Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Runner's World South Africa

EVER WONDERED WHY the second half of a marathon feels like an eternity, or that final two-minute rep seems to stretch on forever? According to a new study, it’s because our perception of time slows down during intensive exercise. Twelve fit adults carried out a series of 20-minute rowing and 30-second cycling tests, working at light, heavy and maximum exertion. They were then asked to report when they felt they’d reached 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent of the allotted time. Participants accurately estimated when they had completed 25 or 50 per cent of the time, but their later estimates during heavy and maximal exercise were shorter than the actual time. Lead researcher professor Andrew Edwards says: “A misjudgment in time could lead to a misjudgment in pace… This…

EVERYONE FROM Mo Farah to Paula Radcliffe cut their teeth on the cross-country circuit, and as is clear from their success, embracing the mud can have great crossover gains for road running. Here are three reasons why it pays to get down and dirty at any time of year. In winter you’ll be cold, wet and muddy, but that’s part of the fun. Get tough No doubt about it, cross-country is hard on the body – and that’s why it works. “Running cross-country not only builds your physical strength but also your mental strength,” says Tom Craggs, running coach with Running With Us (runningwithus.com). “It teaches you how much pain you can tolerate – often, that’s a lot more than you think you can.’” Boost your VO2 Short in duration…

In the two years 40-year-old ultra-marathoner John Kagona had lived with his girlfriend Natalie*, not once had she been violent towards him. He had no reason to believe that one day she would stab him in the leg, and stop him from doing what he loved: running. The chances he’d even heard about cases of domestic violence against men were slim, because they aren’t as widely reported as those against women. Men are less likely to talk about their experiences, due to pride, lack of support, and a fear they won’t be taken seriously. For Kagona, it happened four years ago, in the living room of the rented home he shared with Natalie in the Vaal Triangle. It was daytime, and there were no other people in the house. The…

NAME: Sulaiman Jacobs INSTA NAME: @Dexter_nerd87 AGE: 31 HOMETOWN: Parow, Cape Town OCCUPATION: Petroleum engineer for PetroSA. What phone do you use to take your Instagrams? Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Where’s your favourite place to run? The world is my track – I don’t have a favourite place as such. When travelling, often the first thing I pack is running gear. I’ve found that running is a great way to meet new people and discover new places. Tell us about your Insta name. My wife nicknamed me Dexter, after the cartoon character in Dexter’s Laboratory, as I was studying physics when I met her. ‘Nerd’ is because I often do and say nerdy things! ‘87’ is the year I was born. What’s the story behind your top-three most-liked pics? Where…

JANE KLEYNHANS, 29 The Half First-Timer Jane Kleynhans is busy. The 29-year-old from Cape Town juggles a demanding career as a management consulting analyst in Centurion – which involves long working hours, and frequent travel – with a social life. She runs to relieve stress, but fitting it in isn’t easy. “I started running two years ago, with my younger sister Emma and her boyfriend Spencer,” she says. “The reason I carried on was that I enjoyed feeling fit, strong and motivated to excel in other areas of my life.” Kleynhans would love to be able to run every day, but that’s not possible when she’s travelling – at the time of writing, she had flown four times in one week. Sometimes travel leaves her so exhausted, she plumps for…

HOW LONG TO GO Most studies find significant mood boosts after 30 minutes of running. But any run is almost always better than no run; if you’re having a tough day, start with a flexible route that you can shorten or lengthen as feels best. HOW HARD TO PUSH The greatest post-run mood-lifting comes after running at 70 to 80 per cent of your maximum heart rate, or a conversational pace, research indicates. Still, pushing through a hard workout can provide a needed sense of accomplishment, and one you can apply to other areas of life when things feel overwhelming. And if you’re struggling to just get out the door, give yourself permission to run slowly. A study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that symptoms…

