C o l u m n
THE RUNNING MANN
The best way to earn your Easter egg is to run this brutal route on Good Friday beer into it . As you can see from the pic below , this is a 100 % guaranteed surefire way to get the smile back on my face after a tough marathon .
With 847m of elevation , I make this the toughest coastal marathon in the country , but sometimes the stats don ’ t tell the full story . Just how tough is this marathon ? Julian Karp , who prides himself on never , ever walking , begrudgingly admitted that he “ had to walk about 80 metres at one point .” This route is vicious . This route is nasty . This route is brutal . It ’ s also the best and most beautiful marathon I ’ ve run so far this year !
With Easter being an important religious holiday for many , I can confirm that the climb over the last 8km brought many people closer to God . Whilst some wondered whether today was the day they ’ d get to meet their maker , others offered up prayers to their chosen deity , pleading for the climbing to come to an end . With the race start line being drawn using dirt from the side of the road , a 1pm start in the heat of the day and a course so hilly that you are guaranteed to get badly burnt , this route is best described as a case of , “ Ashes to ashes , dust to dusk .”
As for me , I had my own religious experience when I spotted the sign below . In the Bible , Peter is told he will disown Jesus three times before the cock crows at sunrise . Luckily roosters don ’ t crow at sunset , because on Good Friday 2024 , I was ready to disown marathon running over these final kilometres !
On Good Friday , I was ready to disown marathon running if the rooster crowed
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 250 marathons and ultras around the world , and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , while his dream is to get a sponsorship from a beer company , so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style . If you ’ d like him to run your race , or talk at your event or club , email therunningmann @ gmail . com . You can follow all his adventures on his popular Running Mann blog .
Stamping Out the Plastic
Below are a couple of questions I posed to the Festival of Running Marathon organisers about their drive to hold a plastic-free race .
Q : Can you give me a bit of information about holding a plastic-free race , and why this is important to you ? Most people agree that we need to use less plastic , and various bodies talk about doing so , but very few actually do the work . To my knowledge , not one athlete has been disqualified for littering in an SA race , so we have to talk about a different kind of leadership to create change in our habits . If people don ’ t have an option , then corrective action is not only easier , it is the standard .
Something to Smile About
Fortunately , I had one thing keeping me going : Beer . Safe in the knowledge that I had a coolerbox full of ice-cold beer waiting for me at the finish line , my empty beer mug acted as a magnet and pulled me up the final climb to the finish . With the race being plastic-free and as waste-efficient as possible , you can choose whether you want to top up the really cheap entry fee of R130 with an extra R30 for a medal . In addition , all runners do a get an edible , easter egg ‘ medal ’ after crossing the finish line . I was so sugar-deprived that mine disappeared in one gulp .
Whilst running with a beer stein is not recommend ( and left my knuckles in a rather battered and bruised state ), my choice of environmentally-friendly refillable vessel did work fantastically well after finishing . Having given my mug a solid rinsing with water for the better part of five hours , I was delighted to finally be able to pour a
We begged , borrowed and bought tanks to supply water on route for this event . Hopefully our water supplier will get more demand , and therefore begin to offer this service to more races in future . Creating events where time wastage for refilling is not an issue becomes important to help adjust thinking , and when events like this operate , then other event organizers see that it is not only possible , but also desirable .
Q : What advice do you have for other race organisers who want to go plastic-free or reduced plastic ? Start organising early , and communicate to all athletes , officials and partners that you ’ re offering refill stations . If the route is a fast route , ask on public forums whether athletes are going for a PB , and make it clear that if the answer is no , then it will be expected that you ’ re not using single-use plastic sachets , but rather running with a cup or a bottle . We recommend a collapsible cup or bottle . They can range in price from R20-ish to R300 + depending on brand and your desire ! ( We don ’ t recommend runners run with a beer stein , although that makes a phenomenal story …)
It was a relaxed field and there were no complaints about a bit of ‘ stop and go ’ to replenish the water stocks
How to put a smile back onto your face after a tough marathon
Images : Stuart Mann , Kayla Potgieter
36 ISSUE 171 | www . modernathlete . co . za