Author: Modern Athlete

He has never seen the sun rise or set. He has never seen a lightning bolt cut through the dark Highveld sky and he doesn’t know what the Drakensberg, Karoo or Johannesburg skyline look like. Despite this, Carl de Campos has experienced more than most other people and has lived life to the full ever since he can remember. For this runner, cyclist and horse rider, it‘s full speed ahead. – BY CATHARINA ROBBERTZE

As a child Carl de Campos hated sport. He attended the Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired in Worcester and chose to focus on his academics rather than head out to the sport fields. It was only once he finished school and attended the Optima College in Pretoria that his dad Jorge and one of his lecturers got him to hit the road running. Little did they know what they were getting him into, because once Carl felt the thrill of competing there was no stopping him.

Carl soon became fitter and faster than his dad and needed a new sighted running partner to keep up with him as he set his heart on completing the Comrades Marathon in 2000. He found a training partner at his running club, Johannesburg Harriers, but struggled to find someone willing to run the Comrades with him. After sending requests all over the city he met Jonathan Selwin, who was willing to tackle the gruelling Comrades at his side. Despite Carl nursing a knee injury, the two men finished their first race in 11:10:33.

A BURNING DESIRE
“Finishing the Comrades was just one of those things that I always wanted to do, and of course, another one of those things that people told me I wouldn’t be able to do,” says Carl. When speaking to him, one quickly realises these words served as a motivation to him to reach his goal.

However, the struggle to find sighted running partners is one of the reasons Carl graduated to other activities such as cycling, canoeing and eventually horse riding. It is his need for speed that has continually compelled him to look for an event where the wind rushes past his face just that little faster. Therefore, cycling and canoeing fitted Carl like a glove and found a special place in his heart. Riding on a tandem bicycle enabled him to compete at the same level as sighted people. “When I was introduced to the tandem for the first time, it was like a new world opened for me!” he says. Carl and his partner won the tandem category in the first race they competed in and Carl was hooked. He finished three Cape Argus and three 94.7 Cycle Challenges between 1996 and 2004.

BLIND FAITH IN BILLY
Just getting on a horse for the first time was a challenge, as no one wanted to let him ride, despite his obvious love for horses. “People always said I’m going to get hurt and that blind people can’t ride horses.” Fired up with motivation, Carl was adamant to not only ride a horse, but to ride his own horse and finish the Fauresmith 200 Endurance Ride, a gruelling 201km riding event in the Free State.

The road to Fauresmith was filled with challenges and roadblocks, but true to his style, none of them deterred Carl. In just five years he moved out of the arena and onto the endurance track on his own horse, Billy. “I didn’t enjoy the arena because the people there always told me I shouldn’t be on a horse because I’m blind. Also, I got bored of the pace. I love flying around on Billy.”

Buying Billy was a challenge all on its own, as no blind person in the country owned their own horse. In fact, it is safe to say there are few blind horse owners in the world, let alone South Africa. Billy is a 12-year-old cross-bred Gelding – not really the kind of horse most people would take to an endurance race. However, the bond between Carl and Billy was almost immediate and although Billy used to be a ‘hot horse’ that spooked easily and didn’t trust people, he soon relaxed under Carl’s magical touch. Carl knew he would be able to finish Fauresmith on Billy.

However, training for Fauresmith was no easy task! “I experienced a lot of opposition, just as I did when I ran Comrades. Many people were negative and put a lot of doubt in my mind, but Billy and I knew we could do it.” Carl didn’t let this get him down and simply learnt the area in Drum Blade, south of Johannesburg, where he stays with Billy, so they could train on their own. He also did not agree with the training methods his fellow riders used, as they trained on the same route and at the same pace every time. “You can’t train that way – I know that from running,” says Carl.

