Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 107, June 2018 | Page 6

LETTERS

Have Your SAY

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 letters @ modernathlete. co. za, and add a pic if you can. Letters should preferably be no more than 300 words long, and pics must be high-resolution to be usable in print.( Note that letters may be shortened due to space limitations.)

EDITOR’ S PICK

EQUALITY OF THE SEXES?…
As a competitive runner, I find it hard to reconcile race rules which take a‘ one-size-fits-all’ approach to rewarding runners for their efforts. It has been scientifically proven that the performance of women athletes is different to that of our male counterparts, so it is unsurprising that the fastest humans on the planet are male, and that nearly all overall winners of running races are men.
Thankfully, women are eligible for our own category prizes in races, which rewards our efforts and talent. But why are medal category cutoff times the same for both men and women at many of our top races? This means that women have to put in inordinately more effort to qualify for the honour of, for example, being a silver medallist.
Otherwise, a different cut-off time should be used for men and women to be fair – and the reasoning by race organisers that this is too complicated, or that a cut-off time is used because it has always been done that way, simply does not“ cut” it any more.( No pun intended.) – Patricia Forbes, Irene
You make a good point about traditional standards for men simply being applied to women, and I think organisers can definitely relook some of those, but this will require more officiating and controls, and also raises the question of overall cut-offs. Should women then qualify for a longer permitted running time? That would really complicate races, and I suspect most organisers would draw the line there. – Ed.
Take the recent Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon as an example. The results show that 234 out of a total of 6250 men who completed the race made the 1:30 silver medal cut-off time, which equates to 3.7 % of the men’ s field. Only 33 women qualified for a silver out of a total of 7580 female finishers, which is a mere 0.4 %. So men have a 10-times better chance at bagging a silver than women … but can it be said that the effort put in by the top 3.7 % of women was less than that of the top 3.7 % of men? For 3.7 % of women to have been awarded silver medals, i. e. the top 280 women, a women’ s silver cut-off time of 1:50 would have been needed.
Some smaller races award silver medals for a certain number of both men and women, e. g. top 100 of each, which seems more equitable.
EDITOR’ S LETTER
Real Runners
D
uring the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Expo, I did a quick filmed interview for a social
media platform and was asked where I would be supporting the runners during the ultra,
as a vibe point commentator. As I was answering, a colleague piped up in the background,
“ Ask him when he’ s finally going to join us in running the Ultra.” That got me thinking about a
debate that I have listened to – or participated in – many times over the years, and it usually starts
with somebody referring to‘ real runners.’
There are some runners in South Africa that believe you’ re not a real runner until you join a club
and begin racing regularly, while others say you graduate to‘ real runnerdom’ once you’ ve done a
marathon. Others take it a step further and say you need to run an ultra-marathon, and of course,
there are many who believe that real runners must do the Comrades. In fact, you have to do an
Up Run and a Down Run to be called a real runner!
This mindset was driven home when I listened to that same interviewer chatting to multiple
SA Champ in road, track and cross country, Nolene Conrad, a few minutes later. She had just
returned from the World Half Marathon Champs in Spain, where she had blitzed a 71-minute time
to take more than a minute off her PB, but more importantly, had run an IAAF Gold Label qualifier.
This means she will now be in line for elite invites( and expenses-paid trips) to the top standard
distance races around the world. That is a huge achievement!
In other words, the last thing she is likely thinking about right now is running a 90km ultra … but
here she was being asked when she plans to run the Comrades. Not if, but when, as if it is a
given. Now I know that particular interviewer is a very keen Comrades runner himself, and he has
an infectious enthusiasm for all-things Comrades, but I couldn’ t help shaking my head.
Don’ t get me wrong, I love the ultras, even though I have chosen not to run them( yet), but I
understand that runners like Nolene are focused on shorter distances, because that is where their
strengths lie, or where they are enjoying success in their careers. They may step up to the ultra in
the future; then again, they might not … and that decision should not decree whether their running
is real or not. The same goes for every Average Joe runner out there.
What it boils down to is that I believe there is no such thing as a‘ real runner.’ Because that would
imply that there are false, unreal or half runners, wouldn’ t it? No, I say that if you put one foot in
front of the other, be it fast or slow, going long or short, racing or jogging, you are a runner. And
that’ s a badge of honour that we are all entitled to wear, so lace up your shoes and go run. That’ s
keeping it real.
Sean Falconer
Follow me on Twitter: @ sean _ falconer | Follow the mag as well: @ modern _ athlete
REAL RUNNERS
I’ d just like to thank you for writing such an excellent Editor’ s Letter in May on such a debated topic! I have also heard the comments of‘ you’ re only a runner if...’, and I totally agree that it is a moot point. Thank you for taking the time to point out that the slower and shorter distance athletes are runners too. The affirmation is really encouraging. In general as well, thank you for such an excellent magazine! I look forward to reading it every month. – Natalie Coetzee, via e-mail
This is a message I have tried to promote throughout my 19 years as a running journo, that we may run for different reasons or goals, but we are all still runners. – Ed.
RUNNING SHAVED FOR THE YOUTH
Three of us will tackle the 2018 Comrades Marathon to raise money for Just The One Foundation, a non-profit organisation that educates the youth of underprivileged South Africans. It feels great to run the Ultimate Human Race in aid of a cause that gives back to our country, and we have run the Comrades Marathon for this charity over the past two years. In 2016 we raised R35,000 and last year R55,000. This year we are hoping to set a record to give these children the best education we possibly can. We also decided to think of something crazy that would get the attention from donors, friends, family and businesses. Therefore, we have made a promise that we will shave our heads‘ number 0’ for the race!
The foundation started as a collection of friends that got together every Thursday evening for a catch-up session. After a few months, we decided to make our meetings more proactive and discussed ideas how to give back in some way to the great country we grew up in. We decided to focus on supporting the education of others that are less fortunate than we are.
As a group of 10 young working people, we decided to each put away R100 per month, based on the core principle of sacrificing one small treat a week, be it a draft beer or a dessert – a small sacrifice to create change
Images: Ben Myburgh, Fotolia, Oxford University, Shaun Roy / ImageSA & Courtesy Neil Massey
6 ISSUE 107 JUNE 2018 / www. modernathlete. co. za