Author: Modern Athlete

On Sunday 10 June, the 93rd Comrades Marathon will again once see thousands of runners take on the Ultimate Human Race, with all those runners hoping to make it all the way from Piermaritzburg to Durban to claim that coveted little medal. And once again, many will be relying on the Modern Athlete Comrades Marathon Pacesetters to get them home on time. – BY SEAN FALCONER

If you’ve ever seen one of the Modern Athlete Comrades Marathon Pacesetters bring a bus into the finish of the race, you’ll know that singing, dancing, crying, high-fiving, fist-pumping, hugging and kissing are the order of the day. It remains one of the highlights of the race to see these large groups finishing, and many a spectator has been seen to wipe away a little tear of emotion at the sight of all those happy runners.

These are the only official pacing ‘buses’ at Comrades, run with the permission of the Comrades Marathon Association, and the volunteer ‘bus drivers’ carry flags with their target time so that runners can easily spot them, hop on the bus of their choice and rely on the Pacesetter to guide them home on time. The buses have become a huge part of the race, and while some runners complain about the huge groups blocking the road and making overtaking difficult, many more love the vibe created in these buses.

For many years Modern Athlete organised the standard sub-9:00 (Bill Rowan cut-off), sub-11:00 (Bronze cut-off) and sub-12:00 (Vic Clapham cut-off) buses, and in 2016 we added a sub-10:00 bus, which proved just as popular as the more established buses. Then in 2017 we brought Gauteng Pacesetters co-ordinator Buks van Heerden on board and went still bigger, adding sub-8:30, sub-9:30, sub-11:30 and sub-11:45 buses, but this did unfortunately lead to some confusion out on the road, as various pacers were running on different race-day strategies, with different fade differentials, and thus some of the buses were a bit mixed up in the early stages of the race. To solve that problem, the 2018 buses, co-ordinated by Buks and Mindlo Mdhluli of KZN Pacesetters, will run with similar strategies, all sticking as close as possible to pacing charts created by Western Province Pacesetter Rassie Pretorius.

Tried and Trusted Pacers
The 2018 Comrades Pacesetters will be captained by Madoko Ndlovu, driver of the hugely popular Madoko’s Bus for many years and one of the most experienced Pacers in SA, and the list of bus drivers once again features many well-known and highly experienced stalwarts of previous Comrades, such as Johan van Tonder, Linda Hlophe, Jeff Ramokoka and Derrick Rondganger. For the first time ever, we will offer a sub-7:30 silver medal bus, and it is also brilliant to see that the Pacesetters hail from all over the country. Most have been running as Pacesetters regularly this year in build-up races to Comrades, so many runners around the country already know and trust their pacing. These, then, are the men and women who will be carrying the flags in this year’s Comrades:

Sub-7:30 (Silver medal)
Tshililo Ngwana (Gauteng, 11 medals)

Sub-9:00 (Bill Rowan medal)
Johan van Tonder (Gauteng, 16 medals)
Joe Faber (KwaZulu-Natal (21 medals)

Sub-10:00 (Safe Bronze medal)
Linda Hlophe (Gauteng, 14 medals)
James Nkosi (KwaZulu-Natal, 12 medals)
George Mojela (Limpopo, 9 medals)

Sub-10:30 (Safe Bronze medal)
Sibusiso Mlangeni (Gauteng, 2 medals)

Sub-11:00 (Bronze medal)
Madoko Ndlovu (Gauteng, 13 medals)
Jeff Ramokoka (Gauteng, 19 medals)
Arnold Nkosi (Gauteng, 10 medals)

Sub-11:30 (Safe Vic Clapham medal)
Gerald Pavel (KwaZulu-Natal, 6 medals)
Charl Whitaker (Gauteng, 11 medals)
Gary Dixon (UK Guest Pacer, 2 medals)

Sub-11:45 (Vic Clapham medal)
Claus Kempen (Free State, 13 medals)

Sub-12:00 (Vic Clapham medal)
Derrick Rondganger (Western Province, 11 medals)
Lucas Seleka (Limpopo, 11 medals)
Shahieda Thungo (Gauteng, 2 medals)

