Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 105, April 2018 | Page 7

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 ANOTHER RACE SOLD OUT!… To be perfectly honest, I am now highly the you-know-what in! I just heard at the weekly club time trial that yet another race I have run for years is sold out, and thus I will miss out on running it. This has already happened a number of times over the last few months, with race after race that used to take late entries, but now everything is pre-entries only and selling out weeks, if not months, before the race day. Or even within two days! Perhaps I am old-school and part of a diminishing number of older runners who unrealistically hanker for ‘the good old days’ and the way things used to be, but I do wish race organisers would take into account that some of us do not have access to online entries. Also, we do not see these mailers going out about entries running out and closing soon, and thus we keep missing out on races we have come to love and run regularly. By the time we try entering, which the same time we’ve entered these races for many years, they’re long since sold out. I voiced this complaint at the club the other day and one of the youngsters told me I should join the 2 1st century. I know he meant it as a joke, so I wasn’t offended by that, but I do feel this problem should be addressed by the powers that be. I feel that loyal runners who have given much to the sport are now being excluded, and I would appreciate it if your magazine could pass this message on to the race organisers out there. – Basil Smith, Johannesburg Judging by the number of people scrambling for substitution entries these days, I think many runners are missing out on their favourite races, and I am sure most race organisers are trying to find ways to accommodate everybody. That said, the sport is enjoying an incredible boom in popularity right now, and the demand for entries is higher than ever, while organisers must meet far more stringent health and safety regulations, meaning strict limits on the size of the field in their events. Still, I hope your letter will result in race organisers also trying to cater for runners who do not have access to the current entry mechanisms – Ed. MINIMUM PRIZE MONEY Marathon running in South Africa is becoming more popular and professional, but I am worried that well-resourced local race organisers are not taking care of our emerging good runners from impoverished backgrounds. Prize money offered in some races is kept secret, and is disgustingly low, to say the least. These days races attract sponsors and big numbers, yet they insult our local heroes with meagre prizes, which go as low as R300. I stand to be corrected, but on average, our marathons’ first prize money is still very low for local. Also, some races do not even provide prize money for second or third finishers in the 10km and 21km categories. Please investigate. Common sense says that most of the emerging good runners nurtured at provincial level participate in races to earn a living. If rewarded properly, they can be in a position to sustain themselves financially before proceeding to compete in the A-rated ultras or marathons like Comrades, Soweto, Two Oceans, Mandela, OR Tambo, etc. A few I had a chat with, complain that through their earnings they cannot even cover basic travel, accommodation and race registration costs. This matter has to be elevated to ASA for intervention. Personally, I think a reasonable minimum prize money level should be introduced for all races sanctioned under the Athletics South Africa (ASA) banner. – Bongani Mangena, North West This is a highly contentious topic, and one that I will indeed look into in an upcoming edition of the mag, but for now, I would like to respond to your comment that some races keep their prize money secret. Rule 2.11 of the ASA Rules and Regulations stipulate that “Awards that will be on offer in the applicable age categories must be published in advance of the competition, in appropriate promotional material including race flyers and websites.” Therefore, athletes would know in advance what an officially sanctioned race is offering in terms of prize money, and can make an informed decision whether they want to participate in that race. More on this in a future edition. – Ed. PERSONAL RUNNING PHILOSOPHY Thanks for the good read in your magazine, there is so much I learn all the time. From a personal viewpoint, I realise that there are many conflicting running philosophies, and not everything works for everyone. It’s up to each runner to learn what works for them and apply that consistently, while also opening up the mind to new ideas. 7