Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 110, September 2018 | Page 31

DARE TO TRI
BROTHER ACT
Through the years we’ve had a few married couples in the Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI programme, but last year
Brothers Simon and Wayne Pienaar became the first pair of siblings to join DTT, and the two triathlon novices went
on to record great first time Ironman finishes. We asked Wayne to tell us about the experience.
T
he journey of training and completing an
event of this magnitude is life-changing, to
say the least, but when you can walk the
road with your own flesh and blood, it gives it a
greater meaning that is beyond words really – an
experience we wouldn’t give up for anything. While the training was grueling, we were
committed to keeping one another accountable,
but it has to be said that there were a few
conversations that went something like this:
“Did you go swim this morning?”
“No, I overslept. Did you?”
“What a relief! I overslept as well”
Having both been road runners for a few years, it
seemed like a natural progression to give triathlon
a go. After watching the 2017 edition of Ironman
on TV we were inspired by the ordinary people
like us finishing it. In the excitement of finishing
our first triathlons, we entered! Two brothers, one
mammoth race! Ready to Race
Learning the Ropes
As days turned into months, the training sessions
became longer, and so did the time we spent together. With our friends, Steve
Jackson and Ruan Mouton, we laughed at each other falling off our bikes, pushed
each other to run faster, learned to transition quicker and dealt with the fear of
swimming in the sea, celebrating every little milestone and new PB along the
way. It was also exciting to watch each other slim down and get stronger, seeing
confidence and belief grow as the big day drew nearer.
An unforgettable day awaited! With nervous
expressions on our faces, we gave each other the
manliest hug we could and dived into the waves,
thinking we wouldn’t see each other during the
race. However, we were fortunate enough to finish
the swim at the same time and give each other
a high five before entering T1. Each time we saw
one another, we shared an indescribable feeling
of mutual understanding of the pain and emotions of such a long slog.
We continued encouraging each other during those bike and run sections, knowing
exactly how the other felt, shouting to keep going. Finishing at different times, we
both had our turn on the red carpet, hearing the words, “You are… an Ironman,”
before receiving our individual medals – but this will forever be OUR Ironman!
The Coach’s Corner
By Derick Marcisz
We had a great turn out at our first group ride of the
2018/19 DTT training programme, and everybody
managed the 45km ride easily despite the chilly
conditions. Thank you for the support at our talk after
the ride – fantastic to see some of the guys and girls
from past DTT groups there as well as the newbies! It
was also great to have Richard Laskey from Modern
Athlete say a few words, and thank you for the giveaways
and fantastic spot prizes. We handed out four spot prizes of
Falke socks/compression items to Danie van Niekerk, Brendon Lawson, Debbie Burnett
and Suzanne Rogers, while the winners of the Puma and Skechers shoes are Herma
van Niekerk and Annette van Schalkwyk (women’s shoes) and Benny Lally and David
Luppnow (men’s shoes).
The DARE TO TRI team is now training for either the Trinity Triathlon on Sunday 16
September or the 5150 Ekurhuleni on Sunday 21 October, both at Germiston Lake and both
offering a sprint and standard distance race.
Want to do your first Ironman 70.3
event in 2019?
The Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI
programme will get you there!
The success of the DTT programme is that
it is an affordable, manageable and
sustainable training programme that
fits in with your family, work and social
commitments, and for just a R1650
once-off payment you will receive
coaching and be able to join weekend
group training sessions
from 18th August 2018 till
Ironman 70.3 in Durban in
June, including the Ironman PE in April 2019.
Go to https://daretotri.canbook.me/dtt-2018 and follow the
prompts to register.
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