Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 62, September 2014 | Página 37

women’s running

Ma

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Do you and your partner fall in sync
with each other or do you clash
on a run? Feedback says a couple
who runs together, stays together. –
BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

My mom and dad got back from a run a few weeks
ago, huffing and puffing whilst telling me about
a new trail they found near our home in Pretoria.
“Beautiful,” my mom exclaimed, “and dad stayed
with me the whole way!” It was a rather surprising
occurrence, because he usually runs ahead of
her. While she is trudging up steep hills and
keeping a rather conservative pace, he’ll often run
ahead, then turn back to run with her again, and
sometimes even shuffles backwards up hills while
promising to stay with her. That’s common practice
for when they go out running together, and despite
some of the frustrations this brings for both of
them, there’s a lot that comes out of spending time
together and sharing a common love of running.

reassuring having someone with you at the finish
line. Without sounding completely corny, working
out together can help build that cooperative spirit.
But when it comes to running together, there are
victories and downfalls by the dozen. There are
a few things you’ll have to decipher – who’ll be
running quicker, and can you manage to slow
down for your partner? Is it a social outing or is
it competitive training? Decide from the get-go
whether you will be sticking together or not. If
you have a little more fuel in your tank, tell your
partner that you’ll be shooting ahead. Otherwise,
you’ll just be left frustrated by the end of your
session. The plus side of being together is having
that constant support system by your side, pushing
you to new levels and PBs.

Road for Two
If your partner likes to hit an early morning race
and you like to do the same, there’s definitely a
plus side here. He or she will understand what
makes you get up rather than lie in on a weekend
morning. And ‘getting it’ is a rare find. Planning a
race together is a winner – whether you’re faster
or slower, the journey there will be a shared
experience that you both will remember. It’s also

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RUNNING COUPLES
We asked Modern Athlete
readers if love and running
can mix successfully.
JENNIFER ANN YEO: “Love running with
my fiancé. My tempo runs might be his
easy relaxed run, but it pushes me to run
harder and he always runs back from the
finish to meet me, which makes for a good
finish.”
STUART WAINWRIGHT: “We met on a
half marathon seven years ago, ran three
Comrades together, and countless other
races. Now we are on day 115 of our
consecutive running challenge and it is our
little way to make sure that we get time
together.”
MELANIE DE BRUYN: “My husband and
I met at a race, we also got engaged at
a race! We train together and run 10km
races together – anything further than
that, he ‘goes’ and I ‘follow,’ although he
did run my first Comrades with me.”
JAMES ALLAN DAVIS: “Me and my wife
train together and I run at her pace. I also
do my own training runs. We have run a
few 21s together, the Spur Trail Series and
the AfricanX. Great being able to share the
journey with her!”

Images: iStock

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2014/05/08 5:09 PM