Although Carl could train on his own, he needed a sighted partner to ride next to him when racing. Unfortunately, Carl’s regular sighted riding partner, who was supposed to ride the Fauresmith with him, was chosen to compete for his provincial team, so he couldn’t accompany Carl during the race. Two new partners later and Carl was back in the saddle, facing the 200km ride with two youngsters almost 20 years his junior. Carl and Billy’s training paid off and they finished the ride at the planned 12km/h pace they had set themselves, kicking dust in the eyes of every single person who said Carl couldn’t do it because he is blind and Billy couldn’t do it because he was not strong enough.

EQUINE BONDING
The freedom he experiences thanks to Billy is liberating, says Carl. “For the first time in my life I can tell someone I’ll meet them at their house before we go for a ride. Do you know how amazing that is?”

The true epitome of a Modern Athlete, Carl is one of those people who sets himself goals and reaches them no matter what anyone tells him. Hard work and training don’t scare him and time and again he has conquered the odds stacked against him, humbling those more fortunate on every occasion.

Following a year of turmoil and upheaval for the sport of athletics, the national federation finally appears to be on the road to recovery. Leading this process is James Evans of Western Province Athletics, and Modern Athlete caught up with him to ask how things are going. – BY CATHARINA ROBBERTZE

It’s been a stormy ride for Athletics South Africa (ASA) over the past year. Kicking off with the Caster Semenya saga in October 2009, things went from bad to worse for the embattled organisation as alleged misconduct and financial mismanagement were revealed. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee (SASCOC) stepped in to take control last November, suspended ASA President Leonard Chuene and several board and staff members, and appointed an interim board, many of whom subsequently resigned for various reasons.

Now a new ASA board has been elected and will function without a president or vice-president due to the incumbents still being suspended pending further investigation. In the meantime, James Evans has been chosen as chairperson of the new board, which carries the heavy burden of getting athletics back on track.

The new ASA board was recently elected and had its first board meeting. How are things going?
I think we have a good combination of athletes, administrators and professionals on the board. We had a good first meeting and discussed quite a few important issues like next year’s championship dates. I think the board members will feel free to disagree with each other and hopefully they won’t ever walk out of a meeting where they feel like they didn’t have their say.

How do you start to fix things?
There are two major areas that need to be sorted out, finances and the athletics programme. The finance issue is difficult as SASCOC is still in control and we can’t determine what we owe. The athletics programme is easier because Yellow Pages is still on board as a major sponsor, but we are talking to other sponsors to improve our situation. We have to restore confidence in the organisation, most importantly from the athletes’ side, and secondly in the corporate sector. We can only do this by improving communication between ourselves and our stakeholders. In the past too many decisions were taken without communicating them.

Do you think you will be able to regain the trust of local athletes?
The fact that so many top athletes are on the board should make a big difference.

What are your goals for 2012 and beyond?
We have some pretty decent athletes for the 2012 Olympics, including some of the best 1500m athletes in the world. Our biggest problem lies beyond 2012 and where the next tier of athletes will come from. We also need to develop a proper club structure in athletics, because at the moment our only viable athletics clubs are student clubs. A big goal is to ensure the athletics programme is as entertaining as in the past, which will drive spectators to stadiums.

Will it hold you back to operate without a president or vice-president?
Not necessarily. If we function properly it will show that one person is not needed to run ASA, it is too big an organisation. It does mean that we cannot do some things and take certain decisions as quickly as we would like to, but this can be a good thing, because it means no decision can be taken autonomously.

Does ASA have plans for road running in the future?
South Africa is one of the leading ultra-distance countries in the world, but we don’t recognise ourselves as that. Big races like the Soweto and Cape Town marathons should be international brands and marketed that way. We would like to transform our races into races of international quality.

