Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 129, April 2020 | Page 21

ADVERTORIAL
The Wins
Keep Coming!
The Murray & Roberts Running Club already produced an amazing 103 victories in just the first 11 weeks of racing
in 2020! That’s not to mention the countless podiums, as well as top 10 positions throughout Southern Africa and
some fine international places too.
A
mongst our top-performing women are Rone
Reynecke and Tayla Kavanagh, who both
have three wins, with Tayla dominant in
the junior section in KZN. Even better are Simone
Verster, with four vets wins, and Anna Moeketsi,
who also boasts four, with three coming over the
standard marathon distance. Doing still better, with
five wins, are Janine Carey and super grandmaster
Val Watson (whose wins include four in marathons).
Val Watson
But the prize for dominance goes to Yolande
Maclean, with a superb seven vets wins.
In the men’s section, half marathon specialist Philani
Buthelezi has also posted five wins, while policeman
Ben Matiso lists three wins, with two over the marathon
distance and one in a 50km race in the Cape. Don
Charles is, as always, astounding, and the 71-year-old
has no less than four great-grandmaster victories in 2020.
Yolande
Maclean
“Our club has managed to produce wins throughout
the whole spectrum, and this list excludes our
incredible performances from the children from the
Vorentoe Running Academy, which is fully supported
by Murray & Roberts. We are blessed to have the
dedication, commitment and hard work from our
athletes, and are proud to see them giving their all
in the black and yellow every time out,” says Club
Manager Dana Coetzee.
Philani
Buthelezi
Don Charles
Nolene on the Mend
Having been injured for long time, we caught up with Nolene Conrad to hear
about the fact that there finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel...
Tell us about the injury.
I had a freak accident six days before I ran the Osaka
Marathon in January 2019. While doing a morning
run, I stepped on a rock and twisted my ankle. I flew
to Japan that same day, thinking it was just a sprain
and that it should be OK by the time I race. However,
when I finished my race, I could not put weight on
my foot at all, which meant I had fractured my foot
during the race. Then after resting the injury for a
few weeks, I tried running again, and in the process,
while compensating, I injured my perineal nerve and
Illiotibial Band.
You went to Ireland for treatment?
I had been going back and forth trying to get an
accurate diagnosis, because the injury just did not
respond to any form of treatment. They could not
find the problem on MRI or ultrasound, and to get the
right treatment plan, I first needed to get an accurate
diagnosis. My mentor, Elana Meyer, recommended
Gerard Hartmann in Ireland. He is one of the best in
the world, and Elana contacted him to help me. So,
I set off to Limerick, Ireland this past February to
undergo treatment for four days.
Gerard found that it was an ITB injury that was
caused by a dysfunctional hip. Major structural
issues were caused by misalignment. Gerard treats
the person holistically – mind, body and soul – as all
these aspects affect recovery from any chronic injury.
We worked to improve proprioception through better
balance, and my hips and glutes required specific
strength and flexibility exercises.
How has the lockdown affected your
rehab?
Ireland helped me get some perspective, and also
helped me grow mentally and emotionally, so I am
in a better space now to deal with the lockdown
situation. I understand the importance of mental
health during this time, as well as staying active and
positive, and focusing on what I can and need to do.
But with an ITB injury you need to gradually return
to running, so that your body can adjust to the load
and adapt, which means you need to run on flat,
soft surfaces, like grass, to ensure that the impact
is minimal on the knee. With lockdown I am unable
to do that, so I will need to wait until we’re allowed
to go out again. Running around my house is not an
Nolene Conrad
option, as it puts a lot of strain on my knee and hip,
and could cause the ITB to flare up again. That’s the
last thing I need!
What have you been able to do?
I have to focus on my rehab program a while longer,
which in hindsight is probably a good thing. The
lockdown has allowed me to strengthen my hips/
glutes even more. I was very eager to start running
again after five weeks, but my physio advised me
that the longer I can focus on the rehab work, the
better, so I guess it’s a good thing in one way.
21