Sean Falconer
EDITOR’ S LETTER
Celebrating our Century
I
clearly remember that warm, sunny Thursday afternoon in late July 2009 when a running friend and fellow writer phoned to tell me about a new running magazine that had just been launched, because he knew I would be interested, both as a reader and potential contributor. I immediately went online and found a downloadable PDF of the first two editions of this new Modern Athlete magazine, and within half a minute I knew I wanted to work on this mag!
At that time I believed that what the South African running community really wanted was a people-focused, locally-produced mag, full of inspirational stories about the great people of the SA running community. That’ s what I saw in this mag. I also saw a note next to Mike Bray’ s Publisher’ s Letter advertising an editorial position, so I mailed him my CV and said I wanted the job. Within hours I was booked on a flight up to Joburg for an interview on the Saturday, and in September 2009, I officially joined the team.
Meet our team
DIVISIONAL HEAD Richard Laskey richard @ modernathlete. co. za CONTENT MANAGER Roxanne Martin roxanne @ modernathlete. co. za
EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Sean Falconer seanf @ modernathlete. co. za DIGITAL EDITOR Keith Kennedy keith @ peaktiming. co. za DESIGNER Caroline Collings caroline. collings @ gmail. com
ADVERTISING SALES Richard Laskey 083 342 8200 / richard @ modernathlete. co. za
SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION info @ modernathlete. co. za
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Regulars: Anel Oosthuizen, Christine Peters, Derick Marcisz, Ernest Hobbs, Jeannie Jordaan, Norrie Williamson, PJ Moses, Ray Orchison, Reggie Hufkie, René Kalmer, Roxanne Martin, Sean Falconer, The Gentleman Racer, Tom Cottrell Guest Writers: Annette Hamman, Carla Farina, Conrad Jardine, Colin Steyn, Courtnee Clark, Frankie Hunt, Jacquie Reid, Thomas Hope, Tracey Falconer, Wesley Bell, Zelda van den Berg
6
I can now look back on eight years and 100 editions of this mag, 96 of which I have worked on, and that makes me immensely proud. Whenever I speak to running people, I am blown away by how many tell me they love the content of this mag, that they can’ t wait for it to come out each month, and how they read it cover to cover. It really does make all the hard work worth it, and I want to say thank you to all our readers, advertisers, partners and suppliers for sharing this amazing journey with us.
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
Of course, the mag has seen many changes since 2009. Most noticeably, we changed its size and paper stock twice in that first year as we tried different printing options, then changed size again in January 2012, and once more in June 2014. Throughout that process, we were able to call this SA’ s biggest running magazine, because it was initially bigger in size than other running mags, and has always had a larger print-run and circulation than other running mags. And that readership skyrocketed still more when we added the digital subscription option in mid-2013.
In terms of the team behind the mag, we’ ve seen a number of talented and enthusiastic journalists, salespeople and support staff work at Modern Athlete, many of whom are still linked to the mag. I’ m proud of the fact that nearly all of them are active runners, who brought not only their skills and knowledge to the magazine, but also their passion for all things running. It has been a privilege to work( and run) alongside all of you, and I also want to acknowledge our Publishers Mike Bray, Arthur Valasis and Craig van der Westhuizen for their vision, passion and support.
NEW LOOK & FEEL
Getting back to this 100 th edition, we’ ve been talking about changing things up, and what better time than in our century edition? We’ ve not only tweaked the look and feel, but also rearranged the content into sections covering the main running disciplines, which we intend to grow still further in coming months. However, the focus is still on great‘ people stories,’ so get reading, get inspired, and get running!
Sean Falconer
Follow me on Twitter: @ sean _ falconer | Follow the mag as well: @ modern _ athlete
WINNERS’ CORNER
Congratulations to all the winnders of our October edition competitions.
ISSUE 100 NOVEMBER 2017 / www. modernathlete. co. za
HAVE YOUR SAY Win adidas Supernova Glide Boost running shoes for the winning letter Neil Cochran, Boksburg
COVER IMAGE Design by Caroline Collings
IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: Ewald Sadie, Fotolia, Jetline Action Photo, Naco Rautenbach, Oakpics, Reg Caldecott, Roger Sedres / ImageSA, Shawn Benjamin / Ark Images, Sven Musica, Tobias Ginsberg Non-professional photographers: Ameen Stemmet, Jeannie Jordaan Courtesy: Anel Oosthuizen, Annette Hamman, Barry Goliath, Bianca Fredericks, Carla Farina, Carol Wallace, Comrades Marathon Association, Conrad Jardine, Craig van der Westhuizen, Derick Marscisz, Frankie Hunt, Herman Cronje, IAAF, Irene Muir, Janeane Watt, Jacquie Reid, Nicholas Quenet, Njabulo Mavundla, PJ Moses, PUMA, René Kalmer, Sam Schoeman, Seitshiro Masilo, Sipho Mqati, Thomas Hope, Thuso Shibambu, Ulrica Stander, Wesley Bell, Will Addison, Zelda van den Berg, and various Race Organisers
FIND US TELEPHONE 011 453 0276 E-MAIL info @ modernathlete. co. za PHYSICAL ADDRESS 27 7 th Avenue, Edenvale, 1609, Gauteng WEB www. modernathlete. co. za FACEBOOK www. facebook. com / modernathletemag TWITTER @ modern _ athlete
Modern Athlete is accredited by the ABC with an average monthly circulation of 60,093( Jan- March 2017)
ATHLETES IN ACTION Win New Balance Fresh Foam trail running shoes for the winning photo Enrico Davies, Cape Town
Image: Ewald Sadie Photography