Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 129, April 2020 | Page 8

W ! p l e H Yo u r For more than 10 years, Modern Athlete has been SA’s biggest running publication, with a large, loyal readership. Now Team Modern Athlete needs your help, please. T he entire running industry has come to a grinding halt as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the whole of South Africa into a hard lockdown. Even though the lockdown may be somewhat relaxed in coming weeks, and we may even be able to start doing short runs again, the likelihood is that running events, including races and parkruns, will not be allowed for some time yet. For us that is a huge problem. You see, this magazine’s income is very much reliant on advertising around races, so even if running is allowed again, the fact that races will not be taking place impacts us greatly. But we want to keep bringing you a great read every month… For over 10 years we have brought you a FREE running publication. Now we are asking if you can repay the favour by supporting your favourite running publication with a cash donation. No matter how much you can spare, it will help us keep the mag running until things go back to normal. ISSUE 114 / January 2019 ISSUE 122 / September 2019 FREE Athlete of the Year Awards SA’s Biggest Running Publication FREE FREE Wandi Nongodlwana Inspirational FrontRunner’s London to Paris Adventure Penguin Runner Dave Chamberlain’s Incredible 50x50km 13 Peaks Conquered Leigh de Necker Tells All FREE World Champs Agree with Our Choices? Rushi Kolbe • Prodigal Khumalo • Mubeen September Track & Field 2019 Long Season Ahead Can SA’s Track Stars Maintain Momentum? Opinion: Time for Change? Johan van Tonder Problematic Athletic Provinces Guinness Record for Treadmill Terminator Image: Courtesy Asics FrontRunners www.modernathlete.co.za Bumper September Calendar – 220 Races to Enter! 1 Safety First! 7 Attack Survivors Share Their Stories Michelle Krebs FREE ‘Rhino’ to Runner Tales of the UTCT Trails SA’s Biggest Running Publication Triathlon Saved Me 3 Quick Fixes For 3 Injury Problems P50 FREE FREE Exceptional Elsa SA’s 72-year-old World Record Walker Brandy Marathon Misadventure The Tipsy Pastor www.modernathlete.co.za Cover image: Roger Sedres/ImageSA New-Look Digital Edition – Bigger and Better than Before! 1 This is our 129 th free edition We launched in mid-2009, as a locally produced magazine focused specifically on local athletes and their stories, and we had a circulation approximately double any other running publication in South Africa from day one. We also launched as a FREE magazine, which we courier- delivered to running clubs and races all over the country, and we relied on advertising revenue to cover the costs of production, printing and distribution. We went through a few changes over the years, notably launching a digital version that rapidly grew in popularity, and today we have over 70,000 digital subscribers! This is now the only monthly running mag being produced in South Africa, and still you get to read it all for FREE. 8 So, the question we have for you, our reader, is whether you can please spare a cash donation to help us through this COVID-19 shutdown that is threatening our business? We have never charged for this magazine, and we do not want to start doing so now, but we do need to pay the bills in order to keep producing a mag each month. Every donation will help, no matter how big or small, to keep Modern Athlete running until normal business resumes. Thank you! Team Modern Athlete MAKE A DONATION ISSUE 129 APRIL 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za