Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013 | Page 13

Still Getting HIS ‘KICKS’
He grew up playing soccer on dusty fields in Soweto and went on to play pro for Noordgesig Arsenal Football Club, playing against teams like Orlando Pirates and Moroko Swallows Big 15 in the 70s, but at the age of 32, Don Charles decided to trade his soccer boots in for running shoes, and that proved a very good decision. – BY NICOLE DE VILLIERS

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hen Don Charles won the grandmaster title at the 2013 Central Gauteng Cross Country Champs in August, it was yet another age category win to add to his already impressive collection. In previous years he has wracked up wins in the veteran, master and grandmaster categories at top events like the Loskop Ultramarathon and Cape Town City Marathon, but Don says the most special victories came in his childhood ‘hometown’ of Soweto. In fact, he has won his category at the Soweto Marathon as a veteran, a master and as a grandmaster. “These races have meant so much to me, as I have an attachment to Soweto,” says Don.

the 70s, so that Friday he decided he would go and run on the Sunday. “I never really knew what a marathon was and what the distances were, because road running had been strictly for white people only for the longest time. Still, I was prepared to run the marathon based on my soccer fitness,” says Don, who duly arrived at the start line in his casual ‘tekkies.’ “By the time I got to 10km I realised this was pretty far. When I got to 15km, I asked the fellow runners beside me how far there was left to go. When they told me we weren’t even halfway, my enthusiasm dwindled, and when I got to 27km, I called it quits!”

Soccer Pro
When Don was a little boy, he looked up to his older brother who was always out on the soccer field, and at the age of eight, Don decided this was the sport for him. He spent many hours of his childhood doing what he loved most, playing very competitive soccer in Soweto, and went on to enjoy a successful playing career, but after many years of playing professionally, he grew tired of the politics in the soccer industry and made a decision to transition from soccer to the more tranquil world of individual sport, specifically running. It all started on a Friday evening when Don heard there was a marathon happening relatively close to where he lived that Sunday morning. Now he had harboured a desire to run a marathon at the back of his mind since road running had been opened to all racial groups in

Natural Runner
Despite such a negative first experience of long distance running, Don had still enjoyed the race, so he decided to try again, but this time he would train properly, having realised that his soccer fitness was only a base for this type of endurance sport, and that he needed to put in more training before taking on another marathon. Once he began serious training, however, Don proved to be a ‘natural,’ and his competitive nature soon earned him podium positions, and later many age category wins. Initially, Don had a regular training partner, but when the latter grew tired of the sport and threatened to quit, Don started hassling his wife, Muriel, to also take up his much loved new sport. Muriel had no interest in running, but decided to humour her husband... little did she know that she would also prove to be a natural and become a competitive age grouper! So these days, the Charles couple regularly do a double sweep of the men’s and women’s grandmaster categories at races up to half marathon distance. “Don is always training me,” says Muriel. “We like to do some training sessions together, when our schedules allow it, and we also do a lot of crosstraining, which includes Boot Camp and gym work.” Their two sons are also sporty, one being a runner and the other a cyclist. Meanwhile, Don’s next big goal is to ride the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge with his son later this year. He may just prove a natural at that as well…

DON’s PBs
10km 21km 42km 33:27 1:11:22 2:34:31

Don and Muriel Charles, regular podium double-act

Images: Jetline Action Photo & Courtesy Muriel Charles

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