Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 7

LETTERS RUNNING FROM DEPRESSION My name is Francis Letwaba and I’m a 34-year-old father of four. I have recently started running after 18 years. One Saturday morning I decided to put on my sneakers and hit the road, and I have never looked back ever since. Running takes away my negative thoughts about life... because I am struggling with depths, and I have anxiety issues. I was suffering from depression and I was not aware of it. I kept my worries to myself and not even my wife was aware, because I am good at hiding behind a smile. A lot of us are going through depression, but hide our feelings. Meanwhile, I was doing all the ‘right things’ that made my depression worse, like drinking alcohol and smoking, and I couldn’t control my emotions. I didn’t have a solution, other than to attempt to commit suicide. I took a rope, tied it to the roof, and I was ready to go. I was scared at that point, and I had to take a drink to take away the anxiety, but then my four-year- old’s face flashed before my eyes, and I cried and cried. That Saturday morning I ran till my feet started to burn. I’m not sure how far I ran, but it felt good. I had blisters because the sneakers I run with are flat... but I was experiencing a ‘nice’ life problem instead of the usual. I have been running with those sneakers for quite some time now, and they are causing me injuries, so if anybody could assist with a pair of size 6 shoes, even if second-hand, I don’t mind, because I just want to keep running. “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.” My silver lining is when I finish a race. – Franscis Buti Letwaba, via e-mail One can try to run away from your problems, or one can try to run your problems away... Of course, going for a run will not solve your problems or take away your worries, but it will definitely put you in a better frame of mind to tackle those problems or worries, and I think you’ve worked that out, Francis. – Ed. BEWARE ENTRY SCAMS Please be careful to buy a Johnson Crane entry from anyone but the Benoni Harriers club or online from Championchip. It has come under our attention as the race organiser that some people are busy with a scam trying to sell entries that do not exist. Substitutions can only be done at Registration. You will need a copy of both parties’ IDs and written permission from the one that entered and a contact number, so we can verify that you can do the substitution at registration. – Benoni Harriers This was reposted on the Gauteng Runners Facebook page in January, and we want to share it here to warn runners of possible future repeats of the same scam. In years gone by most races did not even offer substitutions, so it was too bad if you missed the entry cut-off date, or entries sold out. While some races do now offer substitutions, there are official procedures to follow, and my advice is to (a) make sure the race you’re trying to get into does offer substitutions, and (b) make sure the person selling you an entry is actually legally entered before you pay any money over to them, which you can do by contacting the organisers – Ed. TANZANIA ZIMBABWE KILIMANJARO VICTORIA FALLS 42.2 KM | 21.1 KM | 5 KM FUN RUN MARATHON 2019 03 March 2019 42.2 KM | 21.1 KM | 7.5 KM FUN RUN ENTER ONLINE 07 July 2019 ENTER ONLINE Run on the foothills of Kili, the Kilimanjaro Premium Lager marathon attracts over 11 500 athletes from around the world across the 3 events. Winding through coffee plantations and local villages, it’s a festive run attracting many of Africa’s top athletes. Add on a Kilimanjaro climb, safari in world renowned game parks, or soak up some sun on the beaches of Zanzibar. Feel the thunder in one of the world’s most scenic races. Race across the Victoria Falls bridge before winding along the banks of the Zambezi and through the National Park. The Econet Victoria Falls Marathon is a fun, wild race best celebrated aboard the official post-race sunset cruise. Make a holiday of it, and add on a visit to Lake Kariba, Hwange or Chobe. T: [phone] E: [email protected] www.wildfrontiers.com /kilimanjaromarathon T: [phone] E: [email protected] www.wildfrontiers.com /VictoriaFallsMarathon t: @WildFrontiers_ /VictoriaFallsMarathon /kilimanjaromarathon 7 t: @WildFrontiers_