Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 127, February 2020 | Page 10

LEAD FEATURE
fit really helped, but mostly I just run to keep fit. I
live in Dainfern, so I have beautiful forests and hills
literally on my doorstep, with the relative safety of
a secure estate, so can even run at night after work
if I only get home at 8pm. I just put on my shoes
and go.”
He also tries to hit the gym daily at 6am, and says,
“I’m at gym every morning to keep my energy levels
up. It sounds like a lot, but being busy keeps me
energised. The busier I get, the easier it is for me to
juggle balls, and it’s when I don’t have a big project
that it feels like something is missing.”
Have Shoes, Will Run
Brent Lindeque is the Good Things Guy, famous for sharing good news stories
on the radio and electronic platforms to give people hope and motivation, and he
has a huge following on social media. So, when he posted a good luck message
on Twitter before the 2019 Comrades Marathon, wishing his step-dad Fred
MacDougal luck with his run, people noticed. If they had been paying attention,
they would also have noticed that running-related stories often pop up in the
content shared by Brent’s good news team. That’s because Brent is a runner
himself. – BY SEAN FALCONER
G
rowing up in a runner’s family has played a
huge role in Brent’s life, even though he says
it was sometimes a bit tough. “My sted-
dad runs for Germiston Callies and has now done
30 consecutive Comrades, so it was always early
mornings on the weekends for races or training runs,
and trips to Durban to support him at Comrades, and
a diet full of carbs, but it did instil a love of running in
me,” he says. “My mom has said she will divorce him
10
if he runs one more, but I know she was just joking,
and if he does decide to run it again in 2020, she will
be there with us to support him again.”
All these years later, Brent (35) says he tries to get
in a run every day, or at least every second day
when things are too busy, usually doing about 10km
at a time, but seldom enters any races. “When a
group of us did a Warrior obstacle course race a
few years back, I quickly realised that being running
ISSUE 127 FEBRUARY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za
His travels for work, chasing down good news stories
and doing motivational talks all over the world, have
also presented some incredible running opportunities.
“Amongst the more interesting places I have run is
Kerala, in the tropical southern part of India. They call
that part of India ‘God’s Own Country,’ and it really
was quite beautiful. Another highlight was running in
Kapadokya in Turkey, because each morning about
500 hot air balloons take off at the same time. That
landscape and all the balloons made it a mind-
blowing run!”
Brent says one of his more memorable runs was
coming down Mount Kilimanjaro, after successfully
summitting Africa’s highest peak. “On the way up we
obviously had to hike it slowly, but I still managed a
short run when we were in camp. Of course, it got
tougher the higher we went, and eventually I had too
little energy for running. I did manage to run down
the mountain, though. We started our summit push at
midnight, and it took about seven hours to get to the
top. Then it took me about an hour and 45 minutes to
jog back down to base camp! The altitude really gets
to your head, and every steps gets harder going up,
but coming down, every step just gets easier as you
feel the life coming back into your body.”
“I live in Dainfern, so
I have beautiful forests
and hills literally on
my doorstep, with the
relative safety of a
secure estate, so can
even run at night after
work if I only get home
at 8pm. I just put on
my shoes and go.”
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o
G
e
Th
y
u
G
s
g
Thin
As part of this aim to stay fit and healthy, Brent makes
sure to pack his running kit whenever he travels, and
says running is a great way to see another country,
to take it all in while also being able to interact with
the people around you. “Some of my favourite places
I have run include London, and Central Park in New
York in winter, surrounded by other runners with the
snow falling,” says Brent.