There will also be a few ‘back-up drivers’ on race day, who will be running with the buses to gain experience of pacing at Comrades, and who will be on hand to take over should one of the official Pacers run into trouble:

Sub-10:00 Siyabonga Khumalo (Gauteng, 3 medals)
Sub-11:00 Mkhokheli Malghas (Eastern Cape, 2 medals)
Sub-11:45 Pieter Schoeman (Gauteng, 6 medals)
Sub-12:00 Andrew Mashiane (Gauteng, 3 medals)
Sub-12:00 Virgulle Steenkamp (Gauteng, 1 medal)

Please note that specific buses or drivers may still change between the time of writing and race day, and Modern Athlete will post updated info on social media where applicable. Also, one of the 'rules' of Pacesetting is that should a Pacer be unable to keep the pace for their target time, they must discard their flag, or hand over the flag to somebody that can keep the bus going. In a race as tough and long as Comrades, even the most experienced runner could exprience a bad day in the office, and thus having more than one Pacer for most target times makes sense, as well as back-up drivers, should something go wrong. Thankfully, over the years most of our Modern Athlete Comrades Pacesetters have done a sterling job of bringing their buses home on time!

Modern Athlete would like to thank our Comrades Pacesetters for their incredible spirit and camaraderie, and being willing to volunteer and take on the responsibility of helping fellow runners. We look forward to welcoming all the buses home on Comrades race day.

The peak training for the Comrades Marathon is now over, and while we enjoy the extra hours of the taper period, it is time to use the ‘calm before the storm’ to develop our battle strategy and set our race day goals. Here’s how to work out what your realistic Comrades finish time goal should be. – BY NORRIE WILLIAMSON

No battle was won without a strategy or a game plan, and distance running is similar… Comrades cannot be conquered with a ‘see how it goes on race day’ approach. No matter how fit and fast you are on race day, those who don’t have a logical pacing plan, or rely solely on others for their pacing, will pay the price and fail to achieve. So here’s how you should go about working out your game plan.

Step 1: Know your Ability
As of the third week in May, the die for your potential finish time has been cast. Based on the combination of best raced 5km, best raced marathon, and total distance from January to June, it is possible to accurately calculate your 2018 Down Run finish time. An easier rule of thumb is to multiply your best 10k time in minutes by 11.55, and you will get a Comrades finish time potential in minutes. From this it shows that:
•  Silver medals go to those who can run 10km in under 38:50,
•  Bill Rowan requires 46:20,
•  10-hour runners must better 51:30,
•  11-hour bronze requires you to be faster than 57 minutes,
•  And to beat the 12-hour cut-off, you must be able to run 10km in 61 minutes. (This latter barrier being set by the CMA’s intermediate cut-off times, not by normal pacing logic.)

Another handy way to work out your potential Comrades time is to use your mile time (four laps of an athletics track), working it up with the Comparison of Performance & Distance table below to a projected marathon and/or Comrades potential time.

Step 2: Select a Logical Goal
Once you know your potential, the focus is on achieving it! Some races are meant to be enjoyed, and Comrades is one such event. Yes, the top 50 runners will ‘race’ for the sniff of a gold medal, and around 50 more are borderline for the 7:30 silver cut-off. About 150 may have a potential of 8:50 to 9:10, and so race for the 9-hour Bill, then 300 will be between 4:25 and 4:35 marathoners who will race the Bronze cut-off, while there are probably 1000 whose 4:45 to 4:59 marathon puts them in a race for the finish.

That’s 1550 racers, which is only 10% of the starters; the rest are ‘safe’ – safe silvers, safe Bill Rowans, safe bronzes or safe Vic Claphams. These runners should initially target a time that will allow them more tolerance in the race, and keep them away from ‘red-lining’ the whole way.

For example a runner with a 48-minute 10km best in the last six to nine months has a potential finish of 9 hours 15 minutes. This is well outside Bill Rowan potential, and what does a 9:15 mean compared to say 9:25, 9:35, or even 9:55? In fact, the medal will be the same right up to and past 10:55, so why race it? Some may say for a Personal Best, and that is credible, but the fact is the time will be a PB for the course anyway, as the 2018 race features a new course, new venue and longer distance than the last 40 years of Down Runs!

