Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Runner's World South Africa

THE INBOX WINNING LETTER RUNNERS CONNECT My mom started running when she was in her 30s – I was around eight or nine years old at the time. I remember our Saturday-afternoon drives to measure the route she had run that morning. Mom also took up cycling. But sadly, a drunk driver killed her on one of her training rides, when I was 12. I decided to start running when I was 40, and ended up following many of the same routes my mom used to run on 30 years ago; only nowadays, you measure the distance using a pace watch! Not only do I get a lot of enjoyment out of running – it’s been a way to reconnect with my late mom. – JANET, DURBAN WHERE ARE THEY…

I eat breakfast two to three hours before a race that starts in the morning, so that I don’t wind up feeling ‘heavy’. I find two slices of toast with nut butter, sliced banana and honey easy to eat – and when paired with a good cup of coffee, it gives me lots of energy. If the race starts in the afternoon or the evening, I follow my usual diet: a simple, carb-heavy meal, like avocado on rye toast drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. In the past, I made the mistake of overeating before a race, and then spent the first few hours feeling uncomfortable, as my body struggled to digest the food. These days, I’d rather start a race having eaten less. I carry nutrition with…

NAME: Izak van der Merwe INSTA NAME: @therealizak AGE: 39 HOMETOWN: Centurion OCCUPATION: Manager – Systems and Process Assurance, at software development firm Intenda What phone do you use to take your Instagrams? LG G5 Where’s your favourite place to run? Welvanpas, close to Bainskloof. Tell us about your Insta name. My Instagram account is about the real me, and what makes me tick, rather than what society perceives me to be. Not everyone fits neatly into a box. What’s the story behind your top-three most-liked pics? Where did you take them, and why? Instagram 1: This picture was taken on our farm in the Karoo (close to Fraserburg and Sutherland), on the most beautiful morning. I believe you get the most enjoyment out of doing what you do by…

NAME Piers Stephenson AGE 44 PROFESSION Writer Mauritius is phantasmagorical , each sight more magical than the last. Coming from SA, our winter moodiness emphasised this ethereal quality; a warm-temperate climate makes this island the perfect escape from our coldest months. If God was sparing with the Sahara, He threw the whole palette at Mauritius. Everything is thick with colour: rich, vivid, cloud-filled sunsets and sunrises, and dense, dark-green vegetation that extends from the mountaintops to within a few feet of the ocean. Beneath the turquoise surface, within a couple of flipper kicks from the water’s edge, there are vibrant coral formations abundant with luminescent life: angel, damsel, clown and butterfly fish, eels, and purple urchins with spines like porcupine quills. Travel gets the synapses firing and the brain excited;…

1 Lunges with Calf Raises Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step forward with your right leg and lower into a lunge. Lift and lower your right heel for 10 to 12 reps, keeping your spine straight and weight over your big toe. Push off your front foot to return to standing. Switch legs and repeat for 1 set. Do 3 or 4 sets. 2 Seated Calf Raises Sit on a bench or chair, resting the balls of your feet on a block about 30cm in front of you. Place a weight plate, dumbbells, or a heavy object (like a box with books in it) on your thighs, about 8cm above your knees. Lift your heels as high as possible, squeezing your calves. Slowly drop your heels as low as possible,…

Eliud Kipchoge may not hold the official marathon world record, but with a little help from Nike and Tesla, he has run the fastest marathon ever – 2:00.25, in a staged (and thus ineligible) event in Monza, Italy. Kipchoge’s attempts at breaking the world record (2:02.57) have been undermined by rain (most recently in Berlin, in September), shoe malfunctions (also in Berlin), and tactical race situations. Just before the 2017 Berlin marathon, his training programme found its way onto the internet. We could see what went into producing his 2:03.34 performance, in wet, unfavourable conditions. While his brutal regime is beyond the reach of pretty much everyone in the world, it’s the principles that are valuable. Whether you’re running a 2:03.34 marathon or a 2:03.34 half marathon, there are lessons…

adidas CMMTTD Racer-Back Bra R1 299 Testers enjoyed superior support, thanks to moulded cups that secure breasts close to the body but don’t flatten curves entirely – there’s enough separation to ensure a feminine silhouette. It also manages moisture better than most moulded designs, thanks to a fabric coating that cools the skin, and a ribbed band at the bottom that wicks sweat. A racer-back design gives your arms full range of motion. adidas Concept Stores Puma PWRShape Clash R999 Larger-breasted testers were impressed: double straps, and a front zip with auto-lock, stabilise the breasts and minimise bounce. Testers reported neither pressure points nor any part of the bra digging into their skin; just soft support that allowed them to breathe fully and deeply. Moulded cups flatter fuller figures, and…

