Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019 | Page 4

EDITOR’S LETTER PUBLISHERS Richard Laskey Roxanne Martin Sean Falconer ADVERTISING SALES Richard Laskey 083 342 8200 / [email protected] DIGITAL SALES & CAMPAIGNS Roxanne Martin 072 368 7390 / [email protected] BIGGER AND BETTER EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Sean Falconer [email protected] DESIGNER Caroline Collings [email protected] DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Roxanne Martin [email protected] The team behind the mag has changed a bit – huge thanks to outgoing directors Craig van der Westhuizen, Jen Law, Mike Bray and Arthur Valasis for all your hard work and input over the years – but the biggest changes are on the mag itself. Firstly, we have gone 100% digital, meaning we will no longer be printing paper copies of the mag. This is partly to embrace the digital wave sweeping through the magazine industry, but also to cut down on spiralling production costs while saving a few more trees! In other words, the mag that brought you the #runclean campaign is going even greener. Secondly, the change to digital means we can produce a bigger and better magazine each month, due to no longer being limited by printing page counts and costs, and thus this edition has 20 pages more than the previous edition, with longer articles, a new race walking section, more reader content, and even more inspiration packed into your favourite monthly mag. CHANGING TIMES We know that some readers will not welcome the transition to purely digital, as they still like the tangible feeling of a magazine in their hands, or lying in bed with their favourite read, but we feel this is the best move for the mag. Keep in mind that the mag can still be downloaded in PDF format from our online reading platform (joomag), so you can save each edition on your computer or tablet for easy reading at your leisure. Of course, the reason we can go all-digital is because over the last four to five years we have seen our digital subscription base grow to a massive 83,000 – and that figure just keeps climbing. Very, very few magazines have that kind of digital reach, and most cannot instantly transition from print to digital without losing the vast majority of their readership overnight. That doesn’t apply to Modern Athlete, and now that we can offer an even bigger mag each month, we’re really excited about the future of this publication. HIGHLIGHTS AHEAD Getting back to the content of this edition, take a look at the lead feature on our athletes of the year (page 10) – always a subjective and potentially contentious topic, so see if you agree with our choices. Then I urge you all to read the stunning article on safety (page 32), which tells the stories of seven runners who survived being attacked while out running. The point of the article is not to scare you out of running, but to show you why it is important to focus on safety when heading out. Be safe out there, folks, but keep lacing up those running shoes! Sean Falconer Follow me on Twitter: @sean_falconer | Follow the mag as well: @modern_athlete EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Regulars: Anel Oosthuizen, Christine Peters, Derick Marcisz, Ernest Hobbes, Manfred Seidler, Norrie Williamson, PJ Moses, Ray Orchison, René Kalmer, Roxanne Martin, Sean Falconer, Stuart Mann, Tom Cottrell Guest Writers: Benjamin O’Neil, Cheryl Louise Green, Guillaume Smit, Kim Stephens, Luke Bresler, Sbusiso Msane, Wesley Gabriels COVER IMAGE Roger Sedres/ImageSA IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: AB Photo ZA, Alfred Thorpe, Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media, Charl Tait Photography, Chris Hitchcock, Deposit Photos, Fotolia, Graham Daniel Photography, iStock, Jetline Action Photo, KZN Runners Photography, Oakpics, Patrick Benade Images, Pete Kirk/Quantum Adventures, Reg Caldecott, Roger Sedres/ImageSA, Sean MacFie/SMacpix, Tobias Ginsberg Non-professional photographers: Aidrian Geekie, Bjorn Paree, Bridget Linderoth, Chanel Webber Adonis, Christo Lourens, Dean Venish, Fahwaaz Cornelius, Gert Cloete, Giselle Hon, Helen Du Plessis, Irene AC, Justin De Klerk, Karoline Hanks, Michele Risoli, Moegsien Ebrahim, Mogamat Shamieg Allie, Peter van Kets, Richard Pearce, Sean Falconer, Stuart Mann, Waleed Abrahams Courtesy: Adidas, Anel Oosthuizen, Cape Town Tourism, Carol Wallace, Cheryl Whelan, Christo Joubert, Claire-Louise Worby, Cleo Albertus, Dawie Aucamp, Derick Marcisz, Energy Events, First Ascent, Franscis Buti Letwaba, Haseen Gani, Ian Hendrie, Jacob Teboho Mothibe, Janeane Watt, Johan van Tonder, Kaylee Small, Kent Venish, Kerry Red, Kiyara Govender, Lisa Mckenzie, Marcello Gnudi, Margaret Botes, Marilee Claase, Michelle Krebs, Mubeen September, PJ Moses, Prettyloaded.org, René Kalmer, Sannie Tema, Two Oceans Marathon, Ultra-Trail Cape Town, Veruschke Kolbe, Victor Sadiki, VOB Running Club, and various Race Organisers FIND US GENERAL E-MAIL [email protected] EDITORIAL E-MAIL [email protected] WEB www.modernathlete.co.za FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/modernathletemag TWITTER @modern_athlete INSTAGRAM @modernathletemag Modern Athlete is accredited by the ABC with an average monthly circulation of 79,344 (Apr - Jun 2018) Congratulations to the winner of our December edition competition. 4 ISSUE 114 JANUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za ATHLETES IN ACTION Win New Balance Fresh Foam running shoes for the winning photo Trudie Cremer, Brackenfell I usually try to avoid starting my monthly Ed’s Letter with a cliqued ‘Welcome to the latest edition’ opening – I checked, and only one of the last 12 editions had that – but this month I feel compelled to do so once again, because we’ve had a big shake-up here at Modern Athlete. This January edition of SA’s Biggest Running Magazine is more than just a new read for the New Year, it also is a new start for the mag and for our readers.