Author: Modern Athlete

Hi-Tec Luca

The
first thing myself and the guys in the office said was “Wow, they are so light!”
They weigh in at just 210 grams – so light it feels like you’re barefoot, but
the super-flexible IMEVA midsole rubber still provides great cushioning. Now,
even after running in racers for the last year or so, I was not still sure what
to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. After five kays, I looked down and
realised that I was actually in a different, brand new pair of shoes. They just
felt so comfortable, with no problems just jumping into a pair and kicking off!
– Craig
van der Westhuizen

GET THEM: R399 at Hi-Tec stores in CT (Kenilworth, Kuils River & Montague Gardens), Johannesburg (Kya Sands) and Pretoria (Kolonnade) or via www.hi-tecdirect.co.za (021 606 6900 for more info)

Injinji Performance
2.0 Run Toe Socks

I
will be the first to admit that I have soft, sensitive feet, so my toes have
never quite gotten used to running in Vibram’s Five Fingers barefoot technology
shoes, because they just can’t seem to get used to the feeling of rubber,
leather and seams between them. Also, I am not used to running without socks,
which is necessary with Vibrams, since none of my socks ‘fit’ into the five-toe
design… but now, thanks to these Injinji socks, I can now run in my Vibrams
without my toes kicking up a fuss. They have the same five-toe design, thus keeping
my toes happy and also allowing my feet to glide into the snug-fitting Vibrams
a lot more smoothly and comfortably. – Sean Falconer

GET
THEM: From R110 to R180 (depending
on style) at Sportsmans Warehouse, Drifters and Athletes Foot.

My02 Therapeutic Gel

Most of us know about the
anti-inflammatory properties of Arnica oil or gel, extracted from the root of
the arnica plant, but I have to be honest, I had to Google horse chestnut to
find out what it is when I read that it is the other active ingredient of this
new therapeutic gel. Like arnica, it is a plant extract, but what caught my
attention is that horse chestnut contains Escin, which opens up the capillaries
(smallest blood vessels), allowing more oxygen and nutrients to reach sore or
damaged muscles and ligaments. Well, since my knee was giving me grief, I knew
exactly where I would be testing this new gel… It smells great (minty), is cool
on the skin, and requires a bit of ‘elbow grease’ to rub in fully, which means
you’re massaging the sore area thoroughly in the process, further promoting
quicker healing. Works for me. – Sean Falconer

GET
IT: R122.50 for a 150ml tube, from leading pharmacies (or ask for a stockist
nearby at [email protected].)

Second Skins Activskins Sun Protection
Long-sleeve Crew Neck Top

Second Skins is a
Cape-based company specialising in sports clothing and gear, from running and
cycling to swimming. Also in the range are various UV-resistant sun-protection
items which form part of the company’s ‘Keep You Cool’ range, and I tested out
this long-sleeve top. It’s super lightweight and body-hugging, so very
comfortable to run in, plus I could literally feel the cooling effect, even
when out in the sun. Naturally, the white colour also reflected much of the
heat and UV rays, and I found the top to be quick-drying and great at
moisture-wicking. Best of all, no chafe under my arms, despite my first
thoughts about the seam being a bit thick. – Sean Falconer

GET IT: R249 at selected retailers
nationwide, or online at www.secondskins.co.za.

For many years, it was believed that
cramping was caused by heat, dehydration, or a lack of salt and minerals in the
body, but study after study has ruled out all of these factors. “Although the
idea that mineral deficiencies and dehydration can cause cramps have been
popular, we have done many, many studies that do not prove these as causes for
cramps during exercise,” says Dr Martin Schwellnus of the Department of Human
Biology at the University of Cape Town, who is considered one of the world’s
leading researchers in this field. Instead, the growing research on cramps points
to muscle fatigue and failure in the neural communication pathways of the
muscles as the cause of cramping.

As an athlete, you train a muscle to
contract so that you can run, but this fatigues the muscle. It then begins to ‘short-circuit’
and stays contracted when it shouldn’t, causing a cramp. “The mechanism for
muscle fatigue and muscle damage causing cramping is best explained through an
imbalance that develops in the nervous system control of muscle. Muscles tend
to become very twitchy when they become fatigued or are injured,” says Dr
Schwellnus.

