Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 42

Finding
Solace on
the Trails
hen talking sport and you mention the name
Jock Green, many people will start talking
about Jock the cyclist. And why shouldn’t
they? After all, he was a multiple SA Champion,
represented South Africa on numerous occasions, and
raced with the best in the world on the hallowed roads
of Europe. “It was an incredible time for me,” says
Jock. “To travel around Europe, racing with the best
was really special.”
Jock usually fulfilled the role of a domestique – a
workhorse, if you would – for a number of teams. He
started his career on the European circuit in 1998
42
with AIG, competing in the Tour of Britain and in
the Tour de Langkawi. What followed over the next
decade were Tours in China, New Zealand, Germany,
Spain, Italy, Britain, Scotland, Denmark, Slovenia and
numerous times in the Giro Del Capo. Jock raced for
AIG, HSBC, Barloworld and Konica Minolta during his
career, and in between those tours he also donned the
Green and Gold of South Africa at the Commonwealth
Games in Melbourne and the Africa Championships,
amongst other races. Jock was also made captain
of the SA cycling team, a big honour for one of the
hardest working cyclists on the circuit.
ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
All this competitive riding was hard work, he says,
but at the same time exciting, and a wonderful
opportunity to travel. “I did enjoy that time, but cycling
is hard and my role was to work for others. I was
never the leader, always the workhorse. But I did get
to see the world and some incredible places.”
Hitting the Trails
When his pro cycling career came to an end, Jock
decided to turn to trail running, having enjoyed an
introduction to running through doing some duathlon
events, where he would ride and run. Living out at
‘Harties’ – the Hartbeesport Dam – Jock has an
W
Only two people have earned national colours in both cycling and
running. One is Graeme McCullum, the other is Jock Green, a man
who went from the ultra-competitive world of international road cycling
to the solitude of the ultra-trail runner. His most recent exploit, finishing
eighth in the brutal Leadville 100 Miler in Colorado in the USA, running
through the heart of the Rocky Mountains, shows just how well he has made the
transition. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER