Planning holidays around races . Running slow until you see that finish line and then suddenly starting to sprint . That oke running back home or doing a cool-down run while you still trying to finish the race . Dean Hewitt welcoming you at the finish line . Checking Facebook after a race for the action shots of yourself taken by photographers . Complaining about entry fees for Two Oceans . Complaining about not getting an entry for Two Oceans . Looking for a substitute entry because you forgot to enter . Hearing you won a lucky draw prize after a race … the day you decided to leave early . Not knowing who won the race , but believing you were the real winner for finishing . The thrill of finishing a race and looking forward to the next one . – Nizaam Cariem , Cape Town
Ah , yes , fond memories . Hopefully soon we will be able to do all these things again , without lockdown restrictions and fear of the pandemic . – Ed .
CARS VS RUNNERS …… going the same direction as the car , it can at least slow down to your speed and overtake later .
My point is this : If you are going to run in the road and run towards traffic , you have to get out of the road if a car comes towards you . You can ’ t expect the car to give way to you . Some drivers will not be tolerant and you ’ ll come off second-best . Be safe ... – James Evans , Cape Town
I have been running for more than 25 years and have seen runners do some silly things , including running in the road around a specific ‘ blind corner ’ with no pavement near the Coetzenberg Sport Grounds in my hometown , Stellenbosch . Sure , they were facing into traffic , as general wisdom dictates , but on that corner it made sense to change to the other side . One evening I was driving up that road and gut instinct made me slow right down , just in case … and I still almost hit a group of three runners coming down the road . If I hadn ’ t slowed down , the headlines would have read , “ Running Magazine Editor Runs Down Three Joggers !” I hopethose three runners realised how lucky they were that day ! – Ed .
MTB-ONLY TRAILS IN TOKAI ……
Reminder to Cape Town trail runners that the trails ( clearly marked with signs ) in Tokai Upper are for mountain bikers only . These are mostly one-directional and fast downhill trails , and basically the only place where mountain bikes don ’ t have to compete with runners and hikers . If you see the speed some people go down the trails , you ’ ll never want to run down there again . The jeep track and hiking trails are there for trail runners as well as the rest of Table Mountain National Park .
Please keep off the clearly-marked mountain bike trails in Tokai . This goes for hiking , too . I have the backing of Tokai MTB , who built the trails themselves , to say that they are not built for running . Please respect this and share with people in the trail running community . – Kayleigh Tuck , Cape Town
These days there are so many trails available for running , and it seems only fair to leave some to the mountain-bikers , and from a safety perspective , it makes sense , too . Both sets of athletes can enjoy the mountain if we simply respect each other . – Ed .
Images : Getty Images , Pexels & courtesy Bay to Bay 30km
I ’ ve been observing something and it worries me . Conventional wisdom says you should run facing traffic – the logic is that you will see the car driving erratically and can get out of the way in time . That ’ s all good , however ... This only helps if you actually do move out of the way of the cars . All too often I am seeing runners in the road , running against the traffic , but making no attempt to avoid the cars . It seems that the attitude is that if you are facing the traffic , you are in the right and you can proceed regardless . The car must move .
Unfortunately , roads are made primarily for cars . There are places where there are no pavements , and pedestrians ( including runners ) have to share the same space , but that doesn ’ t change the fact that the road was built for the cars . To avoid any arguments about this , I ’ ll merely point out that a car versus a human body nearly always ends in favour of the car .
Think of the driver . They are driving down the road and suddenly have someone coming straight towards them . The runner has the attitude that the car can move over to pass , but it might not be possible , because of oncoming traffic . So , the car has to stop , but the runner still carries on coming towards them . If you are
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