THE ED ’ S DESK the ed ’ s desk by SEAN FALCONER
Sean Falconer
THE ED ’ S DESK the ed ’ s desk by SEAN FALCONER
Feeling the Vibe !
At the beginning of July , my work calendar traditionally ‘ comes out of winter hibernation ’ and I get really busy , but even by my standards , the last three months have been crazy : 10 magazine or digimag deadlines , 17 commentary / MC jobs ( 21 different days on the mic ), and I ’ ve flown to Gauteng , Mpumalanga or KwaZulu-Natal six times for commentary gigs , including one weekend with a race in Mpumalanga on the Saturday and a race in Durban on the Sunday !
The pics on this page are just a small selection of more great memories made on the mic at the various races I worked at , including the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series events in Durban , Tshwane and Joburg , the three Totalsports Women ’ s Races in Durban , Cape Town and Joburg , the HollywoodBets Durban 10K , the Red Star Marathon in Delmas ( Mpumalanga ), the OUTsurance Gun Run and Mykonos Half Marathon in the Cape , and more . And it ’ s been an absolute blast … even though my hand is still a bit sore from all the high-fives I dished out at these races !
Times Have Changed
Having had so much fun on the mic with runners all over the country in this busy period , it got me thinking about the ‘ face ’ of road running races in South Africa , and how much that has changed since I entered my first 10km race in 1993 . Back then we had far less road races , and most were organised by local running clubs , whose members did all the work voluntarily , including taking entries , manning the start and finish , marshalling the route , and manning the refreshment stations ( water tables ) every three kays .
In those days , entertainment on the route pretty much came down to people sometimes playing some music at a refreshment point with a car radio turned up loud , but this has changed massively . Now , the organisers of events such as the mass-participation 10km races of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY , SPAR and Totalsports Women ’ s series go all-out with on-route entertainment activations and vibe points , including DJs , bands , dancers , cheerleaders and vibe commentators . So , while the elites and those runners going for a time can still put their heads down and chase the clock , the rest of the participants can enjoy a party on foot the whole way .
Hanging With My Peeps
I have been fortunate to find a niche in the running industry for myself as an event commentator , handling up to 50 events a year , and while many involve the ‘ standard ’ role of handling the start , finish and prize-giving , I have also been given the opportunity to work at vibe points along the route at events such as the Comrades , Two Oceans , Cape Town Marathon , RUN YOUR CITY Series , and more , and this is where I realised how much fun I can have at the races .
As a vibe point commentator , you generally don ’ t have to worry about the elites , as they just go flying past you without even realising that you ’ re talking to them , but the vast majority of the thousands of runners streaming past your vibe point are definitely up for some fun . They will high-five the commentator , sing along to the music , stop for a dance , pose for a selfie or 10 , and share a joke and a laugh before heading down the road . This makes a running event more like a social get-together than a race … and for somebody like me , whose running career has been more about the social side of things than about fast times , it really ticks all my boxes . I am in my natural element , and as I like to say over the mic , these are ‘ my people .’
Enjoy Yourself Out There
So , my message today is to go out there and enjoy yourselves when you run races . If you ’ re motivated by fast times and racing against others , ‘ you do you ’ and put your head down to race … but if you enjoy the social side of the sport , make the most of the fun vibes we have in many of our SA road running events . As they say , it ’ s a party on foot !
Sean Falconer
Images : Chris Hitchcock , Tobias Ginsberg , Anthony Grote , Action Photo SA , Mark Sampson , Charles Ndou
6 ISSUE 173 | www . modernathlete . co . za