Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Runner's World South Africa

“Having completed 28, 30 seems like a nice round number.” – Barry Varty, 78 (28 finishes) “I’m always astounded by my body’s ability to recover from a bad patch…” – Louis Massyn, 65 (44 finishes) “Can I go faster? I honestly believe I can.” – Warren Kidgell, 39 (7 finishes) “A few years ago, a work colleague snapped a photo of my bum, and commented: ‘Sorry, but your arse is so big, I can’t fit the rest of your body in the photo.’ When I run my first Comrades this year, I’m going to hang my medal around said arse photo and mail it to her.” - Lee-Anne Freeland Hughes, reader “I think it ranks above anything else.” – Owen Hannie, 38 (novice)…

Running on the road is predictable and it’s easy to get into a rhythm, but the gradient and technicality on the trail can vary wildly – which is why you need to be able to change to another gear quickly. Practice makes perfect. When you’re running uphill, shorten your stride, lean forward slightly, and use your arms to power you up the climb. Good pacing is particularly important on uphill sections, because it makes you more efficient. Combining running with power hiking allows you to use different muscle groups – on steeper hills, power hiking can actually be faster than running. Placing your hands on your quads will provide extra support. Your success on technical downhill sections all boils down to confidence – hesitate, and you will fall. Depending on…

NAME: Tara da Silva INSTA NAME: @tara2silver AGE: 33 HOMETOWN: Centurion, Gauteng OCCUPATION: Graphic designer (and RW May cover model!) What phone do you use to take your Instagrams? My iPhone 7 Where is your favourite place to run? Cape Town. The air is clean, and you can’t beat the view. Tell us about your Insta name. Silver is a play on words: it’s the opposite of my maiden name, Gold. By sheer coincidence, I ended up marrying a guy with the surname Da Silva! My family always joke about the fact I’ve gone from Gold to Silva. What’s the story behind your top-three most-liked pics? Where did you take them, and why? Instagram 1: I’m stretching my legs at the gym. I do this both before and after running,…

FUEL What’s the best post-race brunch? After a run, you need to replenish your carbs, protein, fluids, and electrolytes, which means eating a balanced meal – including water, to rehydrate. A stack of flapjacks has plenty of carbs, but not much protein! To refuel, opt for eggs on toast with bacon, or yoghurt with fruit. If you prefer lunch during brunch, try a chicken sandwich with a salad on the side, or a burger with sweet potato chips. If you’re a salty sweater (you have salt stains on your gear after a run), add a little tomato sauce to your chips, or a dash of salt to your eggs. – Jason Machowsky, sports dietician, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York TRAINING Do I have to wear sunscreen if I run…

Standing on the sweeping bend of the infamous Curva Parabolica, three of the greatest distance in history runners shiver in the late-afternoon breeze, awaiting the signal to begin. Around them, an uncanny silence prevails. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, a historic Formula One racetrack nestled in the woodlands of a former royal park northeast of Milan, can seat 115 000 spectators. Since its construction back in 1922, the ‘Temple of Speed’, as it’s affectionately known, has echoed with the high-octane roar of epic races, hosted countless speed records (at 372.6 kph, which Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya reached in the 2005 Italian Grand Prix, a marathon would take less than seven minutes), and mourned the deaths of more than 50 drivers and 40 spectators, mostly in the freewheeling early days of…

“A few years ago, a work colleague snapped a photo of my bum, and commented: ‘Sorry, but your arse is so big, I can’t fit the rest of your body in the photo.’ When I run my first Comrades this year, I’m going to hang my medal around said arse photo and mail it to her.” – Lee-Anne Freeland Hughes “For the camaraderie. I’m blessed to be participating with the amazing friends running has brought into my life: Janine la Douce and Zelna Swartz Arendse.” – Carmen Gouws “I didn’t finish last year, and it humbled me. I have a point to prove.” – Raymond Donovan Zimbler “I’m doing it for me: I juggle three kids, and run to keep myself sane.” – Denise Schutte “Because after you’ve done one,…

