In a few months’ time, I will become a father again – 22 years after my first son was born, and 18 years after my second. It’s a momentous occasion in our family and the start of a new journey, with a brand-new little person who will almost certainly break the world marathon record in 2040. We aim to have the little sprog walking after a month and at least doing a gentle 5km by the time he or she is three. By 10, Finch Jnr will be a star track athlete, and by 16 be dominating on the road, to build speed for a marathon debut in the mid-20s. In…

 Does strength training help runners? – MARY, Ficksburg “The more efficient you are, the faster and longer you can run.” As a professional ultra-distance runner, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve. That’s why during my offseason, I dedicate eight weeks to strength training – hitting the weights and performing exercises like deadlifts, lunges and kettlebell swings. This improves my overall body strength and running efficiency. The more efficient you are, the faster and longer you can run. And after a long season, and with many kilometres in my legs, I tend to suffer imbalances in some of my muscle groups. Strength work corrects these imbalances and lowers my risk of injury. The most important way to improve as an athlete is to be consistent with your training. If you…

In the days leading up to the birth of our second child, my wife and I entered into two bets. Firstly, on the day before the Olympic 400-metre race we agreed that if Wayde van Niekerk bagged gold, and the baby was born on the following day, and it turned out to be a boy, I would be allowed to give the child ‘Wade’ as a middle name (omitting the ‘Y’ to accommodate a family spelling). The second bet was based purely on gender. If the baby was a boy, I would be allowed to enter a road race in 2016 – no strings attached. But if it was a girl, I would take my wife out for a meal at an obscenely overpriced restaurant. Why didn’t I plump for…

How to get there Mango flies direct to Stone Town from Johannesburg, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. For a more affordable option, Ethiopian Airlines flies to Stone Town via Addis Ababa and Kilimanjaro. What to do • A trip on a dhow (local fishing sailboat) over the freshest blue water (which is bathwater temperature), followed by snorkelling with tropical fish, is a must. Price: US$10 (R150). • The beach resort/bar, Upendo (‘Love’, in Swahili), in Jambiani. Ideal for exotic drinks and festive live music. • A visit to the Daranjani Market will ignite your senses: colourful spices, fruit and clothing. (I suspect the meat section is as aromatic now as it was on the first day of trading, over 100 years ago.) • A spice tour: experience the colour, taste and…

SIT ON THE FLOOR With a pillow under your rear, try sitting on the ground while tackling a basket of laundry, reading, or eating lunch. “There are loads of ways you can position your joints – sitting cross-legged, sole to sole, with your legs out in a V, with your knees tucked up – that encourage mobility we don’t get from a chair,” says Bowman. STRETCH YOUR CALVES Give TLC to tight calves by placing a rolled-up towel on the floor where you stand during the day, such as in front of the kitchen or bathroom sink. When doing dishes or brushing your teeth, put the ball of your foot on the towel and your heel on the floor for a gentle stretch. HANG OUT It’s rare for adults to…

Running, as a great article about US Olympian Ian Dobson a few years ago put it, should be mathematical – but it’s not. In theory, if you know someone’s VO2max, lactate threshold, and running economy, you should be able to calculate how fast they’ll be able to run. In reality, as the ongoing debate about the prospects for a sub-two-hour marathon has revealed, it doesn’t work that way. DON’T RELY ON NUMBERS One of the sources of additional complexity is that quantities like running economy (i.e. how much oxygen, and therefore how much energy, someone requires to cover a given distance) aren’t fixed in stone. If you measure someone’s running economy in the lab, that’s what it will be at the start of a marathon. But will economy be unchanged…

One of the reasons is a digestive system shutdown. When you’re running, oxygen-rich blood is directed away from the stomach and other non-essential organs and sent to your lungs, heart, and other working muscles that need it more during high-intensity efforts. Because your stomach doesn’t have the normal resources to digest nutrients as efficiently as usual, this might be why you end up tossing your cookies, especially if you consume too much fuel while running or too soon after you finish. Running while it’s hot and humid outside produces the same result, because blood flow is redirected to the skin as a means to cool down the body.…

INTERVAL TRAINING isn’t new to runners. The concept is simple: instead of exercising at one pace for an extended time, you alternate between short, high-intensity bursts and longer recovery periods. While steady-state cardio trains your muscles to be more efficient – an important adaptation for distance runners – occasionally working at the high-intensity level can lead to burning more kilojoules for hours after the session has ended. Exactly how many more is difficult to calculate, because every person’s body is different – but it can be as high as 25 to 30 per cent more than steady-state workouts, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. And high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that incorporates strength moves helps build total-body fitness in a way that interval running does not. Do the following…