So what this means is that to stop
cramps you just need to get fitter before racing… but that’s not going to help
you much when a cramp stops you midway through a race. If that happens, there
is only one thing you can do: Stop and stretch! Static stretching, in effect,
breaks the cramp, and once you achieve that, you must start slowly and
gradually build up your speed again. (And eating a banana to break a cramp is
just an urban legend!)

Then, after the race, adapt some of
your training runs so that they are done at the same pace you intend racing,
including accelerating in the second half of the run and throwing in that fast
finishing effort that many of us inevitably put in at races. You may still get
some cramps, but you’ll be fitter, faster and better prepared to race – and
besides, cramping in training is much better than cramping in a race!

She had wanted to run the Comrades since her school
days, so in 2010, having already covered the race as a presenter, Vaylen joined
Sunninghill Striders and qualified to run it – before she really knew what she
was letting herself in for. “It was always about participation for me, so I wanted
to say that I’ve done it!” she says. However, at the 10km marker in her debut
Comrades run in 2010, Vaylen was unceremoniously told by a fellow runner, “You
can’t call yourself a Comrades runner until you’ve run it twice,” and with that
daunting thought in her head throughout the race, she finished exhausted in
11:47. Having eaten only half a potato and a sandwich along the route, she was
put on a glucose drip in the medical tent at the finish.

So in 2011, Vaylen knew she had a few mistakes to
rectify, and says she enjoyed her Comrades experience much more, finishing in
10:19 without a trip to the medical tent afterwards. “Nothing beats that
emotional journey,” she says. “I remember recording my day’s experience, but
the recorder was stolen. I remember crying – not because I had lost the
recorder, but because I had lost the memories I noted down. Everyone has a
story, and I think the race changes the way you look at any challenge in life.”

BY CHANCE

Entry into the world of broadcasting came early for
Vaylen. In high school, her potential was recognised when she did lines in a
SABC Education nativity play and got spotted by top sports broadcaster Cynthia
Tshaka. “Two years later when I was in matric, I was called in to do some
voiceovers. Then I started working on a disability sports programme and went on
to report on Natalie Du Toit’s five gold medals in 2004 at the Paralympics –
right beside the pool! It was also around the time a young Oscar Pistorius
broke onto the scene in Athens.” She would go on to cover two Olympic Games and
another Paralympics. Vaylen’s comfort and confidence in front of the camera also
saw her host the glamorous Durban July and Met horse racing events, as well as last
year’s Comrades Marathon.

After studying a BA in private law and communication
from UNISA as well as achieving Honours in Journalism, Vaylen quickly became a
household name. From her early beginnings at Topsport’s Sportsbuzz, then SABC Sport, she’s now become a vital cog in the Morning Live team on SABC 2. She’s also
dabbled in radio with a few weekend shows on SAFM and previously hosting her
own sports show on YFM, Yired on Sport.
“I’ve interviewed Bruce Fordyce, Zola Pieterse, Bafana’s Itumaleng Khune, Springbok
Bryan Habana, and even got a few minutes with American swimmer Michael Phelps!”
says Vaylen. “I get excited about all the stories around me. I get to hear about
people’s achievements and there’s nothing better than that.”

With a busy schedule on her hands, Vaylen still plays adoring
mom to six-year-old daughter Tehya, and it seems mom’s love of sport and
fitness is already filtering through. “She’s just done her first cross-country
season, but we’ll see where it takes her. I want her to find anything she’s
passionate about.” For Vaylen, sport and motherhood is what her life is all
about: “The TV at home is either on a sports channel or a kid’s programme!”

INVESTING IN HEALTH

Looking ahead, Vaylen says she would like to do more
radio, write more, and eventually host her own talk show. And on the road, she
is planning to tackle next year’s Old Mutual Two Oceans ultra and several trail
runs, and wants to improve on her 10km and marathon PBs, too. That’s why you’ll
see her out on a run three times a week, varying sprints and hills (her
favourite), doing longer runs on weekends and spending hours in the gym for
strength work. “I find time to fit it all in – anyone can if they want to! Running
is a means to digest life’s frustrations. I can’t imagine life without it. You
meet so many different characters and you make an investment for your health – and
healthier people are nicer and happier!”

