Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 136, December 2020 Issue 136, December 2020 | Page 10

ISSUE 136 DECEMBER 2020 / www . modernathlete . co . za 10 INSPIRATION January 2020 Seven Times Seven Ed ’ s Note : Only a small handful of runners will ever complete the World Marathon Challenge , as it consists of seven marathons on seven consecutive days , on seven different continents ( including Antarctica ), for a total of 295.4km with an additional 43,000km of air travel in between . That ’ s incredible enough , but when Nontuthuko Mgabhi did it in February , becoming just the second South African runner and first woman from Africa to complete this epic challenge , she did it to raise funds for the Khiphinkunzi Primary School in the rural Mtubatuba area in KZN , which at one stage had over 100 kids in a class , and very limited facilities , all in very poor condition . She had come across the school while running the Karkloof 100 Miler in 2018 , and I just loved that she wanted to do something to help all these kids get a better education . March 2020 Running From Darkness Ed ’ s Note : A few years ago , I interviewed Peter ‘ PJ ’ Moses for an article in the mag , about his inspirational journey from being a hardened gangster on the Bonteheuwel streets of Cape Town , to becoming an ultra-runner to give himself new purpose in life , in order to be a better father to his two young sons . He told me that he was doing a writing course and hoped to become a published writer , and I decided right then to give him an opportunity to write a column here in this mag – even though I had not seen anything he had written . It was a gut feeling decision , and one that I have never regretted , as PJ is indeed a gifted storyteller , hence I soon asked him to write features as well . This personal ‘ My Story ’ article is one he wrote about his transformation journey of redemption , and I decided it simply had to be published , because PJ ’ s story is that inspirational . February 2020 Icy Adventure in Antarctica Ed ’ s Note : While chatting to Mauritz Jansen van Rensburg about his experience running the Antarctic Ice Marathon , I was blown away by his description of how quiet it is there . He said the silence is actually deafening , and in spite of all the ice , i . e . frozen water , he added that it was incredibly dry , like a desert . Furthermore , with the sun never setting there in December , he said wearing sunglasses at 3am was another novel experience , but added further to the disorientating effect the place has on one . Not to mention running 42.2km , mostly on ice , in minus-30-degree temperatures ! But he still came home with a podium finish and a great story to tell , and I also loved the poignant moment he told me about phoning home to speak to his wife and kids . It ’ s a good read . April 2020 The Home Ironman Experience A . K . A . My First Triathlon Ed ’ s Note : No lookback on 2020 would be complete without some stories about somebody doing a mad challenge at home during the first few weeks of ‘ hard lockdown ’ in March / April , and thus I chose this feature written by regular columnist Stuart Mann , a . k . a . The Running Mann . He had never tackled a full Ironman distance event before and decided to see if he could finish it on just his marathon running training alone , with no previous bike or swim training . It turned into an epic , dizzying story about swimming lengths of the pool , pedalling the stationary bike into oblivion , and running circles of the house and driveway , with his wife , daughters and neighbours all trying their best to support the madness – and waiting patiently for Stuart to get the braai going in between ! This article puts a much-needed humorous spin on those dark days of lockdown . It ’ s been one hell of a year – literally and figuratively – and while most of us were looking forward to a restful and fun Festive Season , we ’ re now facing a seemingly bigger COVID threat than earlier this year . As a result , Christmas has pretty much been cancelled for many people , as safety through social distancing is paramount right now , and even visiting family is not recommended . Thankfully , though , we can still run , and I am sure that all runners will attest to the fact that going for a run helps to maintain one ’ s spirits , even one ’ s sanity , in these challenging times . For that reason , I decided to dedicate this December edition to a look-back over the year , by choosing a stand-out Editor ’ s Pick feature from all our 2020 editions . If you missed them earlier this year , now is your chance to be inspired , and even if you have read some of them before , I recommended reading them again , because these stories will give you a great kickstart for the New Year ’ s running . – BY SEAN FALCONER ISSUE 136 DECEMBER 2020 / www . modernathlete . co . za 12 The World Marathon