The technology used in running shoes is evolving faster than ever before, in response to consumer demands for constant improvement. To remain relevant and attractive, big brands have to plug a lot of resources into research and development. Your favourite model of shoe has to make way for the latest – even if the majority of wearers secretly think there’s nothing wrong with the previous version. That’s because brands have no way of knowing how the market will respond to their products until it’s too late. Simply keeping a successful iteration in production is too risky, so they have to back their upgrades and new inventions. You might see small tweaks to the previous version, or a regression to an earlier model. Regardless of how little your running shoe changes,…

We love a dramatic ending as much as the next runner, but are finishing kicks – those final sprints to the line – a good idea? “If you’re not fighting for a place in the Olympics, I tell middle-aged runners to skip the sprint and put that extra fuel towards a sustained increase earlier in the race,” says Dr Paul Thompson, chief of cardiology at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. Sudden acceleration causes a surge in heart rate, and if you have a pre-existing condition, the strain may put you at increased risk for a heart attack or cardiac arrest. (Keep in mind that these events are still super-rare.) If you’re young and healthy and have been training consistently with lots of speedwork, you can sprint the last 100 metres, says…

“If you’re new to fartleks, take it easy at first – pick a tree or a lamppost, run hard until you reach it, and then resume an easy pace. Repeat once or twice every kilometre.” – Paul Norris Training “First run far. Then run fast.” – Louis Lategan “If you want to improve, don’t repeat the same training regime week-in, week-out.” – Michael Mbatha “Developed an annoying stitch on the run? Here’s how to get rid of it: inhale while you push your stomach out, and pull your stomach inward while you exhale. Do this a few times until the stitch is gone. Works a treat!” – Sandra Radovanovic Buckingham “Ryan Sandes once told me to stop looking down at my watch so often, and enjoy my run. Best advice…

“…you need to de-clutter your emotional lives, before it’s too late!” DID YOU KNOW THAT 80% OF RUNNERS hated running, initially? Neither did I. So I conducted some research – not rigorously scientific, mind you – by asking five of the back of the pack to recall their first long-distance running experience. Four of them agreed: “It was very bad.” Only Kosie said: “Mine was good.” Which at first was hard to believe – until he revealed that the reason it had been so awesome was that he’d run less than 100 metres of his first cross-country race before ducking off to join 10 other skivers, skulking behind the bike sheds. By comparison, his second distance-running experience was dreadful. Kosie and his fellow absentees were caught out – and made…

“Stealing my bag wasn’t his intention.” Tn 1999, Joburg-born Claire McFarlane was was a 21-year-old working part-time in a bar to fund her entry into L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, where she hoped to study fine art. One night, she left her workplace at 3am to take a taxi home – which was nothing out of the ordinary. Sadly, she never made it to the taxi. The man who grabbed and violently attacked her made sure of that. “I knew what was going to happen. Stealing my bag wasn’t his intention,” McFarlane recalls. “I fought hard to get away, but it didn’t help, because the attack became more violent.” Then, she remembered a self-defence course she’d attended at high school in Australia. A rape survivor had suggested other ways to escape…

ED’S CHOICE KWAZULU-NATAL SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER Stadium Dash Durban powered by Peri People’s Park, Moses Mabhida Stadium, 44 Isaiah Ntshangase Road, Durban; Various start times between 7am and 11am Race Organisers 060 966 8061 jumpcitychallenge.com An urban obstacle course featuring 22 awesome challenges. From the dizzying heights of the iconic Moses Mabhida stadium to Kingspark stadium, and from Kingspark swimming pool to the Durban beachfront. TRAIL RUNNING SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER The Encounter EG Trail Run Challenge Cedarberg Farm, Cedarville, Eastern Cape; 21km: 7:50am; 14km: 8am; 6km: 8:20am Sonja 079 335 1807 An epic adventure into East Griqualand’s back country, where there are rolling hills, grasslands, wild flowers, and trails along the Umzimvubu that overlook the unique Cedarville Flats. Single- and farm-track trails…

