Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019 | Page 35

SAFETY SPECIAL
Safety Warning for
Table Mountain
T
he Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) is
primarily an open access park and SANParks
says that from time to time there is criminal
activity in some of the urban edge areas of the
Park. In answer to these challenges the TMNP has
recruited and deployed Visitor Safety Officers (VSOs)
to patrol these popular use zones in the Park, act
as a deterrent to criminals, and give safety advice
to mountain users. Furthermore, Saskia Marlow,
the SANParks Hospitality Services, Film and Events
Manager of TMNP says, “We actively encourage
people to run in a group, leave their valuables at home
and ensure they have let someone know where they
are going and when to expect them home.”
The reality is that we all need to apply some practical
thinking to our training patterns, and work as a community
to protect each other and our sport
“Something happened in my head. I roared at him repeatedly that I would kill
him if he took one step closer, and I think I did something similar to the New
Zealand Haka. I’m not sure exactly how long this went on for, but I roared so
hard that my throat hurt for days. He kept coming at me, and I kept roaring/
Haka-ing, and there was eventually a weird Mexican standoff. At some point
I also picked up a rock, because I wasn’t sure how long I could maintain the
upper hand with just my voice. I sort of registered through my rage that if he
was going to crush my skull, he would have done so by now, so I started to
back away, still roaring/haka-ing/brandishing, and eventually I turned and
started jogging away.”
S
easoned multi-sport athlete, Kim van Kets has a rather refreshing
take on the safety issue. “I have run for 30 years on every beach, jeep
track and path I can find, often alone. Not once in all this time have
I experienced anything other than kindness, humanity and goodwill from
everyone I have met. Until a year ago. I was just finishing my last long run with
a heavy pack in preparation for the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon
and I was running alone on deserted farm roads early in the morning. As I
was approaching a crossroads, a guy approached running from the opposite
direction and we both turned and started running down the same road. We
were moving at a similar pace, so I greeted him, commented on the weather
and overtook him.”
“A while later he overtook me and this happened a couple of times. Every
time we passed each other I engaged with him. I found him non-threatening, I
registered that he had a pleasant face, I felt no fear or anxiety at his presence.
After about 2km he pulled off the road, and as I approached him he came
towards me and said, ‘Give me your cell phone!’ I thought I must have misheard
him, maybe he was asking for the time, so I went right up to him, and only then
did I register that he was brandishing a huge rock in my direction.”
“I was lucky, but so was he. I don’t know what would have happened if he had
tried to hurt me, but I think he would have come off second best. I don’t think
he was a hardened criminal, and I actually felt rather a lot of compassion for
him afterwards. I think he was quite young, not more than 18. I bumped into
my husband about 2km down the road and we went to look for him, because
I had a strong sense that he needed someone to tell him that he had crossed
a line that day, and that he needed some guidance. I didn’t find him, though,
and I regret that. Anyway,
from now on he will
hopefully realise that not
all middle-aged ladies are
necessarily easy targets.”
“I also realised after the
incident that having a
pepper spray or taser in
your bag is a total waste
of time. If you have a
weapon, it must be in
your hand. Also, cross
the road, smile and wave.
Don’t engage or go up
to someone. I have not
changed my running
habits at all, but I do have
a plan now in case I need
it, and it involves speed,
aggression and surprise.”
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