The new ASA Board:
• James Evans – Chairperson and Chair: Track and Field Commission
• Aleck Skhosana – Chair: Road Running Commission
• Blanche Moila – Chair: Cross-country Commission
• Geraldine Pillay – Chair: Athletes Commission
• Motlatsi Keikabile – Additional member
• Peter Lourens – Additional member
• Arnaud Malherbe – Additional member
• Hendrick Ramaala – Additional member
• Willien Fourie – USSA Representative

Modern Athlete would like to wish the new board all the best with the massive task they face of putting the sport we all love so much ‘back on track!’ We appeal to all runners to support the new board with an open mind and to get involved in any way possible to assisting in improving the future of running in South Africa.

We’ve all heard people say: ‘I could write a book on my Comrades experience,’ but Olly Maujean from KwaZulu-Natal never thought he would end up doing so. As a novice Comrades runner, he set out to keep a journal intended as a memoir when sitting in a rocking chair one day! But the journal took on a life of its own. Soon it was photocopied for Comrades mates to read, and eventually it turned into a 146-page book! A Long Walk to Running is one of the most hilarious reads on running you will find. It is a must-have for any runner who has ever run Comrades, and more importantly, any novice who is brave enough to attempt it! – BY MICHELLE PIETERS

His book is a little too thin to act as a doorstop but should prove rather useful to level out the leg of a wonky table, chuckles Olly Maujean. With this comment one quickly realises it is Olly’s quirky sense of humour about life and especially running that makes his book such an awesome read. It’s about Olly’s 10-month journey from the couch to Comrades, from being a non-existent novice runner in the extreme, to a pretend runner, to a Comrades marathoner!

Olly’s friend and well-loved Regents Harriers runner Bernie Karam writes in the foreword: “Olly has achieved what many runners only think and dream about; a collection of the daily anecdotes, incidents and characters that runners encounter and experience on their Comrades journey.”

The book’s primary focus is on the Comrades journey itself leading up to that one epic day. Olly describes the journey as an emotional and physical rollercoaster ride that gives birth to the Comrades 9-10 months down the line.

FROM ZERO TO HERO
Olly’s sport of choice has always been tennis, except for a few years when golf took priority. “The extent of my Comrades participation up to 2010 was largely limited to lying comfortably on the sofa and watching thousands of deranged people running absurd distances. So as I scoffed packets of chips washed down by fermented-barley-and-hops-flavoured water, I would watch some of the critical moments of the race.”

He describes Comrades as being as South African as biltong, the Springboks, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. “It’s simply part of being South African. But I had never, ever caught the malarial bug of running. I had long ago figured that one could actually drive between Pietermaritzburg and Durban!”

THE DEFINING MOMENT
Olly still battles to pinpoint the exact moment his ‘running career’ started. He believes it was rather a whole bunch of factors that all ‘conspired’ against him to make him start running. But if he has to name some determining factors it has to be his “nutter-sister-in-law” as well as his approaching 40 years of age!

“Though my sister-in-law had never actually run the race up to 2010, she would set her alarm every year to watch from start to finish! She has always vowed to run the Comrades and so, knowing her innate aversion to exercise, I thought it quite safe for me to make a similar vow along the lines of; ‘If you ever run the Comrades, then I promise to run it with you!’ I then proceeded to howl with laughter and may have cracked a rib in the process, knowing with crystal clear clarity that such an event would never actually materialise. Who would have thought we would end up entering Comrades 2010 together?”

Another determining factor was, quite simply, a midlife crisis. “Some men would trade in their wives for a younger model and zoot around in some flashy sports care with their toupees blowing in the wind. For me, I chose to run 90km instead. With my wife, Claire.”

In August last year, Olly bought his first pair of running shoes and an hour or so later, he and his runner wife were off to test his new shoes. Needless to say Claire kicked dust in Olly’s eyes! Bernie writes in his foreword that when he saw that first run, Claire was confidently striding, but his first thought as he saw Olly was: “Poor man, the running genes have skipped a generation!”

Olly describes his first jog as ‘fateful.’ “From that fateful first jog, after which it took days and days of therapy to restore me back to full health mentally, spiritually and physically, I proceeded to do a few solo, stress-free, at my own pace, run/walks. I was not quite brave enough to rejoin my wife just yet. But the running bug was beginning to nip, much to my astonishment.”