MEAT-LOVER PLATE Lightly sauté 2 slices pre-made polenta and top with 2 poached eggs and 50 grams of bacon. Serve with 1 cup kefir mixed with ½ cup mashed berries. TOFU SCRAMBLE In 1 Tbsp. olive oil, sauté ½ cup each sliced courgette and mushrooms, and ½ small diced onion. Add 2/3 cup cubed, firm tofu, allowing excess water to burn off. Add 2 cups baby spinach and let wilt. Top with ¼ cup dairy-free cheese and let melt. Serve with slice of whole-grain bread and 250ml of soya milk. PANCAKES Add ½ scoop protein powder to your pancake mix. Top with ½ cup yoghurt, ¼ cup chopped walnuts, ½ cup strawberries. Serve with 2 chicken sausages. SUPER BOWL Top 1 cup cottage cheese with 15 grams of almonds, ½…

PORTABLE TIME OUT Hanging out after the race with your crew is a great time for socialising and recovering for your next run. An air hammock can be taken anywhere with little fuss. Once you’ve inflated it, you can kick back in comfort – no matter where you find yourself. AIR MATE R649 airmate.co.za Air is trapped in two cavities, connected and sealed with a rollback mechanism that firms up to accommodate your bodyweight. It’s made from durable rip-stop nylon, which is anti-tear and watertight. VERSATILE SHOES Planning to try out multiple types of races this year, from road to obstacle? The varied terrain you’ll encounter will place equally diverse demands on your running shoes. Opt for a shoe that has short, middle and long-distance capabilities, and a neutral set-up…

“My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 10, at a family cabin. In high school I was on a shooting team, then I joined the US Army. I’ve always been around guns. I got my concealed carry permit in January 2016. I carry a Walther CCP – I named it Walter. I sometimes let my friends or family know, ‘I’ve got Walter with me.’ I clip it to the front pack that is part of my ultra kit. “I’m training for a race that’s kind of crazy [the Grand to Grand Ultra, a 275km, seven-day stage event]. Where I live, during the day it can be 35 degrees with 100 per cent humidity. I work with a trainer in the morning, so this summer I was often…

DISTANCE ICONS: FIND EVENTS WITH YOUR FAVOURITE DISTANCES QUICKLY, USING THE FOLLOWING GAUTENG SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY Deloitte Pretoria Marathon Pretoria High School Old Boys Club, Hofmeyr Park, 378 Queens Crescent, Lynnwood; 42.2km & 21.1km: 6am; 10km Run and Walk: 6:15am Graham S 076 246 5185 / Graham G 073 171 7507 Three bands line the route: a Scottish pipe band at the top of Klapperkop Hill in the Nature Reserve, the Boys’ High Jazz Band at the hill that leads into the school, and the Salon Band in the school grounds. T-shirts are given to the first 5 000 entrants, and there are cash incentives for any runner who breaks either the men’s marathon record (2:22.19) or the women’s (2:50.40). Enter the 10-K only on race day. SATURDAY 4 FEBRUARY…

NAME: PRODIGAL KHUMALO AGE: 34 PROFESSION: SALESMAN, DEVELOPMENT COACH, ULTRA-DISTANCE RUNNER. Zimbabwean-born Prodigal Khumalo honed his athletic skills in South Africa – which resulted in impressive wins in track and field, and at road-running events including the 2010 City2City Marathon. Then, the recent boom in trail and ultra running prompted Khumalo to try his hand at trail running. He won the 100-K event at the 2016 Ultra-Trail Cape Town ®  (UTCT), in a time of 11:07.12. Though Khumalo appears to have transitioned seamlessly from track to road and from road to trail, the man of many talents insists his success has more to do with hard work than natural-born luck. To prove it, he balances his running with a 9-to-5 job, and devotes even more of his time managing…

BUSI SIKOSANA Age: 42 Home Town: Katlehong Height: 1.67m Occupation: Admin Controller Time Required: 10 Months Then: 130kg Now: 96kg THE WAKE-UP My pregnancies were all difficult – I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (a condition characterised by high blood pressure, sometimes with fluid retention) and bed rest was ordered, my liver became enlarged, I delivered prematurely, and I had two miscarriages. Food became my way of coping, but the more I ate, the higher my blood pressure rose. My knees became so painful, I couldn’t sleep at night. You’d think that might have been my wake-up call – but it wasn’t. I simply made excuses as to why I couldn’t exercise: I said it was because of my health problems, not the other way around. Then, I bought a car.…

With so much in common, sex and running should go together like skorts and a tank top – both get your heart pumping, burn kilojoules, and release endorphins. But not all runners agree: while some say running improves sexual performance, and see sex as a great warm-up for a run, others steer clear of marrying the two altogether, believing sex to have an adverse effect on their running ability – especially if it’s indulged in on the night before a race! Runner’s World weighs up the pros and cons of the runner’s most addictive pastimes. 39% Of RW readers say running has improved their sex life. 40% Of RW readers say they’d rather run than have sex. 48% Of runners say pre-race sex fuels their running performance, according to a…

