Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 129, April 2020 | Page 10

IN THE LEAD
Lockdown Loops
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen all official running activities in South Africa come to a crashing halt, with all races
cancelled, parkruns closed down, and leaving your property to go for a run prohibited. However, typically of the indomitable
South African running ethos, runners all over SA have found a way to still go for a daily run. It has taken some creativity, and
a hell of a lot of determination and mental strength, but run we will. Even it means going around the house several hundred
times, or even up and down the balcony a thousand times! Here then, are just some of the many notable lockdown runs
we’ve seen in recent weeks. – BY SEAN FALCONER, WITH STUART MANN
Then read the comments on Strava, or on other social
media platforms, and a few common themes come
up over and over again: Feeling like a hamster on a
wheel… getting dizzy from going round and round
in circles… changing direction every few laps to
avoid getting sore knees and ankles… blisters from
constantly changing direction, and more. No, friends,
running Lockdown Loops is not for the faint-hearted!
But if South African runners are known for one thing,
it is their unquenchable appetite for being active,
and a global pandemic isn’t going to stop them
from running. Whether it is doing a kay or two a day,
Bennie enjoys a
mid-run snack
logging the parkrun distance of 5km, getting in a
daily 10km, or even going as far as the half marathon
distance, many runners have maintained their mileage
throughout the lockdown weeks.
Then there are the real long-distance freaks, who have
done a marathon or even an ultra-marathon around
their houses – and by ultras, we mean anything from
44km and the Two Oceans 56/58km distance to
100km, or even 100 miles! And the triathletes have
also gotten in on the action with several doing the full
Ironman distance of 3.8km swim, 180km bike and
42.2km run at home!
Up for the Challenges
Various clubs, organisations and event companies
joined in the fun, coming up with lockdown or virtual
running challenges, such as the Mzansi Lockdown
Marathon Challenge, where runners were asked to
do 2km a day for the 21 days of lockdown, to get to
the marathon distance. Well, some runners did a full
marathon the very first day of lockdown, and then just
kept going. Many of these challenges have been run
As part of this, here at Modern Athlete, we came up
with our ongoing Flatten the Curve Challenge, where
you can actually do any activity – from running, biking
or swimming, to yoga, stretching, or even vacuuming
or playing with the kids – and logging it as part of the
Challenge. The majority of the registration fee for this
challenge is being given to FoodForward SA, which
collects and distributes food to all the most vulnerable
groups across the country, including facilities and
centres for the aged, orphans and vulnerable children,
people living with HIV/AIDs, disabled persons, the
homeless, as well as vulnerable women.
Retaining our Running Sanity
With the original 21-day lockdown extended by a
further two weeks, meaning still more days without
running, many of you reading this will no doubt be
feeling extremely frustrated. Nevertheless, it has been
inspiring to see how many in the running community
are getting on with things, as the stories here show.
Comrades in the Backyard
Runner: Bennie Roux, Centurion
E
lite trail runner Bennie Roux started lockdown by
running a marathon in his Centurion backyard
on the first weekend, finishing in less than five
hours… but that just was just the warm-up. Just one
week later, he more than doubled the distance as he
tackled the Comrades Marathon distance of 90km,
having been challenged to try to run it within 12 hours,
10
to support a good cause, such as an official charity or
a fundraising campaign for deserving people in need.
ISSUE 129 APRIL 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za
the official cut-off of the actual Comrades. Keep in
mind that Bennie has completed the Comrades 11
times, earning five silver medals along the way, with a
best time of 6:53:55 as recently as 2016.
“I was dared by a couple of friends to do it, but I said
I needed motivation and a reason,” says Bennie.
L
og on to Strava at the moment and take a look
at the many runs being logged by runners all
over South Africa, and you will immediately
notice something obvious: Everybody is going round
and round in tight circles, and their running tracks,
which normally follow roads or trails marked on maps,
now look more like the scribbled drawing of a two-
year-old who just discovered how to hold a crayon for
the first time!