APPLE & CINNAMON PANCAKES Bananas and apples are rich in prebiotic fibre to feed friendly gut bacteria. If you need a sweetener, try maple syrup. Makes 6 pancakes. 90g gluten-free oats 55g almonds 250ml unsweetened almond milk 1 medium banana 2 apples cut into chunks Drizzle of maple syrup/honey 1 tsp cinnamon Coconut oil/butter to grease the frying pan 1/ Whizz oats and nuts in a blender until a fine flour forms, then add milk, banana and cinnamon, and blend to a batter. 2/ Stew the apple in a pot until soft, adding a little water if needed and more cinnamon to taste. 3/ Heat and grease a pan, ladle in about a sixth of the batter. Cook for 2-3 mins each side. Set aside and repeat for each pancake.…

SQUASH, QUINOA & CHICKEN POT Rich in gut-boosting proteins. Replace the chicken with tofu or extra chickpeas if you prefer. Makes 2-3 portions. 300g peeled butternut, diced2 tbsp olive oil2 tsp ground cumin½ onion, chopped140g chicken breast, diced (optional)300g tinned tomatoes300ml water200g tinned chickpeasGrated zest of 1 lemonJuice of ½ lemon8 cherry tomatoes80g dry quinoaChopped corianderSea salt and pepper 1/ Heat the oven to 200°C. Put the butternut in a roasting tin, coat it with 1/2 tbsp oil and bake until tender (around 30 mins). 2/ Heat the remaining oil in a casserole dish over a low heat, add the cumin and onion and cook until softened (about 5 mins). 3/ Add the chicken and fry until golden (about 10 mins). 4/ Now add the tinned tomatoes and water, cover…

Tim Boyle ran for many things when he first started in September 2012. First, there was the girl. They had recently broken up. She was a runner, and though, while they were dating, he never quite understood why she’d lace up her shoes and go outside into the frigid northern mornings, he decided that proving to her that he could run a half marathon might take the sting out of their ended relationship. He gave himself six months to train for a race that she had already signed up for, hoping he’d bump into her at the finish line to show her that, yes, he could run, too. Also, there were his lungs. They’d been abused for 17 years from a two-and-a-half-pack-a-day smoking habit that started after he finished high…

“…Nick upped the pace, leaving me for dead and finishing a minute ahead.Being beaten never felt so good.” ON MOST SATURDAY MORNINGS, one of my biggest challenges is getting my 19-year-old son Nick out of bed to run the Rondebosch parkrun. For the last few months of last year it seemed I would lose the battle; but amazingly, he would usually emerge from his room, bleary-eyed and non-communicative, just in time for us to leave. Nick has always claimed to be ‘non-athletic’ – unlike his older brother, who loves riding bikes and does the occasional bit of running. But during the mock exams for his matric last year I convinced him that a 5K parkrun would be a great way to start the day, get oxygen into his brain, and…

BBC “Sitting at your desk, make sure you BBC – put your Bottom into the Back of the Chair.” Work station “Ensure your work station is ergonomically sound, and think about investing in a standing desk. Make sure your screen is at arm’s length and at a comfortable height for your eye line.” Handbag “Women often overfill their handbags, which can throw their backs out of alignment. Empty your heavy bag of unnecessary items.” Meetings “Sitting in one position for long periods affects your posture. Stand during meetings and to make phone calls.” Walk tall “Imagine there’s a wall behind you; this aligns the ear directly over the shoulder joint, making you stand straighter.” Bed sense ‘If your mattress is over eight years old, it will have deteriorated by 75…

Taniko Gough Age: 34 Home Town: Kensington, Johannesburg Height: 1.75m Occupation: Salesperson at a cycling wholesaler Time Required: 10 Months Then: 123kg Now: 77kg THE WAKE-UP In 2013, I broke my back in a cycling accident. A motorist took a chance at a robot on Klip River Drive, and I ended up T-boning her car. She probably saw, and heard, my body roll along the side of her car; and yet she chose to carry on driving. The impact had crushed my L2 and L3 vertebrae, so I spent the next three days in ICU, followed by one month at home and four months wearing a back brace. I wasn’t able to walk around the supermarket, let alone exercise. Over the next two and a half years, I piled on…