Of course, we all want to do the best we can, but look at all the distance world records: They are not achieved by running to a schedule from the beginning, they are run and raced over the final quarter, or even final sixth, of the race. That’s where the ‘excellence’ and extra 5% to 10% performance is earned.

Therefore, the advice to the mass of Comrades runners is to select three goals: The first is your realistic potential based on the formula (say 9:15 in the example), then an acceptable goal (perhaps 9:29 in this example), and thirdly, a fallback point if things go wrong (perhaps 9:59 for this runner, but it may even be over 10 hours if this was a novice).

Look closely at the ‘accuracy’ of achieving these goals: The difference between the average pace for this runner’s ‘top desire’ (6:04 per km) and satisfactory secondary goal is only nine seconds per km! And just 19 seconds per km to the ‘fallback’ goal.

Debatably, on one of the longest and most emotional running days of your career, achieving such accuracy of pacing is no easy task. This challenge is exacerbated by the ever-changing terrain: There are no major flat roads where you can check your pace, or get the feel of your average pace, because Comrades is either up or down, and the only flat you experience between the start and finish lines are the final 2.7km in the city centre and along that long wide dual carriageway to the massive icon of Moses Mabhida Stadium. By the time you reach this point, your finishing pace will have long since been set, and average pace will mean nothing, only finishing will!

PS: Don’t miss next week’s article!
Next week’s follow-up article discusses how to pace the Comrades, and will explain why your Comrades race day outcome will have been determined before you leave Maritzburg. It will also show why the English poet Kipling has more in common with Comrades than Gunga Din (The Team trophy for men at Comrades).

About the Author
Norrie has represented Scotland, Great Britain and later his adopted South Africa in ultra-distance running and triathlon. He is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer, has authored two books on running, and counts 21 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultra-marathon medals. You can read more from him at www.coachnorrie.co.za.

IMAGE: Courtesy Comrades Marathon Association

After 35 years of running, with much of it done on the trails around Cape Town, Allan Ryninks can not only look back on a glittering running career, but can also share a wealth of running wisdom with fellow runners and administrators, which is why he is playing a leading role in the development of trail running in SA. – BY KIM STEPHENS

Allan is a familiar face on both trail and tar in the Cape, regularly challenging for line honours in the grandmaster category after pinning on his number 60 age category tags last year. Before that he spent the previous 10 years rocking top spot in the master’s category of trail events such as the PUFfeR Ultra, Helderberg and Jonkershhoek Mountain Challenges, Hout Bay Trail Challenge and VWS Trail Run. His credentials also include 31 Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra medals, with 13 consecutive silvers and a PB of 3:27:41, which placed him 14th overall in 1986, and has completed more than 180 marathons, with a lifetime marathon PB at Cango of 2:30:59.

Even after so many years of running, Allan says his desire to keep running is undiminished. “After turning 60 in July 2017, and still feeling insanely passionate about my running after 35 years, there is no limitation between me and the next runner’s high waiting on trail or road. My passion and pleasure has been derived in both arenas over the years,” he says.

HITTING THE TRAILS
A former founder and Chairman of Hout Bay Harriers, Allan is currently the Chairman of Wild Runner Athletic Club, and until recently was Chair of the Trail Running Association of the Western Province (Trail WP). He continues to serve on the national steering committee of ASA’s Mountain and Trail Running division. He only officially took up trail racing in 2005, but says he had been running trail for many years before that.

“In the early 1980s, we used to run all the well-known trail runs of today as training runs, just not with all the bumph that is used today! Our gear included shorts, shirt, running shoes, and a bank bag – the original collapsible water cup. The Boland 80km Trail and the likes were favourites for Comrades training, and trail running has actually been the backbone of training and success for many runners over many decades.”

“Trail running only really formalised in SA into races during the early 2000s, but since then it has boomed into an international industry and sport. My belief is that trail opens a door to a multitude of fresh young talent, and has helped SA to identify latent talent in so many athletes that road or otherwise would not have noticed, due to all the administrative red tape, and at times bungling.”

