EDITOR’ S LETTER
SUNNY MILES AHEAD
PHOTOGRAPH PETER KIRK
Spring is such a happy word, especially in our sport. As we grind through the darker, colder months, utterances of the‘ spring’ word conjure up blossoms and butterflies with laughing runners bouncing through green meadows bathed in glowing sunshine. You can almost smell the flowers and hear the birds.
It’ s that time of year where we either come out of hibernation or start picking up the pace with the race calendar hotting up ahead. Certainly we hope Two Oceans, Comrades and other ultra runners took proper time-out. Your bodies, and most likely your families and businesses, really need it.
Recovery is something we all know matters, but given the importance of running in our routines, and the positive impact a daily run has on our mental and physical wellbeing, we often choose to ignore science and flip voorentoe … until we get injured and lose a whole lot more running than we bargained on. It usually starts with a niggle, then actual pain, and very often a DNF, that three-letter swear word that we battle to swallow. We hear from our mindful runner guru Fred Richardson, coach to the likes of Doug Pickard, on how to roll with a Did-Not-Finish and bounce back stronger on page 96.
On the subject of injury, shoes play a huge role in our biomechanical efficiency, especially the modern midsole cushioning which soaks up so much impact. Before you just buy what the fast oke in your club wears, or think the shoe you liked a year ago will be the same, take a deep dive into our shoe reviews on page 24 to get a better sense of what goes into modern shoe technology. There is literally a Cinderella shoe for every runner.
Very often it’ s the super-long distances that cause injury – a combination of the race and the training. Not many runners have the
Fuelled by forest air and superb scenery at the Hobbit Trail Runs weekend in Hogsback.
bullet-proof constitution of a Louis Massyn, who we celebrate in an interview on page 110. Then there’ s Ryan Sandes who almost won a 400km race( see page 52) – and Zim businessman George Economou, who didn’ t start running until late in his 20s, and has now run 7 marathons on 7 continents in – wait for it – just 7 days( see page 64). Remarkable!
Speaking of our two iconic ultra marathons, it’ s been an uncomfortable year with massive media attention on the role players at the helm of both, which has led to some wholesale staffing changes, seemingly for the better. The person who’ s been hugely instrumental in this process, blogger
Stuart Mann, aka The Running Mann, is a passionate runner of over 250 local marathons. Stuart shares his experience of unintentionally falling into an activist role and how difficult it’ s been. Read his story on page 130.
As you carefully plan your road or trail races for the rest of the year, which you’ ll find a pretty exhaustive list of on page 122, you’ ll hopefully be inspired by some of our race reviews. We truly are spoiled for choice. We went back to Knysna to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the social funfest that is the Forest Marathon( see p75) and experienced nostalgic bliss seeing how its unique charm has remained. We also go deep into the magic forests of Hogsback to describe an incredibly lovely long weekend of multiple distance races at the Hobbit Trail Runs on page 36. These are definitely events you should add to your bucket list.
You’ ll also draw inspiration from the likes of green activist Karoline Hanks( p112), who did 8 848m of elevation on 13 laps up and down Chapman’ s Peak over 30 hours, and freakish amateur, Adam Lipschitz( p48), who came an astounding 12th at the stacked-with-pros London Marathon!
If you are, like many road runners, keen to explore new off-the-beatentrack spaces but are intimidated by trail running, we suggest you pick a shorter distance on a non-technical course. It takes some getting used to lifting your feet to clear stones or roots, but trail running continues to grow for good reason. It’ s safer away from traffic( okay, maybe with big mates and dogs in some dodgy areas) and is definitely lighter on your joints. We discovered simple tools that can make trail running easier, both going up long climbs and down steep descents. Read all about why running poles engage your upper body to save your quads and provide stability where the natural ground is uneven. You’ ll learn where, when and how to use these handy tools on page 99.
We hope that’ s enough edutainment to last you until the summer holidays. If you feel we can add value to your favourite running mag in any way, please feel free to drop me a note. We are proudly by South Africans for South Africans and we aim to motivate and inspire YOU. So don’ t be shy, share your ideas and stories with us so we can share your stoke.
Please send us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve your reading experience: runmag @ electricink. co. za @ runmagsa Get more news & views at bikeruntri. co. za
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