THE ED ’ S DESK by SEAN FALCONER the ed ’ s desk
About Those Plans
At the beginning of this year , I sat down to plan my 2022 . I started with the event calendar and pencilled in all the big race dates that I knew of . At that time , there were there still a lot of ‘ to be confirmed ’ notes next to many events , due to the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic , but we at least had a starting point of what would be happening in coming months in terms of the company producing event digimags , and in terms of me doing commentary at events .
Next , I worked out a monthly publishing schedule for this mag , at times constructing it around some of the bigger events , like Two Oceans and Comrades , and factoring in other project deadlines where necessary . And so the year kicked off , but as the old saying goes , “ The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry ,” and soon the curve balls came flying at us .
As events began reopening , sometimes at relatively short notice ( by normal standards ), our Modern Athlete team found ourselves working on more and more event digimags , as well as several supplements and product guides – sometimes up to four a month , on top of the main mag . Of course , we weren ’ t complaining … After nearly two years of seriously depleted income as a result of the pandemic , we were only too glad to ‘ get it done ’ and send out those invoices ! However , as the months went on , our small team became stretched by the workload , and something had to give – in my case , it was my physical health .
Running Late Again …
As some of you may recall , I had a really bad case of COVID last year in September-October , and at the start of this year I was still suffering from the effects of ‘ Long COVID ,’ which seemed to linger till round about March-April . Then this year brought two separate dental issues , both of which proved excruciatingly painful – to the extent that work was sometimes impossible – and one that required emergency surgery in late June .
I was just getting over that when I contracted COVID for a second time in late July , and while I was fortunately not as sick as last year , the virus still wiped me out for nearly two months . Unfortunately , that affected my productivity , and while I was able to get through the workload of several event digimags or projects , and pick myself up for commentary gigs – I was on the mic most weekends in August and September , including two trips each to Durban and Johannesburg – the net result was that I fell further and further behind on the main mag .
That ’ s why this edition is appearing quite a bit later than originally planned , and why Modern Athlete has fallen short of our own claim to be SA ’ s only remaining monthly running publication . As Editor of the mag , the proverbial buck stops with me , so I take responsibility for that and offer an apology to our loyal readers for keeping you waiting several times this year . I ’ m happy to report that we ’ ve already put new plans and measures in place to alleviate some of the problems we ran into this year , so that we can get the mag back on track and appearing monthly , as advertised .
… But Running Again
Another thing I am happy to write here is that I recently got my running legs turning over again . Obviously , my various health challenges have made running hard ( and quite often impossible ) in recent months , so that sheer feeling of joy when I went for my first ‘ post-COVID2 run ’ a few weeks back made me want to shout for joy . OK , my legs , lungs and heart were putting in some very hard yards , but my brain was in seventh heaven . As they say , endorphins … you gotta love ‘ em !
I know I am just one of many runners who is experiencing , or has experienced , the long road back to fitness after illness in the last few years . I often see friends posting on social media about this , and I have taken strength from following their progress and seeing them bounce back . It encourages me to lace up my running shoes and get out there again , because it just looks like they ’ re having so much damned fun !
So , on that note , it ’ s great to welcome you to another edition , and I hope you will enjoy the read . I ’ m also hoping to join you at the races again soon , once my legs catch up with my endorphin-affected brain !
Sean Falconer
Images : Nicole Hayes
4 ISSUE 153 | www . modernathlete . co . za