Challenge is a unique running feat that only a small handful of runners will ever complete , but that ’ s what Nontuthuko Mgabhi will be doing from 6 to 12 February – and this will make her the first South African woman to complete this incredible challenge . – BY MANFRED SEIDLER T ry to wrap your head around this : Seven marathons on seven consecutive days . That ’ s 295.4km in a week , which would already be quite a feat , but now throw into the mix running those seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents , with the only rest time between runs being taken up by flying from one continent to the next . That ’ s what the World Marathon Challenge is all about . It takes the traditional challenge of running a 42.2km standard marathon to a whole new level ! The 2020 edition of the challenge starts with the first run at Novo in Antarctica on the 6 ^th of February . The second run is on the African continent , right here in Cape Town on the 7 ^th , before runners head to Perth , Australia for the third marathon on the 8 ^th . From there it is on to Dubai , UAE ( 9 ^th ) for the Asian leg , then Madrid , Spain ( 10 ^th ) to cover Europe , followed by the city of Fortaleza in Brazil on the 11 ^th for the South American leg . Finally , it ’ s north from there to Miami in the USA on the 12 ^th , to finish the challenge on the North American continent . On top of the gruelling 295.4km of running , the Challenge runners must cope with close to 43,000km of air travel , and travelling across multiple time zones ! Of course , the logistics of the travel arrangements are a major part of the Challenge , which charters a private plane to fly the runners from destination to destination . As part of this , the organisers arrange for easy transition at all the airports , to avoid the runners having to stand in queues at customs . Unsurprisingly , the whole excursion comes at a hefty cost of 35,000 Euros per person . Taking on the Challenge In 2018 , South Africa ’ s Ross Taggart became the first South African to compete in the World Marathon Challenge , and this year 32-year-old Nontuthuko Mgabhi from Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal will become just the second South African in the Challenge , and the first woman from Africa to attempt it . She says she found out about the Challenge in March of 2019 and felt it is something she should do , to raise funds for Khiphinkunzi Primary School in the Mtubatuba area in KZN . This school was founded in 1997 and currently has a total of 657 learners ( 349 boys and 308 girls ) between the ages of five to 15 years . Nontu came across this rural school while running the Karkloof Challenge 100 Miler trail race in 2018 . “ I was stunned when I saw the poor state the school was in . Over 100 kids in each class , and what facilities there are , are in a very poor condition . There is only one office for the principal and all the teachers . This is hardly conducive when confidential conversations need to take place . It really affected me ,” she says . “ The school is in desperate need of basic infrastructural resources , because the current infrastructure actually undermines effective teaching and learning . All the windowpanes are shattered . Old pieces of chalkboard cover the back windows . The pot-holed floors in the classrooms have not seen polish in years , because there is almost no floor to polish . The implications of learning under such conditions are frightening .” Even worse , she says that many of the parents of the children in the school are unemployed and depend on government grants ( pension or child support ). “ The majority of the families are child-headed , or are raised by their grandparents , and a significant number of children who attend the school go to bed with empty stomachs , and then have to travel a long distance to and from school without any food .” Supporting the Cause While Nontu always knew that attempting seven marathons in seven days , with all the travelling , would Seven Times Seven Seven Times Seven Nontuthuko running the iKhulu Trail Run in Maputaland in October ROAD RUNNING ISSUE 136 DECEMBER 2020 / www . modernathlete . co . za 20 ROAD RUNNING ISSUE 136 DECEMBER 2020 / www . modernathlete . co . za 14 Images : Courtesy Antarctica Ice Marathon TRAIL RUNNING ISSUE 136 DECEMBER 2020 / www . modernathlete . co . za 28 Can a marathon runner complete a full Ironman on the back of running training alone , with no previous bike or swim training ? I used the COVID-19 lockdown to reinvent conventional stupidity by attempting a backyard Home Ironman for charity . This is the epic tale of exactly what happened , and how I raised over R42,000 for Just The One Foundation . – BY STUART MANN , A . K . A . THE RUNNING MANN I t was a dark and stormy night . It was a dark and stormy morning too . In fact , the whole damn week had been dark and