Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 111, October 2018 | Page 23

ROAD RUNNING
humidity of Bangkok, with the race winner racking
up a total of 48 laps, which equates to 101km. I had
finished 89.43km by the cut-off time, but my distance
is unofficial due to racing on a VIP charitable number.
If I had an official entry, I would have finished in the
top 10.
the overheating runners. I have never experienced
anything like this before in my life – and it stood out all
the more because I come from Cape Town, where we
have very strict water restrictions in place.
No expense was spared on food and nutrition along
the way. It was as if the music, dancing and jovial
sense of all the Thai people in the park carried you
along the repeated loops. My favourite part was that
there were fresh slices of water melon, banana and
pineapple available on each lap, and because the heat
was unbearable, it was one of the few things I could
keep eating as the day ticked by. I raced each lap with
a fresh cut of watermelon in my belly, and it was the
sweetest, juiciest water melon ever!
As the day progressed, the teams’ track support
started to hand out food, water and encouragement
to all the competitors, cheering them on towards
4pm. You could even get a fresh ice lolly or home-
made soft-serve ice cream along the track, but I was
unfortunately unable to try any of these, as I was
worried that my stomach would act up. They really
looked so good and tempting. All in all, this was a
feast of fresh fruit, food, hydration supplements and
water combined with ultra-running, all in true Thai
style. This was a true celebration of life and sport.
Thank you to the event organisers of the Suanpruek99
10-hour Ultra for organising such a great, most
memorable experience. Thank you also to Tim and
Rose, for helping me to secure an entry, and finally,
thank you to Sam for the entry, the introductions to all
the wonderful people prior to and after the race, and
giving me a lift home after 10 hours of ultra-fun! If ever
you are travelling through Bangkok and looking for a
race, have a look out for this amazing race – just plan
better than me and enter long in advance in order to
get an entry – so you too can experience a run with
the wonderfully friendly people of Thailand.
Done and Dusted
At 4pm the horn was sounded after 10 hours of
ultra-running fun and abuse in the blistering heat and
After visiting my chiropractor and physiotherapist, and multiple prolotherapy sessions, I
was diagnosed with superior tib fib compression. It is basically an overload on the lower
leg which causes the pain, and I later found out that my injury was mainly because of
an old injury (torn ligaments when I was younger) that was not properly rehabilitated.
Getting back slowly is taking a lot of patience, and getting the proper rehab even
more so, but I am now appreciating every moment of walking and training without
any pain! This made me realise the importance of getting the correct treatment,
doing your rehab, as well as learning the correct technique from the start.
WALK
THIS
WAY
By Anel Oosthuizen
GOING TO REHAB
J
ust over a year ago I started struggling with a right leg that was very painful
when I walked, and for a long time we struggled to figure out what the
problem was. Training with pain for such a long time was extremely frustrating,
but not wanting to stop training with so many events coming up just ultimately led
to me withdrawing from the events because of the severity of the injury.
Speaking to a few race walkers like Olympian Wayne Snyman and Olympic
athletes’ coach Carl Meyer, who have struggled with race walking injuries before,
I came to the conclusion that the most common injuries amongst race walkers are
hammy injuries, shin splints, Achilles tendonitis and hip flexor injuries. Snapping hip
syndrome, also known as Coxa Saltans or Iliopsoas tendonitis, is also common. This
is characterised by a sensation of pain or discomfort felt when the hip is extended or
flexed. The ‘snapping’ part is because of the audible popping noise that may occur
while race walking. Achilles tendonitis is also very painful to walk with, as this injury
causes a lot of swelling and makes it difficult to move your feet.
As with every other sport,
race walking also comes
with its injuries, and it is
important to remember to
make sure you have the right
technique and are using all
the correct muscles (without
over-compensating with other
muscles) to do the work. And
if you are in the middle of an
injury, just remember that
injuries are sometimes our best
teachers, and the comeback is
always sweeter!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Race walker Anel Oosthuizen is a multiple SA
Champion and Record Holder, who represented SA at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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