Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 4

EDITOR’S LETTER Mixed Feelings 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] EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Sean Falconer [email protected] DESIGNER Caroline Collings [email protected] DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Roxanne Martin [email protected] y Ed’s Letter this month is written with a mixture of celebration and sadness. First the good news, and the reason for celebration... This is our 120 th edition, marking the 10 th anniversary of the magazine’s launch in 2009, and we are proud to still be bringing you SA’s biggest running publication each month. The story behind the mag is on page 12, and I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the people who have made this mag tick over the years, notably Mike Bray and Craig van der Westhuizen, as well as all the other staff members, partners, contributors and readers that have been part of the first decade of the mag. I really am excited about the coming years, too, as we continue to develop the brand across all our platforms and fully embrace the new digital age, and want to take this opportunity to wish my Modern Athlete partners, Richard Laskey and Roxanne Martin, a Happy Birthday! Also, a huge thank you to our designer, Caroline Collings, who makes the words jump off the page with her superb designs. Literally could not do this job without her! Gone But Never Forgotten On the other hand, I am sad today, as we heard of the passing of 87-year-old five-time Comrades Marathon winner Jackie Mekler literally hours before putting this edition to bed. Not only did the sport lose one of its all-time legends, but the magazine lost a long-time supporter – whenever I saw him, he never failed to tell me how much he enjoyed reading Modern Athlete, and that always meant the world to me. I saw Jackie earlier this year at the Two Oceans Marathon, where we chatted about the upcoming release of his long-awaited autobiography, Running Alone. I told him then I couldn’t wait to get a copy, which I wanted him to please sign for me. Just a few weeks later he was at the Comrades Expo to promote the book, and I not only got my signed copy, but also a final pic with the great man. Both will be treasured. (You can read more about Jackie’s book on page 70.) What a Race! Returning to celebrations, what an amazing Comrades Marathon we had this year, with the titles deservedly going to Edward Mothibi and Gerda Steyn after two quite incredible performances. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate both winners, as well as all our readers that took on the Ultimate Human Race this year. I hope you’re all enjoying a deserved break now that the big one is run – but I also hope you’re raring to go with your next running goals. After all, you’ve done all the hard work to get this fit, you may as well get the most out of it! Whether you ran Comrades or not, you may now be tempted to go into winter hibernation mode until spring, but there are still plenty races on the calendar, and cooler temperatures just make it all the more enjoyable to warm up with a good run. So lace ‘em up, folks, and we’ll keep bringing you running stories to inspire you! Sean Falconer 4 Follow on Twitter: | Follow the mag as well: @modern_athlete ISSUE 120 me JULY 2019 / @sean_falconer www.modernathlete.co.za COVER IMAGE Jetline Action Photo IMAGES Photo Agencies & Professional photographers: ABPhotoZA, Alfred Thorpe/Vuurtorin Media, Anthony Grote, Bigstock, Chris Hitchcock, Clarisse Henriques/ITU Media, Ewald Sadie, Janos m. Schmidt/ITU Media, Jetline Action Photo, Kody McGregor, Kyle Cestari, Mark Sampson, Rogan Ward, Roger Sedres/ImageSA, Shawn Benjamin/Ark Images, Terence Vrugman, Tobias Ginsberg, Val Adamson Non-professional photographers: Bridget Linderoth, Blake Wilkins, Sean Falconer Courtesy: Anel Oosthuizen, Carla Farina, Cape Town Marathon, Comrades Marathon Association, Izimangaliso Malatjie, Linda Doke, Murray & Roberts Running Club, Pinelands Athletics Club, PJ Moses, Philippa Dods, Randall Crisp, René Kalmer, Roelof Mostert, SABC, Sean Falconer, Su-yen Thornhill, Stuart Mann, Victoria Falls Marathon, Xoliswa Lebethe, 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) M 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: Ayanda Tshiluvane, Carla Farina, Esmé Maré, Izimangaliso Malatjie, Keith Buhr, Philippa Dods, Randall Crisp, Su-yen Thornhill, Xoliswa Lebethe