stormy . Still , I had no-one but myself ( and some bat-eating bastard in Wuhan ) to blame for the predicament I now faced . On the coldest , wettest and most miserable day of the year , I was the idiot who ’ d be attempting a Home Ironman as his first ever triathlon . For the uninitiated that ’ s : • a 3.86km swim ( in an ice-cold pool with only a speedo and my hairy legs to protect me ), • a 180.25km exercise bike ride ( on a butt softer than a Super Rugby disciplinary panel on New Zealand players ), and • a standard 42.2km marathon ( up and down my ridiculously steep driveway ). This seemed like a good idea just after South Africa ’ s lockdown began a week earlier , when I audaciously announced on social media , “ Despite not owning a bike , nor having swum lengths in 15 years , I ’ ll attempt a full Home Ironman next Saturday in aid of Education .” Fortunately , I have run a few marathons , so at least I had that bit covered , but still … Damn you social media ! The cause I chose to ‘ race ’ for was Just the One Foundation , a charity that I have personally supported for 13 years , which provides full educational bursaries for high aptitude learners from currently underprivileged backgrounds through the Alexandra Education Committee . This enables high aptitude children , who would otherwise not have access to a decent education , to reach their potential . All 100 % of the money goes to the learners ’ education , and they also receive extra tutoring and support . They have achieved spectacular results , and both of the learners I ’ ve sponsored through high school passed matric with an ‘ A ’ aggregate . Images : Courtesy Stuart Mann Announcing my latest crazy idea The Home Ironman Experience A . K . A . My First Triathlon The Home Ironman Experience A . K . A . My First Triathlon MULTISPORT 13 be a daunting task , she also knew that before she could even start to raise funds for her cause , she needed to find the 35,000 Euros just to enter . In South African terms , that is just over R550,000 ! “ It really was a problem for me , but I had to find a way to make it happen .” This saw her launch her Go Beyond for a Child cause , with the name derived from Nontu ’ s intention to run beyond the finish line for a child from a vulnerable community . Next she spoke to her CEO at Richards Bay Coal Terminal ( RBCT ), where she works as the General Manager in Human Resources . “ He was immediately excited and told me that this could be a CSI initiative for RBCT . He was scheduled to go into a board meeting soon after our conversation and told me he was not making any promises , but he would put the idea forward . And guess what ? The board agreed . That was a big relief . That means that any funds I raise go straight to the school , and not towards my entry fee .” Bitten by the Bug Nontuthuko ’ s journey to this point in her running career began with a simple invite to go for a walk in 2013 . “ A friend of mine told me to join her in the East Coast Big Walk , which is 10km , and my initial reaction was ‘ Whaaaaat ??? That ’ s faaaaaaar !’ But I did it , I really enjoyed it , and the bug bit . Ten months later I lined up for my first Comrades Marathon .” Since then she has competed in over 50 marathons and completed 15 ultra-marathons , including five Comrades ( she boasts a best of 8:53 , which she ran in 2018 ) and two 100-milers , both at Karkloof , as well as the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 65km . She also climbed Kilimanjaro in 2018 . “ I love hiking and try to do a lot of it . All those hidden miles also help me with my running . They really make a difference ,” she says . Still , Nontuthuko knows that to do seven marathons in seven days , with all the travel in between , will be something different , and she has been preparing for months for the challenge . “ I did around 450 kilometres a month , and December was my highest mileage month , where I did just over 500km . But I have eight hours for each marathon and I am not out there to set any records . It is about finishing and raising funds .” Planning for Extremes Getting back to logistics , Nontuthuko says she is well aware that the travel and the conditions at each run venue , in particular in Antarctica , will make the Challenge all the harder to tackle . Not only will she need to deal with time zone challenges , but also huge changes in temperatures . Antarctica will be at subzero temperatures , but from there it will be into the summer of Cape Town , with the average temperature hitting 23 degrees . Perth gets to 31 degrees , while the average in Dubai in February is 32 , compared to 12 in Madrid , and back up to 30 for Fortaleza . Miami averages 24 as a high . She says the Antarctica leg was the one that had her the most worried , but she is thankful that her warm clothing needs have been met . “ Salomon are sponsoring me , which has