Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 113, December 2018 | Page 4

EDITOR’S LETTER YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! 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] I mentioned that I have heard that some clubs struggle with finding enough members to do all the work, which can easily lead to things going wrong on race day when a proverbial ball gets dropped. One colleague responded that his club has a mandatory ‘no run pledge’ on their club registration form, which means all registering members promise not to run the club’s own race, a big, popular marathon in Joburg, and thus will be available to help on the day. He said this works well, as the club never struggles for manpower on race day. He then told a story about a member who needed to run their own marathon as a last-minute Comrades qualifier, due to having missed a cut-off in another race. This member went out and found 10 other volunteers to take his place on race day, so that he could run the race without leaving the club in the lurch, but he didn’t tell his fellow members about his plan, so there were a few official complaints when he was spotted running on the day, in his club colours. Fortunately the club was quickly able to clear that up once the facts emerged, and in the end it actually served to illustrate just how well the system works. In stark contrast, I told a story I had heard a few years back about a newly launched club in the Cape, which counted amongst its founding members a sizable contingent that had broken away from another club in the area because they “didn’t want to be forced to help at the club’s annual marathon.” Now I respect everybody’s right to choose what they want to do, but I also know that events cannot happen without race staff, and thus it is essential for this sport that club members be prepared to help out at least once a year at their own club’s race. It’s a simple case of everyone taking a turn and spreading the workload of the sport, because if everybody had the same attitude as those breakaway runners, who would apparently rather form a new club than help at one race a year, then I’m afraid many, if not most of our races, would instantly become impossible to put on. The only way around that would then be to contract in professional eventing companies to bring in paid staff to do all the work, which would in turn force entry fees sky-high, and price many people out of the sport. CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS So friends, I hope you will take this message to heart and make an effort to get involved in your club’s next race. After all, if we all give up just one weekend’s racing to work at one race, so that other runners can enjoy our club’s race, then we’ll all have 51 other weekends to go racing ourselves. That’s a pretty good deal, when you think about it. Sean Falconer Follow me on Twitter: @sean_falconer | Follow the mag as well: @modern_athlete 4 ISSUE 113 DECEMBER 2018 / Congratulations to the winner of our November www.modernathlete.co.za edition competition. SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION [email protected] 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 Maré, Fred Clements, Irene Muir, Malose Chaba, Mariska Jane van Rensburg, Nomazizi Boqo COVER IMAGE Jetline Action Photo IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: Alamy Stock Photo, Angela Hobb Photography, Charl Tait Photography, Chris Hitchcock, Fotolia, Jacques Marais, Jethro Snyders, Jetline Action Photo, Jimmy Hyland/JHP Visuals, Mark Sampson, Oakpics, Reg Caldecott, Roger Sedres/ImageSA, Wagner Araujo/ITU Non-professional photographers: Jeff Jacobs, Moegsien Ebrahim, Stuart Mann, Zola Budd Courtesy: Advendurance, Anel Oosthuizen, Aynslee van Graan, Cape Town Marathon, Dawn Mills, Derrick Marcisz, DTT Athletes, Fat Cats AC, Florence Groener, Fred Clements, Gerda Steyn, Giorgio Crusi, Inge Bartman, Irene Muir, Ironman SA, ITU, Jessica Ashley- Cooper, Letitia Saayman, Karoline Hanks, Leanda Du Bruyn, Matlakala Kgope, New Balance, Pirates Road Runnign Club, PJ Moses, René Kalmer, Robyn Schlebusch Green, Sabastian Marumo, Toni McCann, Xolani Luvuno, YouTube, 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) ATHLETES IN ACTION Win New Balance Fresh Foam running shoes for the winning photo Kerrin Watson-Smith, Port Elizabeth W hile up in Johannesburg recently to work at the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon, I had dinner with all my work colleagues that had worked on the event and we got talking about the huge amount of work that goes into an event, and how many people it takes to put an event on, even a smaller club race nowhere near the size of Soweto. WINNERS’ CORNER Meet our team