Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 126, January 2020 | Page 6

Have Your SAY LETTERS Got something on your mind that you want to share, a burning question you want answered, or a good story to tell? Then send it to [email protected], and add a pic if you can. Letters should preferably be no more than 300 words long, and pics must be high-resolution to be usable in print. (Note that letters may be shortened due to space limitations.) TO CAP THINGS OFF... Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). I am a Plogger. My particular quirk is to pick up plastic bottle caps, which due to their size, tend to get neglected by cleansing. The photo shows caps picked up on my morning runs in Pinelands in the second half of 2019. Not surprisingly, most are found on the pedestrian corridors from the stations and shopping centres. It begs the question whether we have sufficient litter bins in the right places – although, how many do we need when even 10 metres appears to be too far for some people! #RunClean... #ReducePlastic... #CleanYourHood. – Chris Goldschmidt, Cape Town Hats off to you for your plogging efforts, Chris. Every bit counts in the fight to clean up our planet, hence I have also participated in plogging efforts. The good fight continues... – Ed. COUNTDOWN CONUNDRUM Am I the only one whose head is messed up by the kilometre countdown signposts at Comrades? I mean, when you’re less than halfway, it’s better, but by the time I start counting down from 20, 19, 18, a kilometre somehow feels longer. My favourite part is when I get down to single digits – 9,8,7 – but by then usually my legs are like lead, and I’m more angry that I’m still running than relieved. LOL, Comrades will humble you! – Lorraine Rubaba, Harare, Zimbabwe Most runners I know love that Comrades kay markers count down, because it makes them feel that the finish is getting closer. But 90-odd kays stays a long, long way to run! – Ed. BACK TO RACING PACE On the 28 th of October 2018 I was involved in a motorbike accident that resulted in my ankle being broken. I was fitted with ‘hardware’ on my ankle to allow for proper healing, and I could not train until the second week of April 2019. Without proper training, I opted to run my 10 th Loskop Marathon that April, and I completed the race successfully with hardware on my ankle. After that I rested, no training, but with a strong mind, I opted to run the Soweto Marathon on 3 November. I made it to the finish line, as I believe in the quote, “If the mind is strong, it will take your body there.” I also want to take this opportunity to thank the sub-5:45 bus led by Khuma. He is indeed a well experienced bus leader, and he led his bus from the start to finish in accordance with his scheduled time. I will appreciate if Modern Athlete could provide me with his contact so that one can learn more of his skills. – Peter Machete, Tshwane I have passed your letter on to the Gauteng Pacesetters organisation, so that they can tell Khuma he had another grateful passenger in his bus. – Ed. DETERMINATION! Cannot believe how quickly one gets unfit. I did my last 21k at Winelands in November, and after that almost nothing. Then I did a Wietse 20km in the first week 6 ISSUE 126 JANUARY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za of January and I was sooooo stiff! Only have another week to train, but I will not give up my 30km Bay to Bay entry... even if it means I have to walk the last 15k. – Riana Lamprecht, Kraaifontein Ah yes, the ongoing search for that ever-elusive muscle memory... – Ed. LEVELS IN COMRADES 1st and 2nd Comrades: Freshman/Junior Running 3rd Comrades: Diploma in Ultra-running 4th Comrades: Degree in Ultra-running 5th Comrades: Honours in Ultra-running 6th Comrades: Masters in Ultra-running 7th Comrades: Doctorate in Ultra-running 10th Comrades: Professor in Ultra-running 15th Comrades: Vice Chancellor in Ultra-running 20th Comrades: Chancellor in Ultra-running 21st Comrades and more: Ancestors of the road. Holy status! Where are you? – Mary Walker, Midrand Good one! From now on, perhaps we should call the ‘Ultimate Human Race’ the ‘Ultimate Education.’ . – Ed. PLEASE TAKE THE SURVEY I am a student at the University of Cape Town studying a Masters in exercise and sports physiotherapy. My research aims to describe the attitudes and practises of South African endurance runners’ regarding the use of strength training and conditioning as an aid to their running training programs. My research also aims to determine whether a lack of knowledge of the effects of strength training and conditioning could influence these attitudes and practices. As part of completing my studies, I am required to conduct a study, and would like to ask runners to complete my research survey. It will take between 10 and 15 minutes of your time. To complete the survey, you can follow this link: https://limesurvey.uct.ac.za/index.php/534343?lang=en. The closing date for the completion of the questionnaire is 31 January 2020. – Ropafadzo Amanda Banhwa, Cape Town Please help Ropafadzo out with a few minutes of your time. – Ed. EDITOR’S PICK