Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 100, November 2017 | Page 8

Have Your SAY LETTERS Got something on your mind that you want to share, a burning question you want answered, or a good story to tell? Then send it to [email protected] and add a pic if you can. (Note that these letters may have been shortened due to space limitations.) WINNING LETTER CLASH OF THE GENERATIONS I enjoy running and took it up in my 20s when living in Durban. I also have a fixed view that I am ok at it, as I have completed 10 Comrades and several Two Oceans marathons, but that changed recently. I have encouraged my children to participate in parkruns and they have been keen to go out on Saturday mornings, so when visiting a friend we did the Bryanston Park run and my son ran a handy 26:40, while I took it easier with my daughter. My son was pleased, and I told him that I would assist with his running career with new shoes when he breaks 25 minutes. Five weeks later, at the Ernest Ullman parkrun, we ran together, starting at the front. The flat course was shady and next to the river, and I was pleased to see we were running five-minute kilometres, but then at 3.5km my son had a burst of pace, which I thought was over-enthusiasm, and that I would catch him later. This was not to be, and despite a valiant push at the end, I was beaten by a 10-year-old, who ran a 24:42! Needless to say, I am now paying for new shoes a lot sooner than anticipated, and although I am proud of my boy, I am still nursing a bruised ego, and finding it difficult to face my running mates. Now there is newfound determination to improve my training to ensure that my son does not gain the upper hand again. At least, not until he is a teenager! – Thomas Hope, Johannesburg They say nothing gets a man running faster quite like a bruised ego... but jokes aside, hats off to you, Dad, for getting your kids so excited about running. – Ed. A few years back after I had my son, I started to feel depressed. We put it down as ‘baby blues,’ but the depression got worse and I realised something was not right. After seeing a couple of psychiatrists, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and after that I kept to myself, never leaving the house, because I didn’t want to see people. I felt such despair and felt so alone, even with my family there, and I became suicidal. Then my brother began asking me to do a parkrun with him. I eventually went with him, and I noticed that I felt better after the run. After the second parkrun, I realised that I really do enjoy it, and I wasn’t too bad at it, either. I then joined a running club and today I’m so happy. I don’t feel alone, depressed or suicidal anymore. Running was the best therapy I could ever have asked for. It boosted my confidence, and it has a way of keeping me sane and happy. I would 8 ISSUE 100 NOVEMBER 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za definitely suggest running to someone that suffers depression and bipolar disorder. It can be the difference between life and death. – Annette Hamman, East London Most of us have experienced the happiness that running brings, but I think your experience takes it to a new level, Annette. Long may you keep running! – Ed. I AM A RUNNER The editor’s column of the August issue prompted me to pick up my running story. At the time of the tragic death of Johan and Charl, I was a “backslidden” runner, caught up in excuses for my passivity. Somehow running had just lost its charm for me. However, when the news of the tragic event broke, I was overwhelmed by the unified response from the runners I knew. I shared their sadness, and somehow it dawned on me that these are my people. Something shifted inside... I am a runner, too! The rest of my story goes that I had a number of radical life changes a few years after that revelation, causing me to quit running once again. It was only after another tragic event in my life two years ago that I took up running again, 13 years after my last marathon. It doesn’t get any easier, and my limbs have to adapt, but I now enjoy running as much as when I first started in the 80’s. And this time I know why I run. I am a runner. – Colin Steyn, Stellenbosch It means a lot to me that my Editorial hit the mark with you, Colin. While that day brought us a tragic loss, it also brought our running community closer together, and I think Johan and Charl would have liked that. – Ed. Bell THE BEST THERAPY EVER