BECOMING A REAL RUNNER
Olly soon found himself surrounded by people chatting about all things Comrades. “Most of our group were Catholics. So with the 2010 edition of Comrades falling on a Sunday, we had made the suggestion to our parish priest that he should station himself at the halfway point, brandishing incense and armed with vials of holy water and sponges dipped in the oil of infirmarium. Being surrounded by the youth choir would also have been a nice touch. Furthermore, we requested that he arrange for a tent to be set up at the Kingsmead finish where Mass could be celebrated while we lay around having our aching, cramping limbs massaged. All splendid ideas, but they never quite came to fruition,” chuckles Olly.

He soon surprised everyone on his Comrades journey. His mates at Regent Harries became aware of his natural abilities, reinforced by his commitment to running, strength of character, modest nature, and of course the best sense of humour in the whole of KZN! “Olly had a commitment that was unusual in a novice, and that spoke volumes about who he is,” writes Stephen Light, a fellow Regents Harriers runner. When you mix his quiet wit with his commitment to his running journey, what would the result be? I believe a story worth reading, and that is what his book delivers. This story is about a journey of a novice who becomes a real runner.”
 
REGENTS INSPIRATION
Olly refers to himself as a ‘rookie’ member of Athletics North and one of hundreds who tag onto the local Durban running phenomenon known as Regent Harriers, for his Comrades training. “After the likes of past Comrades champions Dmitri Grishine, Vladimir Kotov and Leonid Shvetsov turned down my request to be their training partner, with some choice guttural-sounding words, I was told that there was this group of people who gather at some unearthly hour during the week for 10km runs. They weren’t a registered running club, but went by the name of Regent Harriers.”

Olly describes his first run with the group as an adventure, though he felt a ‘teensy’ bit apprehensive. “I looked at these sculpted athletes around me and did my best to impersonate a runner, trying in vain to touch my toes and almost tearing a hamstring in the process.” Olly made the fatal mistake of trying too hard to look like a ‘supreme runner’ and landed up with what must have been past Comrades gold and silver medallists. After the run he “crawled” back to his car, spent about an hour in the shower and sat in his office all day, unable to walk and staring blankly at his computer screen, but he stuck to the programme. “The runs with them forced me to see more sunrises in a 10-month period than I have during the previous 40 years. They are a great bunch!”

Over the months the kilometres were steadily being banked week by week. Soon Olly did his first 21km training run. “In my opinion I had graduated from the Primary School for Runners and was entering into the realm of High School runners. The Comrades dream was still alive and well” His first qualifying marathon was the Postnet Pietermaritzburg 42, which Olly finished in an awesome time of 3:28:13! Apart from running two standard marathons and one half marathon leading up to Comrades, the big C was his fourth race ever!

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!
On the big day he was like a racehorse in the starting stalls, ready to bolt! “From having watched the start countless times on my couch, under a duvet and sipping a mug of hot chocolate, here I was actually standing amongst the crazy crowd on the starting line, as a rapidly approaching 40-year-old. Until 10 months ago, running the Comrades would not have featured anywhere on my bucket list. But here I was, amongst thousands of other lunatics, experiencing first-hand the aura and legend that is Comrades, the world’s greatest ultra-marathon.”

Olly entered the stadium 8 hours and 56 minutes after leaving Pietermaritzburg. “A Bill Rowan medal was placed around my neck and it was, without question, the greatest physical achievement of my life. I had experienced the excitement, trepidation, pain, pain and pain of Comrades. Above all, I experienced the euphoria of crossing the finish line.”

A SECOND TIME AROUND
Will he do it again? “Well, they say I’ve only got half a medal now – as well as only half my toenails left – having only done the Down Run, and I would love to have a whole medal – and no toenails. But above all, for me it’s more about embracing and loving the journey to that ultimate destination, to the ultimate human race, the Comrades.

