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.