been a huge relief , especially as finding the kit for conditions in the Antarctic is not easy . With their knowledge and expertise , that has become much easier .” With the quick turn-around time between races and flights , Nontuthuko will also need to pack cleverly . “ I basically plan to pack each races ’ clothing into a separate plastic bag and label them . We won ’ t have time to wash clothes , because we literally finish running , head off to the airport , board the plane and fly to the next destination . We eat and sleep on the plane , and I just know that my body will take a beating , but how else can you do it ?” Of course , on each race day itself , the organisers make sure that the participants are catered for . “ They have advised us to bring our own gels and recovery drinks and potions , but they will have a feeding station every 3km at each race . It is more the time on the feet and then hopping on to the plane straight after the run that will take a big toll . And the time zones . I have mulled over how to deal with jetlag , but I have decided I cannot change anything in that regard , and will rely on my fitness and what rest I get between each run to make sure I make it .” Raising the Funds At the time of writing in early January , Nontuthuko had already raised R1.3 million rand for the school – still some way off her target of R3.5 million , but she remains motivated to chase that number . “ Even if I do not get the full amount , what has already been raised will go a long way to helping the school . I will also be reaching out to construction companies , who may be interested in helping with discounts or even donations . These kids need serious help .” Nontu understands just how critical it is for a child to get a good education , because she hails from the rural area of Mseleniin Umhlabuyalingana in Maputaland , Northern KwaZulu-Natal , and was herself subjected to conditions such as these whilst growing up . By competing the gruelling World Marathon Challenge , Nontu is hoping to make a difference in the lives of the children of the Khiphinkunzi Primary School . “ I know this will be tough , but I am looking forward to it . I will definitely dip my feet and legs in the ocean in Miami when it is all done , even though it will be winter there .” To support Nontuthuko ’ s fundraising run in the World Marathon Challenge , you can make a donation via her account on back-a-buddy , which you can access via her website at http :// gobeyondforachild . com . Images : Adventure Life SA , Reblex Photography & courtesy KZN Trail Running & Nontuthuko Mgabhi ROAD RUNNING 21 E very Easter weekend , thousands of runners descend on Cape Town to take part in one of the biggest races in South Africa , the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon , a daunting 56-kilometre road race starting in Newlands . You run to Muizenberg , then turn back to go up and over Chapman ’ s peak before you head to the last big climb at Constantia Nek , after which you spend your last bit of energy getting your tired body to the finish at the UCT sport fields . My brother Andy had competed in two already , and he described it as a brutal test for any runner . I was sold on the idea . Qualifying for the race proved easy enough for me , and by the end of February of 2014 , I had run two marathons under the qualifying time of five hours . Getting the money to enter was the biggest hurdle , but a friend blessed me with an entry when he had to withdraw due to injury . All of a sudden , this dream was becoming a reality , and I was set to run the biggest race in my city . Andy and his wife were coming from Port Elizabeth to do the race , and she was also doing her first one , so it was turning into a family affair . My parents , who remained friendly after their divorce , were also planning to attend and support us over the finish line . “ Don ’ t worry if you can ’ t finish , because nobody expects you to do well your first time .” This was my Dad ’ s way of encouragement , but it just pissed me off . “ It will be tough during the second half so don ’ t go out too fast .” Andy ’ s advice made a lot more sense , but I had already proven in my short time as a runner that my build was better suited for running than his . He was a solid mass of muscle , stronger than ever after spending 10 years as a police officer , before moving over to teaching firearm usage and practical law at the traffic department training college . I was still tall and light , not adding much in the way of weight since I finished school 20 years before . Maybe my life on the fringe and drug-use over the years also had a role to play , so it was a blessing in disguise , I guess . I decided to ignore their doubts in my ability and go do the best I could . It was finally a way of showing the world the man I had become . It was to prove to the many naysayers that