“You’re saying you’re an uptight arse who needs a good shift?” THE MAIN REASONS people take up running are to get fit, lose weight, or win a bet they made after drinking 14 beers. But a CEO called Collin, who we encountered on one of our trundles, gave the most bizarre reason of all: he announced he had taken up the sport because doctors had advised him it would be good for his bowels. Collin was a short, balding fellow. Although he was huffing and puffing, and in obvious distress – maybe it was his bowels – he was running with what I can only describe as… purpose. Collin was earnest. Collin was grimacing. Collin was serious. Ah, I observed, secretly delighted. Collin is suffering more than we are! My…

NAME: ELEANOR PIENAAR AGE: 44 PROFESSION: PERSONAL ASSISTANT On 25 November 2016, Steve and Eleanor Pienaar not only finished the Antarctic Marathon; they became the first South African couple to complete a marathon on all seven continents. Eleanor Pienaar shares her fond memories of travelling and running for 11 years. Steve and I had both run marathons in South Africa. Steve had achieved his Comrades green number, and I my back-to-back medal. But we needed a new challenge. We love to travel and we love to run, so we decided to combine our two passions by touring the international races. First stop: the London Marathon. My family live in the UK, and we ran it in celebration of my dad’s 60th birthday – he himself has finished 13 Comrades. It’s…

Marianda Geel Age: 49 Home Town: Cape Town Height: 1.74m Occupation: Nurse at a doctor’s practice Time Required: 5 Years Then: 208kg Now: 88kg The Wake-Up I had convinced myself there were lots of reasons why I was overweight: among my excuses were depression, insulin resistance, and hormonal issues. The truth? I was an emotional eater who loved her food, and ate too much. My husband won a cruise, which involved flying to Durban. Had I not been too big for the seat on the aeroplane, that would have been exciting news. And I had started working at a doctor’s practice. My new job included handing diet sheets to patients, and advising them on how to lose weight. But I was obese: who was I to lecture anyone about healthy…

217 KILOMETRES THE DISTANCE OF THE BADWATER 135 MARATHON (BELOW), DUBBED THE ‘TOUGHEST FOOTRACE IN THE WORLD’. IT HAS 4 450M OF OVERALL ELEVATION. 92 YEARS The Comrades is the world’s oldest ultra marathon – older than the Washie (SA’s oldest 100-miler, at 41 years), and the Western States Endurance Run (the world’s oldest 100-mile trail run, at 43 years) combined. 8 096 KILOMETRES THE DISTANCE COVERED, DURING THOSE 92 YEARS. 1468 The number of finishers (out of ±2 300 entrants) at the 2016 Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), the longest trail-running race in the world (166km). 498TH Where Runner’s World SA blogger Alana Munnik placed in the 2015 UTMB, out of 1 631 runners. It took her 38 hours. ±80km The distance of the PUFfeR Trail…

“I’d never been in so much pain at the end of a race, but seeing that clock made it all worth it.” When I got back into running at varsity after a break, I took on half marathons, then fulls, running a marathon PB of 3:31. I trained with an athletics club, and most of my teammates were marathoners. But a coach who ran the 800 at university always said a fast 5-K was more impressive than a marathon finish. This stuck in my head, and two weeks after completing the 2016 Boston Marathon, I tested my speed in a 5-K, where I ran 20.40 – a PB by two seconds. With the right preparation, I thought to myself, I could probably break 20 minutes! I targeted the 5-K at…

Why do I get pins and needles in my feet, and tight calves, when I run? – KIRSTEN, LAMBERT’S BAY Your condition is known as Compartments Syndrome. As you exercise, blood is pumped to the muscles where needed; but because the membranes that surround your muscles are too tight, your blood can’t drain out the other end. Your muscles become enlarged, and the membrane becomes a tourniquet, which then causes pins and needles, numbness and pain. The fact that your pain is inconsistent is good news. It could also be caused by inflammation in the lower limb, which temporarily leads to a muscle that’s ‘too big’ for its membrane. Conservative treatment would start with reducing inflammation. I recommend a multiple-modality approach: spend five to 10 minutes, three times per day,…

