Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 110, September 2018 | Page 5

EDITOR’S LETTER MY NEMESIS Meet our team DIVISIONAL HEAD Richard Laskey [email protected] CONTENT MANAGER Roxanne Martin [email protected] EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Sean Falconer [email protected] DIGITAL EDITOR Keith Kennedy [email protected] DESIGNER Caroline Collings [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES Richard Laskey 083 342 8200 / [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION [email protected] The best part of Halfway Hill is coming back down! S ooner or later, every runner meets his or her nemesis. It could be a specific distance that your body struggles to handle, such as that infamous 32km mark of the marathon, where your body runs out of glycogen and you ‘hit the wall.’ It could also be a target time that you just can’t seem to hit. For example, perhaps you want to run a sub-90 for the half marathon, but keep clocking 90:07 and 90:13, or Strava torments you weekly with yet another silver medal as you narrowly miss your best for a regular training route. But all too often it is a hill. The monster that forces you to walk while desperately trying not look up and see how much further you still need to climb. In my own running career, one of the earliest I can remember is Momberg Hill on Middelvlei Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. I grew up in the neighbouring Onderpapagaaiberg suburb with close friends Coenie and Christiaan, and we often ran this hill. The reason it was so tough was that we literally didn’t stop climbing from leaving home till we reached the top of the hill, after zig-zagging through several blocks of vineyards along the way. It wasn’t even such a long climb, less than 2km, but to a beginner runner like me it was a nemesis… and I remember the sweet feeling that day I finally managed to run it without walking. TIME TO CLIMB Of course, I have run many steep hills over the years, both in training and in races, but I never considered any of them a nemesis hill. In other words, they were tough climbs, but I just told myself the view will still be there no matter how long I take to get to the top. Then I discovered the killer hill of the Root44 parkrun near Stellies. Some call it Halfway Hill, because it starts at the 2.5km mark, but quite frankly, I don’t think that does this monster justice! Root44 is one of the biggest parkruns in SA, with a huge crowd of over 1000 runners turning out most Saturdays. That means you need to line up near the front and start at a pretty solid pace if you’re chasing a good time. Invariably, that means you are red-lining your intern al rev-counter right from the start, and by the time you get to 2.5km, you’re already a bit gassed. Then that hill grabs your legs and starts squeezing… I tried, and failed, to run it non-stop many times, and ironically, the day I set my Root44 PB, I actually walked four times on that hill. (As I told myself, if Caroline Wöstmann can win the Comrades with a run-walk strategy, then it’s good enough for me.) But the day I finally managed to beat that hill without walking... Well, I felt like a Comrades champion! So if you have a running nemesis, get out there and train to beat it, because conquering that hill, time or distance is one of the greatest feelings in running! Sean Falconer EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Regulars: Anel Oosthuizen, Christine Peters, Derick Marcisz, Ernest Hobbs, Jeannie Jordaan, Lauren Smithers, Manfred Seidler, Norrie Williamson, PJ Moses, Ray Orchison, Reggie Hufkie, René Kalmer, Roxanne Martin, Sean Falconer, Stuart Mann, Tom Cottrell Guest Writers: Esmé Mare, Gill Koch, Helen Kean, Herve Rougier-Lagane, Wayne Pienaar COVER IMAGE Alfred Thorpe IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: Alfred Thorpe, Carina Smit, David Papenfus, DrozPhoto, Ewald Sadie, FinisherPix, Fotolia, Graham TopPhoto, Jetline Action Photo, Matthew Du Toit, Reg Caldecott, Rogan Ward, Roger Sedres/ImageSA, Sportograf, Terence Vrugtman, Tobias Ginsberg Non-professional photographers: Bridget Linderoth, Hassiem Fisher, Jenna Challenor, Johan Kriel, Keith Linderoth, Manfred Seidler, Moegsien Ebrahim, Mogamat Shamieg Allie, Richard Pearce Courtesy: Abelang Mosweu, Advendurance, Aisha Abdulla, Anel Oosthuizen, Cape Town Marathon, Carbineers WP, Carla Du Plessis, Cheryl Whelan, Derrick Marcisz, Freshpak Fitness Festival, Ironman SA, Jeannie Jordaan, Kabelo Lebotsa, Karoline Hanks, Landie Greyling, PJ Moses, René Kalmer, Sibongile Dlamini, Stuart Mann, Tembisa Mile, Two Oceans Marathon, and various Race Organisers FIND US TELEPHONE [phone] E-MAIL [email protected] 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 79,344 (Apr - Jun 2018) Follow me on Twitter: @sean_falconer | Follow the mag as well: @modern_athlete WINNERS’ CORNER Congratulations to the winner of our August edition competition. ATHLETES IN ACTION Win New Balance Fresh Foam running shoes for the winning photo Nompumelelo Mathobela, Johannesburg 5