you can change if you are willing to put in the work . I spent hours running alone , preparing for the ultra to come . Sometimes it would be in the early morning hours , when the sun was still struggling to light up the sky . At other times it was late at night , running home after a day of fulfilling my cleaning duties at my unsatisfactory job . “ You spend too much time running , the kids don ’ t understand ,” the mother of my two boys would say as she prepared dinner and I prepared to go for a late run . “ The kids do not have to understand , they are too small to realise what this means to me ! I thought maybe you would , but if you don ’ t , I can ’ t really explain it .” The frustrations of my life pushed me on , running harder each time . Race day arrived and I felt scared out of my mind . The doubts were buzzing in my head and the fear of failure was like a weight on my shoulders . “ Who are you kidding ?” the voice in my head insisted . After all , I was a failure in life . An unemployed , uneducated former gangbanger , struggling to care for two kids and stuck in a relationship that had gone sour long ago . My father was right … nobody was going to care if I quit . It was what I had been doing most of my life , anyway , so why should it be different now ? But as I made my way to the start , I smiled to myself and whispered , “ Well you ’ re here , mate , no turning back now !” It was time to set the record straight and prove that I was worthy of my place , not only on the start line , but in this world as well . It was time to make my children proud , and it was time to put a smile on my Ouma ’ s face , because I was sure she was looking down on me from Heaven . As we gathered in our starting pens and got all the formalities out of the way , a moment of complete peace descended on me and I finally felt complete . I was where I was always meant to be , and I was about to do exactly what I was born to do . The horn was blown and the starter ’ s gun set us on our way , my first ultra was a reality and I was smiling about Modern Athlete columnist and features writer Peter ‘ PJ ’ Moses has come a long , long way since his days with a gang on the streets of Bonteheuwel in Cape Town , and he attributes his ongoing journey of redemption to becoming a runner , in order to give his life new purpose and meaning . Join him as he looks back on the road he has travelled since his first race in 2013 , and celebrate his triumphs with him . Images : Jetline Action Photo & courtesy PJ Moses PJ and his family at the 2014 Two Oceans ROAD RUNNING 15 Even though his 2019 racing plans had never featured the Antarctic Ice Marathon in December , Mauritz Jansen van Rensburg flew to the proverbial bottom of the earth to tackle his fourth international marathon of a crazy year , and third in three months , and came home with a podium finish , as well as a great story . – BY SEAN FALCONER Icy Adventure in Antarctica TRAIL RUNNING 29 The Build-up The previous week , life had been peachy . Warm conditions prevailed as I went for my first 5km of garden and driveway running , testing various route permutations as well as the accuracy of the assortment of GPS devices in our household . I concluded my upper body strength work by lugging the exercise bike to the patio – it had been gathering dust in a backroom – and knocked out a 6km ride ( the first action the bike had seen in close on a decade ), and then finished up with a few lengths of the pool , dodging dive-bombing daughters and the tentacles of the Kreepy Krauly . The pool had been celebrating St Patrick ’ s Day a few weeks beforehand , but I had managed to bring it back from luminescent green to a murky blue . It was still difficult to see the sides through the cloudy water , though , so I focussed much of my pre-race attention on getting the water a clear as possible . Such was my naivety at this point that I had got several things wrong . The originally announced start time was 6am – I figured an early start gave me a decent chance of finishing before my kids were asleep . However , my wife pointed out that the sun only rises around 6:30am in April , and not wanting to add a dark start to the equation , I moved the start time to 7am , which is also the traditional Ironman starting time . I ’ d also got the distances slightly wrong . Garrin Lambley , editor of Sport24 . co . za , gleefully told me I ’ d have to add a few lengths to my planned swim , as the swimming distance was actually 3.86 kilometres , and not 3.8 kilometres as I ’ d been led to believe . I ’ d also made a rounding error on the bike and would have to add a further 250 metres of pedalling . Mental Preparation With just a week to prepare for my first triathlon , I ( naturally ) immediately entered a period of hard tapering . I hoped that the famous Fordyce mantra of “ Rather start Comrades overweight and undertrained ” would apply to endurance triathlons as well . I was worried how many kilometres the bike would handle , so other than oiling a squeaky peddle , I left it totally alone until the big day . My daughter pestered me into joining her for a few short driveway jogs , and after one of them I finished off my swimming training with two more lengths of the pool … mainly to check just how cold the water temperature had become during the cold front . I regularly do an alternate day pull-up and push-up regime , but noticed that my shoulders became a little tired during my 20-length “ long swim ” and therefore dropped all strength and core body exercises five days before the event . I also tried to limit my intake of beer , but was less successful on that score . Finally , and perhaps most importantly , I manged to chat to Tom Barlow and Charlotte Raubenheimer , who ’ d both completed a Home Ironman on the original Ironman South Africa date the previous Sunday . Both were amazingly supportive and gave me some great tips on how to approach my attempt . Without fail , every ultra-marathon runner you speak to who ’ s done Comrades and Ironman tells you , “ Ironman is much harder to train for , but Comrades is much tougher on the day .” If you work in corporate , you can ’ t get away from talk of “ disruptors .” These are companies like Uber and Airbnb that change a stable landscape radically by challenging conventional wisdom , thereby reinventing an existing market . Well , if training for Ironman was truly the hardest aspect of the event and the Ironman was indeed much easier than Comrades , I figured that I would try to cause my own minor disruption by reinventing conventional stupidity and attempt a full Ironman without doing any training . The sum total of my Home Ironman training consisted of 30 lengths of my 11-metre pool , six kilometres of stationary biking , 241 marathons and two shirts ( because I figured you can ’ t do an Ironman without having done any actual ironing ). Diving Right In With the luxury of not having to battle traffic or worry about long toilet queues , I gave myself an hour to get ready and set the alarm for 6am , with the instruction to wake up the rest of the family ( and bring my wife , Kathy , a cup of tea ) at 6:30am . I followed my normal marathon morning “ Triple T ” routine . This consists of tea ( two cups ), toast ( peanut butter and honey ) and toilet ( as many trips as possible – especially on this occasion , as I was lacking the added buoyancy of a wetsuit and wanted to avoid swimming with rocks in my pocket ). I got going just after 7am with a simple “ Ready , steady , go !” from my wife and the firing of a Nerf gun by my youngest daughter . After a short trot over the lawn , I faced the pool . “ 1 , 2 , 3 , bungee ” went through my mind and I took the plunge . As soon as my chest hit the frigid water I gasped for breath and tried to get my hyperventilating breathing under control over the first 10 lengths . I was facing 351 lengths of my 11 metre pool to make up the 3.86 kilometre Ironman distance , and just focussed on getting the first 40 lengths done , as this would be just over 10 % complete . This was also more than the total amount of training I had done , so like a little clownfish called Nemo , I was now swimming beyond the reef and into the unknown … I had tried without luck to get my watch to count lengths and distance , so instead relied on my support team ’ s mathematical prowess – and my eldest daughter prepared a white board with the swim broken up into 10-length chunks . After about 50 lengths I got into a good rhythm and would try knock off 20 lengths at a time , then check that my count was in line with that of the official scorekeepers , and push off again . I did try the odd tumble turn , but gave up that idea after a few attempts , mainly because I was overhydrating with heavily chlorinated pool water though my nose . I had planned to inject some fun into the traditional Ironman and therefore pre-placed an order for a poolside cup of tea after breaching 200 lengths . By this stage my face was so cold and numb that I could not control the sipping motion and had to spit out the first mouthful after taking too big a sip . The tea was fantastic though – it warmed me up and gave me renewed energy , providing credence to my clearwater revival . Conditions deteriorated towards the end of the swim and I could feel the rain pelting down against my back over the last 100 lengths . I was also starting to shiver uncontrollably whenever I had a brief stop , so I counteracted this by not stopping . 351 lengths ( plus one for good luck to get back to the steps ) and 1 hour 10 minutes later I emerged a little pinker , shivering uncontrollably , and gratefully grabbed the towel . One down two to go . MULTISPORT The Best The Best of 2020 of 2020 Ed ’ s Pick Features 2020 Image : Pexels