LOSING THE PASSION…
Although Allan’s running career has been impressively consistent, there was a dark patch that began at the end of 1993. “I reached a point where my belief in the training and my ambition just took a number of steps sideways. Training was too intense, and the self-imposed pressure to do better got way ahead of me, to the extent that I started Oceans in 1994 and ran to halfway in 1:44:16. By then I had pit-stopped twice, and was feeling sick and overwhelmed that I had to finish this race in a good time. I knew that all I really had to do was to run easy for the remaining 28km, and it would be another Silver medal in the bag, but I came to a sudden decision to just quit and go home. And not just quit for the day, but to walk away from the sport that I loved so much. I was done, and no convincing could change that.”

He says this feeling prevailed all the way into 1996, by which time he was very unfit, but also content. “I played lots of golf, and got down to a handicap of nine. Then in 1997 I was living in Constantia and working from my office at home, directly behind the VOB sports grounds, and day after day I witnessed these folks meeting for their club runs, and just having fun, with no pressure. The thought of running again popped into my head, only this time I knew I can do this, and I knew I want to do this again, but this time I would be smart.”

That saw Allan join VOB and soon he was back in the swing of running. “I just let it happen naturally. I met up with old running mates and competitors from years before, and slowly allowed the desire and the passion to creep back in. The rest is history. What I have learnt from it all is that running is a huge part of my life. I am passionate about it, and I have a very strong will and drive to achieve at it. As long as I keep it a passion and not an obsession, then I will be okay.”

SAGE ADVICE
Having begun running in 1983, Allan has also been coaching since 1986 – he is an ASA Level II Long & Middle-Distance Coach – and of all the advice he has for runners, this remains his personal go-to: “You do not know it all. I certainly don’t. Every day is a learning opportunity. No matter what, there is always something positive to take away from your experience. A bad run or race is part of growing – if you don’t crash and burn, you don’t learn. Consistency is your key to being a better runner, and my pearl of wisdom is that you build a strong endurance foundation, no matter the intended race distance. Think of it as the foundation to your pyramid. A bigger foundation provides a bigger pyramid, and the bigger the base, the higher the peak.”

Adapted and reproduced with permission from an original article written for www.wildrunner.co.za.

Sidebar: On the Right Trail

As a member of ASA’s Mountain and Trail Running Committee, Allan is part of the ongoing efforts to regulate and manage trail running in a way that benefits the runners, organisers and administrators, so we asked him a few questions about the way forward. – BY SEAN FALCONER

MA: Where do you think trail running is headed in SA?
AR: There is a lot of confusion in the athletic arena, particularly from athletes, who just know that the request has been made for some level of functionality within the country, but all they really care about is being able to run freely, not being regulated by the national body.

MA: So is ASA now in charge of trail running?
AR: It’s only by virtue of the IAAF giving the mandate for trail running to be included in national athletics codes that ASA even became involved in trail running, but the status quo has been maintained, with trail still effectively separate. It is thus linked to ASA as an associated body instead of an official commission. Jakes Jacobs is heading up ASA’s Cross Country and Off-road Commission, which trail now falls under, but he and others at ASA have said they want to let trail running sort itself out, without putting too much pressure on the discipline.

Meanwhile, Altus Schreuder is back in charge of the ASA Mountain & Trail Running Committee, with the mandate to promote and organise trail running on a national level, including regular SA Champs and teams being selected for international events. Granted, the last SA Champs at Addo earlier this year were organised at very short notice, but I still think the progress made thus far is positive.

Ideally, I think we need a South African Trail Running Association (SATRA), with each provincial trail body under this umbrella and then also associated with its provincial athletic body. The IAAF has already said it will recognise such a body, as it does with the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), but in SA we’re not there yet. My biggest fear is that people in trail running dragging their heels too long will end up with ASA getting more involved than the trail people want, because to date Western Province is the only province that has been proactive on this front, with its own governing body for trail.

However, Trail WP’s membership is still low, as trail runners and event organisers in general don’t want regulation, but they need to understand that Trail WP is not looking to regulate the sport, rather to function as a mouthpiece and go-between for runners and organisers with the governing bodies, while trying to do what is best for both sides of the fence.

