Ma letters
Have YOUR SAY
Got something on your mind that you want to share, a burning question you want answered, or a good story to tell? Then send it to letters @ modernathlete. co. za.
( Note that these letters may have been shortened due to space limitations.)
WINNING LETTER
BUILD YOUR OWN SAFE TRAIL
PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN
Thank you very much for a good but heartbreaking article in your August edition on the wonderful people we have lost on our roads doing something as wonderful and harmless to society as running. Thank you also for the very good safety advice – it is another wake-up call to me and hopefully to all other runners.
My reason for writing to you is to tell your readers of a fairly cheap and doable method of creating a very safe running or MTB area. I love running, and as I run mostly off-road, I always had to get in my car and drive somewhere safe, which detracts from some of the benefits of running, such as not to pollute, and to get away from the stress of driving. Now, we have a nature reserve near us in Centurion, the Zwartkop Nature Reserve, which is used by the military, so we cannot access the reserve itself, but I used to run in the grass between the road and the perimeter fence, and that made me think of building a track. I started it in November 2016, and on 14 June we completed it.
The concept is simple and I would encourage clubs and municipalities to investigate doing this all over their cities. We cleared the grass and bushes for a width of 1.3 meters all around the reserve – we just clear, no changing of contours or any other interference in existing infrastructure. This gives us 15km of track, and while some is near the edge of the tar, it is still definitely out of the normal traffic area. This not only takes you away from the danger zone, but it gives your feet a break from hammering the tar, and on the one side of you there is scenic veld with some game and birds.
If you load apps“ MTB Project” and“ Trail Run Project,” you will see my Zwartkop Rondo trail is already listed in both, with parking and water points shown. – Philip Boardman, Centurion
Now that’ s what I call a service to the running community! As I wrote last month, we have lost too many good people on the roads, so anything that helps us all run safer is a huge step in the right direction. Thanks, Philip – love your work! – Ed.
I recently took part in the Lux Mauritius Marathon, on 16 July. I had expected to see a lot of people taking part in this marathon, but there were only about 144 participants – and about 70 percent of the runners were South Africans, no jokes! So you can imagine my stress and anxiety when I realised there were so few of us taking part in this Race. My two regular Comrades runner friends were aiming for sub-three and sub-four finishes, where I just wanted to finish the marathon, but I did not want to be the last person to arrive at the finish line. And the chances were very high that I could be last …
In the end my time was 5:30, and luckily I was not last, but it rained from the minute the race started until I finished. My phone got soaked in the rain and stopped working completely, so I lost all the beautiful pictures that I took before the race, and all my contacts.( I have decided I’ m going to buy myself a Fitbit for running.)
Philip and his trail
Comparing this race to marathons here in South Africa, I know I would never be the last person to reach the finish line, because in a marathon there are thousands of people taking part. This also made me realise that South Africa is world class when it comes to hosting road running activities. I mean, there is always a race somewhere in the country every weekend, and everything runs smoothly – and a lot of planning and resources are needed to organise these events.
So the most important lesson that I learnt is never to complain about the running events hosted here in South Africa, because they are the best. Now I am looking forward to the warmer weather, so that I can continue with my running and shed the winter fat. – Teboho Makhaya, Midrand
We do indeed have world class races in this country – even the smallest races offer more than many races around the world, and it’ s something we should be very grateful for. – Ed.
Images: iStock and courtesy Philip Boardman & Teboho Makhaya
6 ISSUE 98 SEPTEMBER 2017 / www. modernathlete. co. za