THE ED ’ S DESK by SEAN FALCONER
the ed ’ s desk
Another Hill to Climb
If you are a regular reader of this mag , you will know that our May edition came out later than planned due to my unfortunate altercation with a bull terrier ’ s teeth , leaving my right hand out of commission for several weeks . ( If you missed it , you can read about it my previous Ed ’ s Letter .) That has also had a knock-on effect on this edition in terms of timing , but I am happy to report that my hand has healed well , and the mag is back up to its normal amount of content after last month ’ s thinner edition .
Next month my aim is to bring out the July edition a bit earlier in the month and try to get things back on track , and I want to thank all readers , advertisers and partners for the messages I received wishing me well for my recovery .
However , in the meantime , the new Delta strain of the COVID virus has well and truly taken hold of South Africa , and the President has taken us back to a Level 4 lockdown . With the slow roll-out of vaccines in our country , this new strain is causing a massive increase in the infection rate , with more hospitalisations , a crisis in terms of lack of available hospital beds and medical oxygen , and the tragic deaths of still more of our loved ones , friends , colleagues and acquaintances . I think by now , very few people have not been affected by this pandemic , and most of us have lost somebody we knew or loved . Our thoughts are with you all .
Here We Go Again
From the perspective of the running community , Level 4 means we can still go out for a run on our favourite training routes – we have not been restricted to our houses again , like last March-April – but the races , parkruns / MyRuns and club runs that we love doing are very much on hold until further notice . This is really bad news for event companies and those who rely on events for their income , most of whom have already taken a huge financial knock for the past 15 months , just as restaurants and tourism industry companies have suffered . We can only hope this third wave will start coming down soon , and vaccines will start arriving in greater numbers , and that life can go back to normal again .
I said this last year and still feel the same way : We all need to do everything we can to stay safe and slow the spread of the virus , to flatten the curve , and we need to help each other as much as possible to get through this . Wear your mask at all times , practise social distancing , wash and sanitise your hands regularly , and hopefully sometime in the not too distant future , we will be back to racing , socialising and enjoying life fully .
In the meantime , I am going to just look at this picture of myself during the Dodo Trail Run in Mauritius , which I participated in back in July 2019 . Two years ago , things were a lot simpler , we were more carefree , and we could go do a lekker race and just enjoy a stunning view . I am determined to keep a positive outlook on life , and keep working towards the day we can get back to doing what we love , without any worries about a virus .
Stay safe , folks , but keep running … because being fit and healthy will hopefully help ward off the COVID germs .
Sean Falconer
Images : Dimitri Rault Photography
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4 ISSUE 142 JUNE 2021 / www . modernathlete . co . za