Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 59, June 2014 | Page 6

Editor’s Letter PUBLISHERS Mike Bray & Craig Van der Westhuizen [email protected] GOOSE-BUMPS EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR the Size of Golf Balls O Sean Falconer [email protected] JOURNALIST & RACE EDITOR Lauren van der Vyver [email protected] DESIGNER & JOURNALIST Nicole de Villiers [email protected] EVENT CORRESPONDENT & LIAISON ne of my fondest memories and most emotional moments of being a running reporter (and fan) was standing on the finish line of the Comrades Marathon to take photos of the sub-12-hour pacing bus coming home. Watching on the big screen as the bus hit the grass in the stadium and slowly made its way around the last few turns, with several hundred runners all tightly packed together, following the three flag-carrying pacesetters, singing and chanting, literally made me wipe a wee tear away from the corner of my eye. After all these years the Comrades still ‘gets’ to me, so it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our Comrades edition, which many of you reading this will have received at the Bonitas Comrades Expo. If you’re running the race, I wish you a great run and happy finish, and if you’re not a Comrades runner (yet), I reckon chances are good we will see each other at the Comrades sooner or later. This race has a powerful attraction… As they came around the last corner into the home straight, the group slowly spread across the wider section of grass until it looked like a wave of runners bearing down on us at the finish. Then the high-fiving, hugging, kissing, fist-pumping and tears of joy began as the runners could finally let all that emotion out, and the three pacesetters were literally swallowed up by the crowd that all wanted to say thank you. It was incredible to watch – I had goose-bumps the size of golf balls! Last month I wrote about the littering problem in road running, that we runners need to clean up our act, and I was very pleased to receive a number of letters from readers to say that they agreed, and appreciated what I had written. I intend publishing some of those letters in an upcoming edition to continue the campaign to educate and motivate runners to stop littering, and I hope you will join me in this. Modern Athlete Stockists Like many people of my age, I grew up watching the Comrades on TV in the 80s, on that one special day a year you got up early and sat in your PJs under a b