MA: How has all this affected the average trail runner, if at all?
AR: Nothing has changed for most trail runners, and ASA is continuing to leave them to do what they want. No club colours or licence numbers, none of the strict rules of road running… so trail runners can still do their own thing, and the discipline is still growing and going forward. In fact, it’s booming.

MA: What about regulation of event organisation?
AR: Fortunately many players in the sport have been around for a while and most do a good job, but there is a concern that fly-by-night operators can put on events without due diligence, and I dread the day that something big goes wrong at an event. That said, many new organisers are approaching us for advice on putting on events.

MA: And the problem of over-saturation of the market, with events clashing?
AR: Currently there is no control in place, but I do foresee that may be on the menu soon, and it needs to be addressed on a national level. In road running in previous years, we had events that clashed and suffered with reduced numbers as a result, and the same is happening in trail. I’ve spent the last three years trying to get event organisers on a national basis to provide event dates and results, so that we can build a national database for the sport, which will also help with selections of SA teams, but that’s still a long way off.

IMAGES: Dylan Haskin, Hayley Hagen & courtesy Allan Ryninks

Thanks to running, I have overcome osteoporosis, an eating disorder and depression, and while I was never an athlete before, I am now working up to my first full marathon. Has it been easy? Hell no, but I keep moving forward! – BY CHERYL GREEN

When I fell and broke my wrist in 2006, I thought nothing of it… just another broken bone. Two years later I twisted the same wrist and landed up in theatre with another broken bone. Then I had a major shoulder operation, and discovered that I had all kinds of aches and pains, stiffness in the joints, and regular health problems. After many tests and scans over the years, I was finally diagnosed with osteoporosis, also known as brittle bone disease.

At first I did not tell anyone, not even the people closest to me, because I did not want people to make a fuss about it. After all, I was only 35 at that stage! Slowly, however, I fell into depression, and that led to binge eating. Then in 2013, my family was faced by the suicide of a very close family member, which led me to fall even deeper into depression. My life became a living hell, and my relationships, work and financial state were all affected.

Then one day in October 2016, just by fate, as I was looking to get McDonald’s in Green Point to feed my emotional hunger, I found myself in the middle of one of the larger running events in Cape Town, the Gun Run. Surrounded by happy runners, I pondered whether I would ever be able to do just a 5km fun run.

Hitting the Road
That same week I decided to dust off my old training shoes and go for a run around the block. I managed about 800m before my body could no longer take the strain, and ended up on crutches, because of my weight. Reality struck when the doctor told me I would be facing a depression clinic soon, and a wheelchair by the age of 40, so that day I promised myself I would start looking after myself, so that my children can grow up with a healthy mother.

In January 2017, when I weighed in at 107kg, my work decided to start a weight-loss challenge, and with a lot of motivation from my colleagues, I forced myself to join a gym. I had never seen the inside of a gym before! I lost 8kg during that challenge, and for the first time started thinking it would be possible to do a 5km. And so I entered the Spar Women’s 5km in April 2017, which I completed in just over an hour and held my medal with pride, as if I had just won the lottery. I also fell in love with the running community and decided that this is what I want to do.

Around that time I started posting about my journey on Facebook, and in one post I asked, “Is it possible to run the 21km Two Oceans once in my life?” In response, the CEO of Run/Walk For Life contacted me and offered me a year’s membership to assist in this goal. I was over the moon, but also sceptical, as I knew my condition wouldn’t always allow me to run. Nevertheless, in June I attended my first training session with a well-qualified coach, Paul Kelly, at RWFL Table View, and started setting myself new goals.

Going the Distance
By August I was ready to line up for my first 10km race in Pinelands, and I cried my way through the race, as I never thought this would be possible. That was followed by a 15km race, and then my first half marathon in October 2017. Each time I reached a goal, I would set myself another, and recently I completed my first 30km. Now I’m training for my first full marathon in September. I have always had it in the back of my mind to run a marathon before the age of 40, and I will be attempting it three months before my 40th.

My journey is far from over. I want to inspires those around me, and tell them that it is possible to change your life. I am now the proud owner of 60 medals of different races, and to date I have lost 27kg. I’m one of the slower runners on the road, but without the slower ones, there wouldn’t be races. I also recently became an Ambassador for Run Walk for Life and Asics, something that I never thought would happen to me!