You can follow Vaylen on Twitter: @VaylenKirtley

Few South Africans who
watched will ever forget the 1996 men’s Olympic Marathon in Atlanta, when the
South African trio of Lawrence Peu, Gert Thys and Josiah Thugwane moved to the
front at 24km and surged to break up the lead group of 60 runners. By 35km, it
was down to a three-way fight between Josiah, South Korea’s Lee Bong-Ju and
Eric Wainaina of Kenya. Then with two kays to go, Josiah made his move. As the
other two looked sideways for their last water bottles, the South African
opened a small gap, which was just enough to take the win by three seconds in
2:12:36. It was the closest finish in Olympic marathon history.

It was also the first Olympic
gold medal won by a black South African, and Josiah found himself the toast of the nation, but he readily admits that
national pride was not his main motivation. “I was earning R480 a month on the
mines and my family was staying in a shack. The South African government had
offered a R150,000 incentive for a gold, so I put everything into my training
to get that money for my family. As I entered the stadium, I knew I had won it. R150,000 was so much
money for running a 2:12!”

LIFE-CHANGER

Ironically,
Josiah was almost left out of the 1996 Olympic team, having already narrowly
missed out on selection for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Marathon. “I was fourth
on the list in 1992 and only the first three went. Then in 1995, I won the
Honoloulu Marathon, but it was hot, hot, hot… I ran 2:15 and missed the 2:14
qualifying standard. Then at SA Champs I ran 2:12, but that was still not fast
enough, because Lawrence Peu, Xolile Yawa, Gert Thys and Willie Mtolo had all
run 2:10 or faster.”

Fortunately
for Josiah, as SA Champ he was still selected for the Atlanta team… and the
rest is history. His win in Atlanta catapulted him to super-stardom and with
the help of his mentor and coach Jacques Malan, he learnt to speak English so
that he could communicate with the media and with race organisers around the
world. “The Japanese invited me to run the Fukuoka Marathon in December 1996,
but there was too much snow – I was still freezing at 16km and decided to stop.
I told them to invite me back, to try again, and they said OK.” And so in 1997,
after finishing third in the London Marathon in 2:08:06, Josiah returned to
Japan and won in 2:07:28, shattering Zithulele Sinque’s 1986 SA Record of 2:08:04.
Only three other South Africans have gone faster than Josiah since then.

Unfortunately, his sudden
increase in fame also led to people hounding him for money. The unwanted
attention also brought back unpleasant memories of being car-jacked and shot just
five months before the Atlanta Games, with the bullet grazing his chin as he
leapt from the moving vehicle. “People were always asking about money! I had
bought a house in Mpumalanga, but didn’t feel my family was safe there, so we
moved to Joburg.” Today, Josiah and his wife Zodwa live on a farm near
Bronkhorstspruit, with their children Zandile (19), Thandi (16) and Lucky
(12).

UPS AND DOWNS

In 2000 Josiah finished
seventh in the London Marathon, followed by sixth in New York, but he had to be
content with 20^th in the Sydney Olympic Marathon. He failed to
finish the 2001 World Champs Marathon in Edmonton, Canada, but in 2002 once
again tasted success in Japan, winning the Nagano Marathon in 2:13:23. Another
DNF at the 2003 World Champs in Paris followed, and by then Josiah’s top flight
running career seemed to be coming to a close… until he (briefly) reinvented
himself as an ultra-marathoner.

In 2005, Josiah won the 50km
Loskop Marathon, clocking a course record 2:44:03, and the second-fastest time
ever by a South African. He then finished second in the 2006 Old Mutual Two
Oceans Marathon, but retired just a year later. “I got the flu just before the
2007 Two Oceans, and because I had not really enjoyed the ultras, I decided my
racing days were over. My body is not really built for running ultras, although
I still want to run Comrades one day, just to enjoy it,” says the 42-year-old. Today
he is focused on developing young SA athletes, working with Elana Meyer’s
Endurocad initiative to identify and train future Olympic marathoners. “My big
problem now is that I stopped training, because I want to run with my athletes
so I can keep a proper eye on them. That’s why I am training again for a fast
10km!”