Hydration packs are more lightweight and comfortable in 2017, which will catapult the ‘seasoned adventurer’ look back into fashion. That’s good news for trail runners: they’ll have regular access to water in remote areas. This top-end pack fits your body’s shape, without imposing on your shoulders, back and neck. Because the weight is distributed evenly, you’re less likely to experience ‘hot spots’ of pressure – which can lead to muscle stiffness, discomfort and loss of energy. And clever designs make accessing on-the-go snacks easier than ever. (For this pack, and 10 more of this year’s biggest trends, turn to page 57.)…

When you run, you get warm because your exercising muscles increase body temperature. When body temperature rises, a greater percentage of blood flow is directed to your skin surface in order to carry away this internal heat, and you sweat. However, it’s not the sweating that cools you, but rather the evaporation of the sweat from your skin. As sweat evaporates, we cool down. DOUBLE WHAMMY Along with higher temperatures, summer weather usually means high humidity. The higher the humidity, the more saturated the air is with water, and the harder it is for you to cool off – because the sweat simply cannot evaporate, due to the already saturated air. LOSS OF ELECTROLYTES Since sweat is composed of plasma from your blood, sweating can decrease blood volume. This is…

With stress such as relocating, how much should I run? Moving to a new city is a huge transition and is usually very stressful. Running should serve as a stress reliever, not a stress producer. I suggest cutting back your weekly mileage by about 30 per cent. This is the perfect time to run by ‘feel’ rather than trying to adhere to a set pace and distance. For example, run three or four days per week rather than five or six days a week. – Susan Paul has coached 1 350 runners and is an exercise physiologist and programme director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation Is wearing compression gear to bed safe? Wearing compression tights to sleep should not be a problem. Hospitalised patients sometimes wear compression stockings for…

Predictions earned themselves a bad rap in 2016. First Brexit, then Donald Trump – who could’ve seen either of those coming? Nobody predicted Leicester would win the English Premier League, either (the soccer team defied the bookies’ odds, making this the biggest surprise of them all!). But one positive contribution to the prediction market was made: in running, in the form of a more accurate tool for runners to predict their race times. I’m sure you’ve all seen these prediction calculators online – typically, you’ll enter your times over distances X and Y, and then a calculator will pop out a prediction for distance Z. For instance, one of these (called the Riegel formula) calculates your 10km time by taking your 5km time and multiplying it by 2.085. A 25-minute…

KEEP MOVING You may continue to run if slowing down allows you to log kays without pain and with proper form, says Dr Lewis Maharam, a sports-medicine doctor. “Running while recovering from muscle strains or tears brings bloodflow to the area and helps the muscle heal properly,” he says. However, don’t run if an injury changes your gait, or if you have a stress reaction or fracture. In those cases, keep up a routine with no-impact cross-training, such as pool running or swimming. If you were running four times per week, having something to do instead will help you maintain fitness and sanity. STAY FLEXIBLE Foam rolling and dynamic stretches will pump healing blood to injured tissues and improve range of motion, says Michael Conlon, physical therapist and owner of…

FOLLOW THE 90/10 RULE. Aim to eat healthfully 90 per cent of the time. Your usual diet should be a mix of complex carbohydrates (from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains), lean protein (from poultry, fish, dairy, and legumes), and healthy fats (from foods like nuts, olive oil, and avocado). The other 10 per cent of the time, enjoy your favourite indulgences. MAKE SURE YOU’RE GETTING ENOUGH CARBS. To perform your best, you need to consume between 1.5 and 3.5 grams of carbohydrates per 500 grams of bodyweight each day that you work out for 30 or more minutes. FUEL YOUR WORKOUTS AND RECOVERY. Have a carb-rich 835- to 1 250-kilojoule snack about two hours before a workout that will last longer than an hour and/or will have you running at…

When Franziska Blöchliger was murdered while trail running in Cape Town’s Tokai Forest, runners reacted with understandable shock, alarm, and concern. Nothing about the teenager’s final kilometres should have been out of the ordinary: she headed out in broad daylight. She ran on a route she’d travelled safely in the past. Yes, her death occurred while she was running by herself. But almost every runner trains alone sometimes. That such ordinary circumstances led to such unfathomable tragedy made her story especially heartbreaking. As details of her murder spread, well-meaning non-runners started peppering the athletes in their lives (especially the women) with advice: don’t run with headphones. Don’t run in the dark. Don’t run alone. Runners joined the discussion, too – some eager to share what they do or carry to…