Whenever I’m feeling down, I go for a jog to clear my mind and breath in fresh air. Support is also very important, and since I started telling my story, my support system has grown from strength from strength. My depression and eating disorder are now under control, and while I will always have osteoporosis, I have decided to live with it in a healthy way. I now dedicate every step I run to those that suffer with a condition, be it depression or a disease, and I believe that the main thing is to find what you love and run with it!

IMAGES: Courtesy Cheryl Green

Having recently won her first SA senior title, pole vaulter Jodie Sedras is ready to push on to see just how high she can go in this technically challenging field event. – BY ADNAAN MOHAMED

Sitting on the couch in the hotel foyer in Pretoria, the diminutive Jodie Sedras smiles shyly as she answers questions about her latest success in athletics, looking more like a schoolgirl than her actual age of 23. Just a few hours earlier she had been crowned the South African Champion in the women’s pole vault at the South African National Track and Field Championships at the Tuks Stadium in Tshwane. However, it seems reality still hadn’t sunk in for the dynamic little athlete from Strand in the Western Cape.

Standing just 1.5m tall in her socks, Jodie blew away the competition at the Champs, leaping to an outstanding 3.90m to beat Nicole Janse van Rensburg (3.80m) and Tonet Tallie (3.50m), both from the Boland, who claimed bronze and silver respectively. This made Jodie the first Western Province athlete ever to bag a gold medal in the women’s pole vault, and her winning jump also improved her previous best of 3.80m by a huge 10cm.

LATE STARTER
What makes her performance so astonishing is that she only started doing pole vault after she left school four years ago. “I was a gymnast when I was at school, and I had always heard that gymnasts make good pole-vaulters, so, I thought I would just try it out when I started studying at Stellenbosch University,” says Jodie.

“Initially, my intention was just to do it for fun, and it was only when I cleared three metres that I decided to take it seriously. All I knew was that three metres is the first big milestone, and everybody was getting excited about it, so when I cleared the height I thought I was amazing. However, I quickly realised that I am actually not that amazing, so I decided to work harder. The Maties Athletics Manager Mohamed Ally then introduced me to the club’s pole vault coach and I took it from there.”

“Pole vaulting is not an easy discipline. It is extremely challenging, but when you finally get it right, it is very rewarding, because you know you had to work hard for it. To run with a four-meter pole in your hand is hard as it is, let alone jumping. To be successful in pole vaulting is not only about speed, it is more about rhythm. You have to start slower and gradually accelerate, and end as fast as you can,” she explains.

DOMINANT FORM
With her B.Sc degree complete, Jodie is currently studying sports conditioning at the ETA College, in Stellenbosch, and also putting a lot of time into her jumping. “I train twice a day with a gym session in the morning and a vaulting session later in the evening.” This has seen her dominate the discipline in SA for the past two years, having previously won the SA Junior title, but until 2018 she had not managed to win the senior title. The win in Tshwane therefore meant a lot to her, she says.

“Winning gold at the SA Seniors has always been my goal. When I started out four years ago, I knew that I would eventually achieve this, because I consider myself to be someone who works extremely hard. My next goal is to reach 4.10m, and I am confident that I will get there. I also know that I will eventually get to the Olympic qualifier of 4.50m,” That would also see her eclipse the SA Record of 4.42m, set by Elmarie Gerryts in June 2000 in Germany, but Jodie just shrugs and confidently adds, “I think I have accomplished quite a lot in a short period of time, and I am really excited about what I can achieve in the future.”

Sidebar: Pole Vaulting Pointers
•  Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, Cretans and Celts. It has been a full medal event at the Olympic Games since 1896 for men, and 2000 for women.
•  Initially, vaulting poles were made from stiff materials such as bamboo or aluminium. The introduction of flexible vaulting poles in the early 1950s, made from composites such as fibreglass or carbon fibre, allowed vaulters to achieve greater heights.
•  Only three women have cleared five metres: Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva and the two Americans, Jenn Suhr and Sandi Morris. The World Record is held by the Russian at 5.06m.
•  A number of elite pole vaulters have had backgrounds in gymnastics, including Yelena Isinbayeva.

IMAGES: Roger Sedres/ImageSA