“Suddenly, a healthy pastime has become a cool way to hang out.” AROUND THE GLOBE, run crews are taking the sport of running and turning it into a cultural phenomenon – one that’s as much about the lifestyle that goes with it as it is about running. South Africa has a history of runners getting together in groups. Running clubs have been the lifeblood of the sport, and have driven its popularity for decades. So how are running crews different? In South Africa, starting a running crew is simply a way of establishing a less formal running club. A group of like-minded individuals get together, set up a WhatsApp group, and meet regularly for a run and some social elixing (is this a millennial word? – Sub Editor) afterwards. Running…

The Wake-Up When I fell pregnant with my daughter four years ago, I was working in the Middle East. I decided to move back home to be closer to my family. Once I had returned, I took eating for two to a whole new level. Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which further accelerated my weight gain. Six months after the birth, I still hadn’t returned to my original dress size – which was horrifying! I hated the way I looked. The Shake-Up I cut down on processed foods, carbohydrates and sugar. Then, I started to run. In the beginning I could barely manage a kilometre, and had to take regular walk breaks. My husband lives and works abroad, so I had to rely on my parents to look after…

Hollywood celebrities are larger than life. They set trends and live the sort of glamorous lifestyles us ‘normal’ people can only dream about. Many of them run, and for the same reasons we do. Can it be that – if we strip away the glossy celebrity veneer – when it comes to running, they’re just as normal as the rest of us? 587km THE TOTAL DISTANCE FACEBOOK FOUNDER MARK ZUCKERBERG RAN IN 2016, AS PART OF HIS ‘A YEAR IN RUNNING’ INITIATIVE, IN WHICH HE PLEDGED TO RUN ONE MILE (1.6KM) A DAY FOR A CALENDAR YEAR. 3:56 The Boston Marathon finishing time of comedian and Talladega Nights star Will Ferrell. 6 The number of weeks Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs took to prepare for the New York Marathon. He cut…

If you’re tossing and turning the night before your race, you may know not to worry: it’s the sleep two nights prior to race day that really matters, right? Believe that, and you’ll truly freak out if something keeps you up (or wakes you) during that supposedly critical time. Instead of stressing, throw everything you think you know about pre-race Z’s out the window, and replace it with this: “While sleep is incredibly important, tonight’s slumber is largely irrelevant,” says Dr W. Chris Winter, a neurologist and author of The Sleep Solution. Winter encourages athletes to remember all the consistent, proper sleep that carried them through their training, rather than angsting over an isolated bad night near the end. “All is not lost if an athlete has a tough night…

You probably know that improving your stride calls for targeting three major lower-body muscle groups – quads, glutes, and hamstrings. But they’re not the only players in the game. Despite their smaller size, your calf and ankle muscles are just as important for improving stride and pushing pace. Just think about how much you actually use those muscles. You activate them each time you stand or walk. When you run, your gastrocnemius and soleus – the muscles that make up most of your calf – produce the majority of that final push you need to propel upward and forward, says Dr Paul DeVita, director of the Biomechanics Laboratory at East Carolina University in North Carolina. And that thrust partially determines your pace and stride length. Which means ignoring those muscles…

Tabata is a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) system that combines short-duration work (20 seconds) with short rest periods (10 seconds). One set lasts four minutes in total. Research conducted in 1996 by Tabata and his colleagues showed that when compared to moderate-intensity exercise, of moderate duration, there was a similar improvement in aerobic function (11%), but a much bigger improvement in anaerobic function (28%), over a five- (moderate) and six-(HIIT) week programme. The ‘aerobic’ test was a VO2Max protocol that showed improved oxygen consumption; while in theory that leads to better aerobic potential, it doesn’t measure your aerobic endurance. This is a consistent flaw in many research projects – a test of sustained endurance, such as a half marathon, would be a more appropriate measure. Tabata includes lots of heavy…