NINE YEARS AGO, Sepideh Saremi barely recognised herself. As the primary caregiver for a family member battling cancer, she was dealing with depression and anxiety. In search of healing, Saremi started therapy, and running. Session by session and kay by kay, she built herself back up. Together, these were catalysts for a big change: Saremi gave up her content development job at a start-up to go back to school – to be a therapist. At the University of California, Los Angeles, she studied links between exercise and mental health, and had an epiphany: why not combine therapy and running to amplify their benefits? After joining a private practice in 2014, Saremi tested her ‘running therapy’ theory. She held al fresco, on the go sessions that allowed patients to get outside…

It’s a failure of neither running nor the runner to consider additional treatment for depression or anxiety. Just as a good training programme includes several elements, studies have found better outcomes when exercise is combined with talk therapy or medication. “I think it comes down to how well you’re functioning,” says psychiatrist Dr Brian Vasey. “Are you able to do what you need to do, and experience life to the depths that you would hope, just with running?” If you’re considering medication, know that in general, research finds no boost in, and no detriment to, performance. Anecdotally, runners report a range of responses: some lose interest in pushing that last few per cent in races after going on an antidepressant, while others find their running reborn, thanks to renewed energy…

1 / GARLIC A nutrient-packed prebiotic with an antioxidant punch, plus allicin, which has been linked with improved circulation, heart health and boosting immunity. 2 / BANANAS These prebiotic powerhouses feed your gut while topping up your potassium, making them the perfect pre- or post-exercise snack for runners. 3 / ASPARAGUS Rich in the prebiotic fibre inulin, plus folate, antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, and vitamin K. The less you can cook it, the more fibre it retains. 4 / NATURAL YOGHURT Full of probiotic ‘live’ bacteria. It’s thought probiotics can boost bacteria numbers, and also improve the function of what’s there. 5 / FERMENTED VEGETABLES (PICKLES) Lacto-fermentation involves soaking vegetables in their own juice or brine and allowing bacteria to grow. 6 / JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES These knobbly, prebiotic…

It’s the sort of post-marathon musing you might expect to hear from any well-trained marathon finisher anywhere in the world. But this isn’t a keen 30-something lamenting a mistimed taper. Ed Whitlock is five years short of his 90th birthday. The British-born Canadian national used to surprise competitors in races, recalling bemusement and frustration on fellow runners’ faces as he eased his slight frame past them. Not any more. Now he’s too well known – his ‘notoriety’, as he calls it, built on a series of incredible age-group records from the mile to the marathon. Whitlock is still the only septuagenarian to have run the latter distance in under three hours (2:55, when he was 73, for the record). And in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October last year, aged…

ALICIA JENKINS 29-year-old physical therapist assistant RUNS FOR: Evelyn Pemberton, a seven-year-old with cystic fibrosis MATCHED: 19 September 2016 “When I go to races, I write ‘I run 4 Evi’ on my leg,” says Jenkins, who mails Pemberton a medal, T-shirt, and other race swag after every competition. “We haven’t met in person yet, but I already feel like she’s family.” “The light in Evelyn’s eyes when she talks about Alicia is magical,” says Pemberton’s mother, Samantha. “Knowing Alicia is running for Evelyn helps her push forward.” SCOTT MAYES 45-year-old sales rep RUNS FOR: Maya Owens, an 18-year-old with mitochondrial disease MATCHED: 7 October 2013 “When I run longer distances, I think, Why am I out here? ” Mayes says. “But no matter how much this hurts, Maya goes through…

The Advice Yes, running with music can make your workout feel easier. But according to research from Brunel University in London, listening to the right kind of music – specifically, 20 to 30 minutes of slow, sedate tunes – after a run can also speed recovery. Chill music can lower your levels of cortisol, a hormone released when we’re stressed, the study authors say. Look for songs that are 90 to 115 beats per minute, like ‘The Cascades’ by Fleet Foxes, ‘Appointments’ by Julien Baker, ‘Still Beating’ by Mac DeMarco, ‘Bleak Bake’ by King Krule, and ‘Freak’ by Lana Del Ray. The Poll Runner’s World reserves the right to edit readers’ submissions. All readers’ submissions become the sole property of Runner’s World and may be published in any medium…

