THE ED ’ S DESK by SEAN FALCONER the ed ’ s desk
End of a Long ,
Long Year …
It ’ s the December edition , so time to look back at the year that was , remember the highlights and celebrate the good memories , and look ahead to the hopefully much better year to come – and given how this COVID-ravaged year has gone , we ’ re really holding thumbs that 2022 will be better !
This time last year I wrote in the mag that 2020 had been one hell of a year – literally and figuratively – and as we put the December 2020 edition to bed , we added that nobody was sure whether it would actually be a merry Christmas . After all , the country was going into the second wave of the COVID pandemic and had been put back into a heightened lockdown level , and as a result , everybody was saying that Christmas was pretty much cancelled , just like all the performing arts and sport events had been cancelled since the previous March .
Many of us lost loved ones and friends in that second wave , and more in the third wave midway through the year , but we eventually came through both . Now , as I write this Ed ’ s Letter , we ’ re in the fourth wave , which thus far , thankfully , is not looking to be as serious or as deadly , so there is hope that things are slowly getting better . And you can feel the difference … no talk about Christmas being cancelled this year , for starters .
Some believe that the current Omicron variant of COVID is more contagious than previous variants , but not as potentially serious as the Delta variant . Thus more people may test positive , but less will become seriously ill , end up in hospital or lose their lives . However , we all need to realise that it ’ s too early to say for sure , as numbers of cases are still climbing , and thus we need to continue being careful , by masking , sanitising , socially distancing and getting vaccinated . And exercising to stay fit and healthy .
The Best of 2021
Looking back on 2021 , we have endured another 12 months of lockdown restrictions , even if ‘ just ’ at adjusted level 1 . That makes it 21 months of this , with no immediate end in sight , so it ’ s no wonder people are fed up , and yearning for life to go back to normal . Here in the running community , we also yearn for unlimited mass participation events to come back , because for now road running events are generally still limited in number . But more and more events are reopening , so again , there is at least hope of normality returning sometime soon .
With the end of year in sight , we ’ re also looking back on another year of wonderful stories published here in the mag . The hallmark of this mag since we launched in June 2009 has been sharing inspirational stories , and this past year saw many highlights , and in this edition , each of the four members of the Modern Athlete team has selected their personal stand-out , favourite story of the year for our Best of 2021 special section that begins on page 18 . If you missed any of these four features earlier in the year , I urge you read them now , and even if you have read them before , top up on the inspiration that oozes from each one .
More Great Stories
You ’ ll also find new content in this edition as well , and I think you ’ ll also take inspiration from the stories about explorer and adventurer Gaven Sinclair , who recently ran 1000km from Gqeberha to Cape Town to promote wellness , and triathlete Hele Niehaus , who tackled a solo half Ironman at home in the Free State and ended up inspiring a whole community .
We also have a great race report by Dave McCullough from the recent K-Way SkyRun 100km trail run , with some terrific pics to accompany the article . And look out for Manfred Seidler ’ s column , in which he picks his Athletes of the Year for both SA and the world , and the Running Mann describes the novel way he has incentivised his daughter to stay active during lockdown with the lure of ice cream !
All the Best for 2022
A final word from me for 2021 is to wish all of you a merry Christmas or festive season , and a well-deserved December holiday . I ’ d like to thank all our loyal readers for sticking with us this year , even those who have not done as much running as usual due to there being no races on the calendar . A big thank you also to all our advertisers and partners , who continue to support our magazine , just as we support their brands , products and services .
Of course , we are all hoping that 2022 will bring the end of the pandemic and better times , with health , success and happiness for all . And lots of great running ! In the meantime , put your feet up for a while and enjoy this month ’ s read .
Sean Falconer
Image : Nicole Hayes
4 ISSUE 147 DECEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za