Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 131, June 2020 June 2020 | Page 8

Bringing Back the
Need for Speed!
In this age of uncertainty, where much of what we love doing is not allowed, including running races, many
runners are looking for a way to bring back the sense of community and achievement that only races can
offer. For that reason, we launched the Ultimate Modern Athlete 5km Challenge, a call to beat your best and
run your fastest 5km!
The challenge set targets for runners to beat over two weeks, stepping
downwards to the ultimate challenge to run a sub-20min 5km, but even
athletes who couldn’t run that fast could still participate in the challenge,
with prizes in various categories up for grabs, even up to the 80-plus age
category!
The results and testimonials speak for themselves, as you can see below. Over half
the runners in our challenge achieved new PBs, and many achieved the sub-20min
goal! After the challenge was done, the sense of achievement from our participants
was both amazing and inspiring, and we are so pleased that we managed to give
runners that sense of achievement of crossing a finish line.
Thank you, Modern
Athlete magazine for
a super fun and well
organised virtual
challenge, and to
Mr Price Sport for
Araya’s category
prize. We are looking
forward to the 10km
challenge this month! –
Jared and Araya De Waal
Improved my 5km PB
this morning while
doing the Modern
Athlete Ultimate
Challenge virtual
run. Really
pleased and
looking forward to
the next challenge. –
Gareth Greer
Day #5 of the Ultimate
Modern Athlete Run
Challenge and I’m
super stoked with
a brand new 5K
PB. Just waiting
for the final
results.
– Cayde De Waal
“Lockdown running has
meandered along as there has
been nothing specific to train
for. The Ultimate Modern Athlete
Challenge changed all that and
focused the mind and body to
train for and then run the fastest
5km possible. I may have been
running alone, but knowing that
it was a virtual race pushed me
to a PB. Thanks for organising!”
– Jeremy Kirschner
“A great concept and easily
accessible event that can be
performed from your front door.
Whether you are looking to
compete against others, or just
compete against yourself, it
provides a platform for you to
bring motivation to your training.
I even had butterflies the night
before, in anticipation of the
‘race’ ahead.” – Craig Foaden
“I was sceptical at first, but it is
amazing how much harder you
push when someone is watching
(the clock). I wouldn’t have run
as often or as hard if it weren’t
for the challenge! My fiancé was
also ecstatic to run a PB at the
end of the first week and then
better at the end of the second.
Looking forward to the next
one!” – Graham Gilbert Green
“It was hard, but I finished,
surprising myself with times that
I thought were impossible, and
this almost-40-year-old-momof-two
was transported back to
her youth of competitive running!
Thanks to Ultimate Athlete SA
and Modern Athlete for giving
me the platform to shine again!”
– Joanna Coetzee
“Great opportunities lurk in the
shadows of the bleakest of
circumstances, for runners, the
individual time trial is just such a
thing and will be the endearing
feature of the COVID crisis.
Thanks to all at Modern Athlete
for this fun challenge.” – Iain
Morshead
With the 5km Challenge having proven so popular, we have now created a
10km Challenge, with the same ethos… to simply beat your best!
Thank you to our generous sponsors for the stunning prizes that were up for grabs in the
Ultimate Modern Athlete 5km Run Challenge!
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ISSUE 131 JUNE 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za