Get techy. Leave the ’buds, but bring your phone: Having the bSafe app handy means a simple button push can alert friends of your location and that you’re in trouble if things go pear-shaped. Stick to known trails. The dangers of unexpected turns or a technical route outweigh the benefits of being one with nature. Save adventuring on new trails for well-lit weekend outings. Light the night. Now’s not the time for black zip-ups and matching tights. Layer on bright clothing items with reflective bits, or hi-viz wrist/ankle/waist straps.…

“You don’t look good when you’re running, but you sure as hell look good when you’re not.” I WAS PROMPTED to enter my race number into a little box on a website; and when I did so, a message popped up. It said: ‘3 images found’. Yesss! I’d done well in a 15-K race, and the possibility of bragging-rights-worthy evidence was too much to resist. I’d smiled like Kate Moss when I’d spotted the photographer. (He’d been sitting in a rather dangerous place, might I add; smack-bang in the middle of the road, where it was likely he’d be kicked in the head by thousands of oncoming runners.) His attention won, I proceeded to sort of levitate off the ground, gazelle-like, calves stretched out in a perfect stride. Yeah, that’s…

Skipping stability work. Before you can leap on a leg, you have to be able to stand on it, Santucci says. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll get hurt. That’s why, before starting any plyometric program, he recommends adding balance moves, such as single-leg deadlifts and lateral lunges (with and without weight), into your workouts. Once those moves are mastered, start adding plyos. Thinking every jumping exercise is plyometric. “Plyometrics may involve jumping, but not all jumps are plyometric,” Rosante says. One common mistake he sees: squat jumps. Lowering into a deep squat and jumping as high as you can means your feet are in contact with the ground for too long; the muscle tension dissipates so you have to generate force to jump. Instead, perform a depth jump (right)…

IT SHOWS ME WHO I AM. / Stephen Crane, 42, stay-at-home father I started running in 2015 because I was gaining all my weight back after gastric bypass surgery. My daughter said, “You had that surgery so you could be more active with us, and you aren’t. I want to run a family 5K with you, but I don’t know if you can do even that.” That day, I tried to run around the block. Six months later we did a 5K. At one point during the race, I noticed the look on my daughter’s face, and for the first time I felt like I was leading my family in a positive direction. Soon after, I went off the antidepressants I’d been on for years. From a young age I’d…

PECAN PIE ENERGY BALLS Homemade energy balls are easier to whizz up than you think. This recipe makes 10-12 and they keep in the fridge for up to five days. Wrap a couple up and pop them in your belt for long runs. They're easy to digest on the go and tastier than gels. 80g dried apricots100g toasted pecans4 tbsp gluten-free oats½ tsp cinnamon¼ tsp ginger (ground)¼ tsp cloves¼ tsp nutmeg4 dates FOR COATING: 1 tbsp chia seeds1 tbsp flax seeds 1/ Toast the pecans, then add to a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds, then add all the dry ingredients. 2/ Mix until combined and add the dried apricots and dates. Pulse together until you get a sticky dough. 3/ On a plate, mix the chia and flax…

Joyce Morrison, 69, from Worcester, had never run until she was 60. She took it up to keep her husband company when he resumed running in a bid to combat health problems. He gave up, she continued – and she hasn’t stopped, completing more than 250 parkruns and often running with her two daughters and three granddaughters. ‘I’m hooked,’ she says. In her late 50s, Joyce was diagnosed with multiple back fractures associated with osteoporosis, and put on medication. A few years after taking up running, a scan showed that the back fractures had healed. ‘My doctor said I could stop the medication, as long as I kept up the running. A year later I had another bone scan and the doctor found that in the year since I’d given…

I EYED THE BORDER NERVOUSLY. I tugged on my singlet, adjusted my shorts, and crossed the street. The first guy I met narrowed his eyes. “Some kind of marathon going on?” he said. “Sort of,” I said. “A 5K.” The man seemed surprised. So was I. I was three blocks from home, and this was new to both of us. For the past 20 years, I have lived in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago. More than a hundred years ago, the adjoining neighbourhood immediately to the east, Austin, was a quaint village of leafy streets lined with Victorian houses. But in 1899, Austin was annexed by Chicago, and the fortunes of the two communities diverged, first a bit, and then, with discriminatory practices and white flight…