Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 130, May 2020 | Page 22

Getting the Legs Moving
Jarrod lived in Johannesburg for 48 of his 53 years,
and admits that he exercised very little for most of
those years, except for occasionally taking the dog
for a walk. “I did participate in the 702 Walk the Talk
one year, but didn’t enjoy it. Then I moved to Cape
Town with my wife and boys, and we bought a flat
overlooking the Sea Point Promenade, where I saw
all these people out and about. It looked like fun, so I
decided to try running. That first 3km run took me half
an hour! But I kept going, and starting reading books
and magazines about running, and googling it. I learnt
all about heart rate, pace and cadence,” he says.
“It helped being a member of Discovery Vitality,
because I read that I could get an Apple Watch if
I achieved points by getting my heart rate up by
running 30 minutes or more. That meant I couldn’t just
do 3km, so I set myself targets. I finished my first 5km
run in about 36 minutes, with my heart pumping like a
drum and sweat pouring off me! Next I found a local
time trial, and then entered my first official race, the
Crazy Store 10km in March 2017. I did about 1:12 to
1:15, and the bug just bit. My first half marathon was
soon after that in Langebaan, and I did about 2:22.
I was so chuffed with that, and thought it was really
cool meeting new people in the races, both from my
new club and other clubs.”
With more races under his belt, the next step for
Jarrod was a first marathon, and in October 2017 he
tackled the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. “My cousin
is a business coach in the UK and works with Olympic
athletes, while also being an Ironman and ultra-runner
himself. I asked him for advice with training and he
helped me through it, explaining LSD, stretching,
resting, correct shoes, dealing with rookie injuries
like ITB, etc. I had thought I could just keep running
5km on the promenade! In the end my longest run
in training was 21km, and I thought I would be fine
in the race, but I hit the wall around 25km and really
struggled the rest of the way.”
Having run a first Two Oceans Marathon in 2019,
finishing in 7:22:34, Jarrod then ran three more
marathons in the past year, and says his goal for 2020
was to run another Two Oceans Marathon and then
step up to his first Comrades Marathon. He says he
has learnt a lot about running, and himself, through
this journey. “I now know all the do’s and don’ts, like
taping your nipples, and I had a few injury problems
along the way, which I managed to solve myself.
The physio didn’t seem to be able to help, but I did
some reading up and realised I was over-striding and
landing hard on my heels, so I changed to a midfoot
strike and that solved the problem.”
Life-changing Decisions
Besides taking up running, Jarrod has actually made
a number of changes in his life in the last 15 years
to improve his quality of life. “I smoked 40 a day till I
was 38 years old, but I was able to quit 15 years ago.
However, I was still drinking heavily every day. It was
just part of the music business, which I had been
part of since the age of 16. Fortunately, I quit drinking
seven years ago. That was really a life-changing
process, and a dramatic change for the better,” he
says.
“My business began to thrive, and more importantly,
my relationship with my wife and three sons just got
better. Then when I added running to the mix, it went
up to a level of absolutely loving life, while teaching
me to cope with adversity, to push through that wall. It
made me realise I could do the same in business, and
other challenges, because on the other side of that hill
is a downhill, and it will be easier.”
Another big change in his life was converting to
veganism a year ago, and Jarrod says this has really
been life-changing. “I had felt pain in my joints, and my
cholesterol was high, but I didn’t want to take tablets,
so I decided to go full vegan, cutting sugar and gluten
out as well, and all my niggles disappeared within three
weeks! I was running pain-free, and I broke all my PB’s
– 23 minutes for the parkrun, which was three minutes
faster than before, 49 minutes for 10km, and 1:51 for
the half. And I felt great after runs… before it took me
three days to recover from a 21km, now I was able to
do a recovery run the next day.”
“I know that diet has played a huge role in my running.
I lost a further 6kg and got to my goal weight of 78kg,
and my cholesterol came down from 7.8 to 4.2, with
all the markers, LDL and HDL, now in the perfect
range for somebody my age. And all without using
chemical-altering pills, as suggested by the doctors.
It took me three months to adjust to having no meat,
fish or dairy, but the result is better sleep, more
energy and feeling great. I also started meditating,
to help with focus. So running and diet has changed
everything for me, and if I could say anything about
running, it’s that it truly improved my life!”
More to Come...
Looking ahead, Jarrod says he has a big project in the
pipeline, called Lockdown Legends, with musicians all
over SA, past and present. This ‘online concert’ on
28 June will feature a who’s who of South African
music, all logging in to perform from home, and will
continue the fundraising work Jarrod started with his
lockdown challenge, because he believes the effects of
the lockdown are going to be felt for quite some time
yet. “I have no idea how much longer this lockdown will
continue, but the guys in the industry may need help
for a while, because the experts reckon live music will
only be back next year at the earliest!”
He adds that he is really pleased to see the way people
are responding to the lockdown initiatives in the music
industry. “It’s been great to see people logging in from
home to watch artists perform at their own homes, and
that is changing the musical landscape once again.
For example, Ard Mathhews did a live concert from his
rooftop to raise money for needy people, and raised
R100,000. It’s all about coming up with creative ideas
and connecting with people.”
“Meanwhile, one thing is for certain… Through the
darkness, we need to laugh, smile and hold each other
from afar. We need to be entertained by muso’s in
their PJ’s, and to be moved by artistes singing on their
rooftops. That’s why the film, music and performing
arts industry is something that must live on, and why
its people must be encouraged to continue to create.
And that is why we did the Indoor Ultra Marathon
Challenge, our little bit to help them do so.
“Through the
darkness, we need
to laugh, smile
and hold each
other from afar”
Jarrod’s Back-a-Buddy page is still active and you can make a donation to this fund, to help struggling musicians and performers, at
www.backabuddy.co.za/58-for-artists. To buy tickets for Lockdown Legends go to https://covid-zero.co.za/lockdownlegends.
Image: Courtesy Jarrod Aston-Assenheim
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ISSUE 130 MAY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za