Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 127, February 2020 | Page 32

Many runners who tackle this incredible challenge do
so as part of the Seven Continents Challenge, to run a
standard marathon on every continent, or one better,
the Running Grand Slam, consisting of standard
marathons on all seven continents as well as within
the Arctic Circle. There are even some who participate
in the World Marathon Tour, which features seven
marathons on seven continents in seven days. But
for South African runner, triathlete and coach, Mauritz
Janse van Rensburg (48), running the Antarctic Ice
Marathon late last year was more an unexpected
bonus adventure at the end of a crazy year of
globetrotting to run four international marathons. And
even more of a surprise was when he finished second.
“I have international clients that I coach who live in
Boston, so I normally go visit them for the Boston
Marathon, which I ran for the fourth time in 2019.
In July those same clients told me they needed to
prepare for icy conditions, as they were going to run
in Antarctica in December, so I started helping them
with training for the race,” says Mauritz, or Mo, as he’s
known to friends and family.
“I already had plans to run the Chicago Marathon
in October with an SA client, and just after that the
clients in Boston let me know that one of the guys
had to withdraw, and they were inviting me to join
them for the trip to Antarctica in December. There are
limited places in this race, only 60 runners go each
year, so it is very exclusive, and naturally I grabbed
the opportunity. I also decided to run the New York
Marathon in November with the Boston clients, to
help me acclimatise a bit to the cold. I didn’t plan to
run four marathons in one year, but the opportunity
was just too good to miss.”
Running in the Genes
At this point in the story, it is appropriate to mention
Mo’s impressive running pedigree and coaching
background. He is originally from the Free State,
having grown up in Bloemfontein with his older
brother, Jacques. Both were talented athletes, with
Jacques running a 3:57 dream mile at just 19, setting
several SA junior records, and going on to captain two
SA cross country teams. Meanwhile, Mo achieved
provincial colours for cross country and can look back
on running personal bests of 31:06 for 10km, 1:09:56
The giant Russian cargo
plane that takes runners
to Antarctica
for the half marathon, and a marathon best of 2:36:15,
but he found even more success in multisport.
Mo represented SA in both triathlon and duathlon,
racing professionally for Montpellier club in France in
the late 90s, and later completed six Ironman events,
including the Hawaii Ironman World Champs. His
fastest Ironman finish was 10 hours five minutes in the
2008 Ironman South Africa in Port Elizabeth. When
trail running really took off in SA, Mo and Jacques
teamed up to win the inaugural Cape Odyssey five-
day event, and also took age category line honours at
the AfricanX three-day event.
Sport also played a leading role in Mo’s career path.
He attended university in Bloemfontein and completed
a B.Com degree, going on to run a successful
sales and brand marketing business for 16 years,
representing various sporting and surfing brands. He
eventually decided to move his family down to George
in the Southern Cape to be closer to the mountains
and the ocean. “It was a lifestyle decision, but I still
commuted to the Free State for business. Then 10
years ago I took a leap of faith to start Soul Running
Coaching with my brother. We are now the official
coaches of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, and we
offer an online coaching service. Through the race, we
have met quite a few international clients, which led to
me going to Antarctica Marathon.”
To the Ends of the Earth
That saw Mo winging his way back to the USA for
a fourth time in a year, followed by a long flight to
Punta Arenas in Southern Chile to catch the plane
to Antarctica. “They just tell you to be in Chile by
a specific date, where you do a safety briefing and
pick up all the gear you’ll need, because safety
arrangements are paramount in this event. Then it’s
a four and a half hour flight in a massive Russian
Ilyushin IL-76 transport jet, with a very basic interior,
The start of the race
32
ISSUE 127 FEBRUARY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Antarctica
I
t is incredible how quiet it is in Antarctica. There is
no machinery, no traffic, and no animals or insects
either. The silence is actually deafening, even
disorientating. And if you’re there in December, the
sun doesn’t set, so you need to wear sunglasses even
at 3am when you get up to go to the loo. Not that the
sun warms things up too much... an average day is
anything from minus-10 degrees Celsius to minus-30,
depending on the wind chill factor. Also, it’s dry there,
like a desert, and the thin, cold air, burns your lungs.
No, Antarctica is not everybody’s cup of tea, and
definitely not a place you want to go running... unless
you’re entered for the Antarctic Ice Marathon.