Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 162 October 2023 | страница 39

ROAD RUNNING

Coming Up with the Jokes

Rory ’ s unofficial studio for many of his vids … the bakkie !
Go on to Rory ’ s social media platforms and you ’ ll discover a treasure trove of his videos , often recorded in his bakkie , where he delivers one of his typical deadpan commentaries on something that has caught his attention , or made him laugh . Sometimes he is still in his running gear , making the vid straight after a run or race . “ I often think of jokes while I ’ m running , or I ’ ll see something and think that there ’ s a joke there , so while I ’ m doing the next eight kilometres , I won ’ t remember running because I ’ m thinking of how I can turn this into a video ,” he says .
“ One of the vids that went viral recently was about the potholes in the Capital City Marathon in Maritzburg . Early in the race , somebody was talking about all the potholes , and I then had 36 kilometres to think of a video about potholes . That ’ s all I was thinking about for most of the race … Like , if you dig down a pothole , what country will you get to ? What country can you smell ? Italy , because it ’ s garlic and I can smell the pizza . Okay , what else can I say about this , and I came up with a runner is missing . So , this was concocting it , and when I finished the race , I ran straight to my car and recorded the video . Then I went to rejoin my clubmates and hang out with the guys , but meanwhile , I had this video on my phone that I couldn ’ t wait to post when I got home .”
Pushing Some Buttons
Rory ’ s vids cover all topics , from running and cycling to politics , traffic , dating , rugby and more , and while he is constantly thinking of things to talk and joke about , he says he is now getting more people coming up to him with ideas they think he should do a video on . “ Yes , it happens a lot these days , sometimes at the mall , but especially during runs , and sometimes they are pretty weird , too .”
“ During that same Capital City Marathon where I was thinking about potholes , I went through one of the water stations and heard one of the full sachets pop when a runner stood on it . One of the people handing out the water recognised me , and said , ‘ Hey , you ’ re the guy from the videos , you should do a video about these sachets popping on the road .’ I was like , okay , cool , I ’ ll do that and carried on running , but I was thinking , wait , there ’ s funnier stuff here … like potholes . Maybe another day , my content
today is potholes . Don ’ t confuse me , my brain is somewhere else .”
Of course , like any good comedian , he sometimes hits a nerve with people , and last year he rubbed a few cyclists up the wrong way with his vid titled The Truth a Cyclist Will Never Tell You . “ I did the 38km race at the Amashova , and then did a video about how easy cycling is , and I had some grumpy cyclists hating me for that . So , this year , I ’ m going back to do the full-length race and see if it ’ s any different . But please don ’ t tell the running community that I ’ m doing a bike race , because people will start deleting and blocking me ! ( Consider it our secret , Rory ! – Ed .)

Check out some of Rory ’ s most popular vids

Dodging Potholes in PMB The Truth a Cyclist Will Never Tell You
The Samoosa Shaper Suggestions for Petrol Stations The Springboks Need Our Help !
Dating in Durban 2022 Driving in the Durban CBD Important Message for Springbok Fans !
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