Boosts Performance Two to three cups of a robust brew can reduce perceived exertion in athletes and increase endurance performance by an average of 24 per cent, giving you an extra push, according to a 2016 review. Preserves Your Memory Moderate, longterm coffee consumption was associated with a 27 per cent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, in a 2016 study. Other research suggests that those who drink three to five cups a day get the most protection. Keeps You Happy A 2011 study found that women who drank two to three cups a day were 15 per cent less likely to develop depression, compared with those who had one cup or less per day. This may be due to how caffeine binds to mood receptors. Promotes Health Studies show…

 THE COMRADES MARATHON. The Ultimate Human Race. The World’s Greatest Footrace*. A South African Institution. The Big C. “…Comrades is the ultimate bucket-list achievement.” It’s that time of the year again, when the pot-holed road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg will echo to the patter of 15 000 pairs of shoes taking on one of the toughest running challenges in the world. But why? Why does this race seem to captivate minds, become a bucket-list event even for non-runners, and maintain a global aura of greatness? Maybe it’s the history (this year’s race will be the 92nd running!), or the all-day live TV coverage – or perhaps it’s just the simple challenge of the extreme that keeps the Comrades still relevant. Not bad, in an age in which instant gratification and…

Elana what does Gold Label Status mean for Cape Town, South Africa and Africa? “A first for Africa, and with less than 35 IAAF Gold Label status marathons internationally, this is a huge honour and achievement. The IAAF Gold Label Sanlam Cape Town Marathon displayed remarkable growth during the past three years: from IAAF Silver Label Status in the first year to Gold Label Status in year three is nothing short of remarkable. It gives a clear indication of just how competent we as Capetonians are in staging world-class events. I am proud to be part of an event that places Cape Town on the global stage alongside cities such as Boston, New York and London. Furthermore we, as athletes and the lovers of athletics, have created a Gold Status…

If you reach the halfway point of a 5-K race feeling calm, comfortable, and confident that you can maintain your pace to the finish line, then you’re doing it wrong. Physiologically, 5-Ks are short enough to run them faster than your ‘critical pace’, a demarcation that separates relatively comfortable paces that you can sustain for longer than about 30 minutes from faster ones where discomfort rises rapidly. Halfway through the race, if you’re chasing a PB, you should seriously wonder whether you’ll make it to the finish. Of course, this makes the urge to slow down – just a little, of course – almost irresistible. One of the best ways to fight that urge, it turns out, is to tell yourself that you don’t need to. ‘Motivational self-talk’ is a…

01/ Saucony Peregrine 7 R2 350 The Peregrine 7 is versatile. Saucony removed a block of bouncy foam from the heel, and gave the shoe a thin, full-length layer of the same material, directly below the sockliner. The upper has a durable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) wrap over the mesh. A nylon-fibre rock plate continues to provide excellent push-through protection, without hindering flexibility too much. 276g 02/ Hoka One One Speed Instinct R1 995 The brand has a huge market share in the USA and Europe, and now it’s available in South Africa, everyone’s talking about it here too. A sleek- and slim-looking shoe, the Speed Instinct features a lower-to-the-ground midsole (compared to other Hokas), and a firmer forefoot that allows for quick push-offs. It’s similar to Hoka’s new road shoe,…

Age-Defying NAME: BARRY VARTY AGE: 78 NUMBER OF COMRADES FINISHES: 28 At 78, Barry Varty is one of the oldest entrants in this year’s Comrades, and he’s always been fascinated by the event’s history. In 1965 and 1967 (both ‘down’ runs), Varty recalls playing the trumpet in the Durban Light Infantry (DLI) Military Band. He was ideally positioned just a few hundred metres from the finish line, which back then was at the DLI grounds in Durban. From his vantage point, Varty witnessed Bernard Gomersall’s win in 1965. Then the closest Comrades of them all, when Manie Kuhn pipped a stumbling Tommy Malone to the finish line in 1967. These were the moments that began to stimulate his motivation to run this iconic race. In 1969, Varty was watching the…