COMMENTS
ABOUT THE LAST ISSUE …
SHOT ON A FANTASTIC PUBLICATION …
I would like to congratulate you on a fantastic digital publication . I am embarrassed to admit that I have not read Modern Athlete for some time , as I have always been a “ print mag person .” I have not purchased the other SA running print mag for a number of years , given the price on the cover , and I have missed the running news and have felt out of touch for some time . Then the latest edition of your mag caught my eye on Facebook and I thought I ’ d download it . Needless to say that I have finally “ moved with the times ,” and I cannot wait until the next issue ! – Marco De Freitas , Cape Town
Thanks , Marco , such positive feedback is always appreciated . PS : If you ’ re reading this , the new mag is out . – Ed .
INSPIRED BY GERDA … AND YOUR MAG …
I really love Modern Athlete magazine ’ s inspiring stories , especially the one I have just read about how Gerda Steyn started her career . I am an athlete who is looking for motivation , especially this year , as I will be running my fourth Comrade Marathon . Thank you so much , and keep on motivating us . – Dominic Gwadi , via e-mail
Even though I have interviewed Gerda a number of times , I still find her story hugely inspiring , too . Hope your prep for the Comrades is going well ! – Ed .
WELL DONE , TWO OCEANS !…
From the feedback I ’ ve received , the first plastic sachet-free Two Oceans Marathon was a success . PBs were still achieved , records were smashed , and nobody suffered from insufficient hydration . Take a bow , the TOM team . You made a bold , brave call – and it worked . These two pictures say it all . # ICarryMyOwn – Karoline Hanks , Cape Town
I was also thrilled to see the announcement that they were eliminating sachets this year , and while there continue to be some who are vociferously in favour of sachets , I think the tide is beginning to turn on the use of plastic in road running . # RunClean – Ed .
BEFORE
HOT TOPIC OF DEBATE
NO , RACES ARE NOT TOO EXPENSIVE …
The comments in response to Manfred Seidler ’ s opinion piece on the cost of race entry fees continue to come in , and as before , most runners seem to think that entries are too expensive at the moment . ( You can read Manfred ’ s piece here , in case you missed it .)
Rudzani : Some races are ridiculously more expensive than others . Take for instance the Om Die Dam 50km entry fee of R650 , whereas the Irene Ultra 48km is just R350 . How do you justify that ? They cannot claim Metro Police charges in this regard , as Centurion is far busier than Harties . I think it is time we start boycotting expensive races and support reasonable races .
Liezel Pieters : Many of us just race less now , as it ’ s ridiculous what we have to pay for even a 10km . Shirts used to be included for some , now they are excluded , so I just don ’ t buy shirts anymore . Also , some races in Central Gauteng area were cancelled last year with NO refund ! What happened to that money ?
I ran a superb 21km in March where all the officials were volunteers from the local club , lots of non-runners , too , and we ran on back roads that were tar and sand , but that was fine . So why is the JMPD paid so much ? Surely new JMPD recruits can do it for less money as part of community service , maybe only covering their traveling costs ? Are they not on duty anyhow over weekends ?
Lawrence Chauke : Races are overpriced and some don ’ t even give medals to the finishers , while some race T-shirts are not quality . Some races give the same medals to the marathon and half marathon runners , while others do not even write the distance on their medals . I feel like it ’ s not fair .
AFTER
VIVA , RACES , VIVA …
In response to your recent mailed newsletter , titled Our Race Calendar is Back - Bigger and Better , I just want to say that it ’ s great to know that the race calendar is back ! – Nicol Subramoney , via e-mail
I knew the calendar would prove popular , which is why we put so much effort into making it bigger ( two months ) and better ( with hyperlinked icons ). Glad it is proving useful . – Ed .
8 ISSUE 151 | www . modernathlete . co . za
Fred Axsel : Speaking to many athletes , the general consensus is that races in their present form are going to die a slow death . Many athletes are still entering races for now , to experience events that were not possible during COVID lockdowns , but this is a novelty that is wearing thin , mainly due to high entry fees , no discretionary reduced fees for seniors ( Great Grandmasters ), and no free T-shirts and goodie bags . Also , the JMPD are quite useless – they no longer man intersections , which have been taken over by trained Outsurance personnel and sometimes even rag-tag homeless persons – but are seen gathering in groups after races ( probably being paid for additional hours at double rates ). Road closures can be better operated by club volunteers .
Henri Robert : R1200 for the Comrades ? No thank you ! Plus the cost to travel down , accommodation , club fees , new running shoes , etc , and also not interested to get the vaccine . Forget it . Running has become too expensive and races will slowly die . It ’ s time to organise our own little races between friends and neighbours .
Joey Gotkin : Race prices are ridiculous , especially with additional costs of credit card bookings added on . Clubs should bare this cost if we have to book online and can ’ t go to a sports shop to enter . Then an additional cost is added on as we have to go to the venue to collect our numbers the day before . Why can ’ t clubs hand out numbers on race day , to avoid two trips to the race venue ? Volunteers organise most races , but timing companies and the traffic cops ( who are never available for emergencies ) are making a killing . They are charging far too much . There was a petition to object about traffic cops ’ costs . Meanwhile , why can clubs in other provinces , like Mpumalanga , charge much less ? As a past race organiser , I know the costs .
Images : Courtesy Karoline Hanks