CONTENTS
In the Mag this Month
Welcome to our 149 th edition . You can click on the page numbers below to go straight to the article of your choice .
WARMING UP
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The Ed ’ s Desk : Perhaps I Need to Run More
After being not-so-subtly told that I weigh more now than before lockdown , I reckon it ’ s time to get my legs moving , so I ’ m happy to see so many races on the go again , even if they are a bit pricey for now . – BY SEAN FALCONER
Stats & Facts : Marching on This Month
Taking a look back through the annals of the history of SA athletics and road running , these are a few of the standout performances in the month of March . – BY RIËL HAUMAN
Runner ’ s High : Happy Birthday to Me !
Each month we publish a great running pic of a great running place or race , and this month we are at Cape Peninsula Marathon with men ’ s winner Sithembiso Mqhele .
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ROAD RUNNING
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Sport Man Says : No , Races Are NOT Too Expensive
I am probably going to take some serious flack for this opinion piece , but I think this is something that needs to be said … and it has been coming a long time , irrespective of whether the COVID pandemic had happened or not . – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
Gerda ’ s Marathon Goal
The country ’ s fastest female marathon runner , Gerda Steyn , recently signed up to run in adidas shoes and apparel , and we caught up with her to chat about her love of running , and what fuels her Impossible is Nothing attitude .
The Running Mann : New Kid on the Block
As regular readers of this column know , I love running marathons , and thankfully , the races are coming back at last , so in February I kicked back into marathoning gear with the new Joburg North City Marathon . – BY STUART MANN
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On the cover
THIRSTI AFRICANX TRAILRUN Ambassador Nicholas Rupanga in his element out on the trails Photograph by Tobias Ginsberg , courtesy of Stillwater Sports
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ISSUE 149
Ambassadors Raring to Go !
AFRICANX Legends Reporting for Duty
SA ’ s Best Athletics Schools Crowned
Mafadi FKT
Johardt van Heerden ’ s Drakensberg Adventure
Cover Image : Tobias Ginsberg
Totalsports Supplement : Getting You Race-ready ! 1
ISSUE 149 | www . modernathlete . co . za
SA ’ s Biggest Running Publication www . modernathlete . co . za
Gerda Steyn
Excited about Next Chapter
Are SA ’ s Races Too Expensive ?
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TRAIL RUNNING
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TRACK & FIELD
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In December Elite SA trail runner Johardt van Heerden joined friends in the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal to attempt to set a new Fastest Known Time ( FKT ) to run to the summit of Mafadi , the highest point in South Africa . – BY LOUIS LE GRANGE .
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As the race calendar kicks off , I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the important things I have learnt over the years in my trail running career . Many I unfortunately learnt the hard way ! – BY CARLA FARINA
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Chasing the Mafadi FKT
Trail ( Mis ) Adventures : Fail to Prepare , Prepare to Fail
AFRICANX Ambassadors All Set
With the 2022 edition of the three-day THIRSTI AFRICANX TRAILRUN coming up in March , the AFRICANX Ambassadors are looking forward to three days of sensational trail running ! – BY JACKY McCLEAN
38 Gearing Up for a Busy Year
With a jam-packed track and field calendar in 2022 , the top athletes in SA are gearing up for a massive year . Here is some of the latest news coming out of the world of SA track . – BY WILHELM DE SWARDT with SEAN FALCONER