Comrades Supplement Comrades Training and Info Guide, January 2014 | Page 4

MESSAGES Hard, but Great Entering the Comrades Marathon is one thing… training for it is a whole different story. It takes commitment, effort, hard work, perseverance, sacrifice – and early nights to bed coupled with early morning starts for training runs. It isn’t easy training for the Comrades, and that’s why the marketing campaign for the 2014 race is so appropriate: Hard is what makes it great. That really sums up this race in a nutshell. But don’t let that put you off, because it’s the very toughness of the challenge that makes achieving a Comrades medal that much sweeter. Reaching the finish line in Durban this year will mean that you did the ‘hard yards’ in the months leading up to the race and made it all the way. Yes, some will unfortunately fall by the wayside, both before and during the race, but that is part of the challenge, and what makes that small Comrades medal so sought after. If it was easy to achieve, everybody would have a whole boxful of them. But they don’t. So join us on a training journey leading up to 1 June. Find the training programme that works for you, and take to heart the advice we have provided here, and then we’ll see you on the start line in Pietermaritzburg in a few months’ time. All the best for your training. Sean Falconer Modern Athlete Editor Be Part of Greatness We are highly optimistic about our Comrades Marathon Down Run on 1 June. The 89th edition of this gruelling 89km ultra-road running challenge has already been oversubscribed with runners from more than 60 countries having entered. We are pleased with this 2014 Modern Athlete Training Guide, which is packed with helpful hints and tips for our runners. Together with great advice from our Official Comrades Marathon Coach, Lindsey Parry and other experienced Comrades Marathon runners, we are certain that this supplement will add value to all runners who are currently training for The Ultimate Human Race. CALLING ALL RUNNERS We invite you to be part of the Comrades festivities and to read about all of this on our revamped website: www.comrades.com, where you’ll find up-to-date information on our race and find out more about all the other initiatives that the CMA has in store. Our new roadshows kick off in January, where we will be catering for novice runners as well as tailor-made workshops for the ladies who will be running the Comrades Marathon. CALLING ALL ORGANISERS We are also pleased to remind our runners that our collaboration with New Balance as our technical and apparel partner of the 2014 Comrades Marathon has ensured that an exciting new range of running gear is now available through our online shop at www.comrades.com. When you take part in a Comrades qualifying event timed by Peak Timing, using ChampionChip technology, your qualifying times will automatically be sent to Comrades for calculation of your seeding batch.We wish you all the best for your training! Is your event timed by us? To give your entrants the benefit of this service, contact us on 082 5511 487 or [email protected]. Comrades Qualifiers timed by Peak Timing: PicknPay Marathon 9th February Sarens Edenvale 42km 9th March Om Die Dam 50km 15th March The nation’s best loved road-running race would not be possible without its stakeholders,and the many people and organisations who support the Comrades Marathon need to take the credit for the success of this epic event. We are very grateful to all of you. As we approach the 2014 race, I welcome all of you to once again give it your best and feel free to join us in celebrating South Africa’s and the world’s best ultra-marathon. Chris Bruwer CMA General Manager 4 Comrades Supplement 2014