GRAB A COPY
Anyone wanting to read Olly’s ‘ramblings’, as he calls it can send an e-mail to [email protected]. Check out further details on the book on www.alongwalktorunning.co.za. or drop Modern Athlete an e-mail at [email protected] and we will put you into contact with Olly.

Owen Middleton is one of South Africa’s most innovative running event organisers, having come up with the hugely successful Trail Series events that have taken Cape Town and Johannesburg/Pretoria by storm over the past three years, and introduced many ‘road warriors’ to he delights of trail running. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Trail running is growing ever more popular as more runners want to leave the tar and take to the trails, for the softer surfaces, better scenery and to experience the wonderful nature that SA is blessed with, to get away from traffic and the hazards of running on the roads, or just to try something new after years of running on the roads. As a result, more event organisers are getting into trail racing and there are more events on the calendar each year, from short entry-level races designed to bring new runners on to the trails, to multi-day stage races that require serious training, equipment and experience.

One of the event organisers at the forefront of the entry-level trail racing scene is Owen Middleton of Cape Town, a professional photographer whose second company is responsible for the Cape Trail Series, Gauteng Trail Series and the three-day Wild Run on the East Coast. He’s an avid trail runner himself, and brings much experience and passion for trail running to the job.

RAISED ON THE TRAILS
Owen says his dad was involved in orienteering and other off-road running events, so he grew up on trails. “I got into running at school and did my first 10km at 17, in about 39 minutes. I was more into orienteering, though, and when I went to study conservation in George, I really got into it there. We spent a lot of time training, and much less time studying!” In 1997 Owen was selected for the SA team for the Orienteering World Champs in Norway, and after that he got into Adventure Racing, where his navigation skills saw him appointed as team navigator for his four-man team. “We spent a lot of time in the mountains, so my trail skills also improved, and we did a lot of trail running events as well. At that time, not many people were involved in trail running, and I was strong and my technical ability was good, so I did well.”

Owen actually ran his first conventional road marathons in 2010, having done two Sky Run 100km races, two Royal Raids in Mauritius, the Three Peaks Challenge, and the Odyssey. I ran the Red Hill Marathon in January and clocked 3:34, then tried to beat that time at the Peninsula Marathon in February, but we had a horrible 25-knot headwind and I just died! Then I ran the Two Oceans Marathon in March, where I died again! I had always wanted to run Oceans, and now I can call myself a real runner,” he laughs.

At the time of writing Owen was participating in the Augrabies 100-miler trail race. He boasts PBs of 36 minutes for 10km, 1:33 for the half marathon and of course that 3:34 marathon time, but he says he was built for trail running. “Put me on a trail for two days and I’m fine, but on the road I get slower the longer I run. I’m just not used to the tar.”

ORGANISATIONAL SWITCH
Owen has been involved with event organising since 2002, having worked on the Land Rover G4 Spirit of Adventure, Montagu M3 Festival, Land Rover G4 Waterfront Rush and the Petzl Adventure Nights. In 2007, he felt there was a gap for shorter races to bring more people into trail running. “Basically, your shortest choices for trail races seemed to be 36km or longer, so I came up with the concept of a series of short-distance events, held one week apart in different venues, with a short 5-8km course and a medium length 10-15km course, all on well marked trail routes with a mixture of jeep track and single track. I took it to Montrail and Cape Storm, my own sponsors, and they loved it, so we started with the Cape Summer Series in early 2008 and it was an instant hit. Salomon later took Montrail’s place, and they’re still the series sponsors in 2010.”

And it’s quite a team effort, too, with Owen’s girlfriend of seven years, Tamryn Jupp, a central part of the organising team. “With the first series in 2008, I had set it all up, but realised I didn’t have enough time to do everything, so Tam got involved in the registration, and she’s the been the admin and timing person ever since, because she’s absolutely brilliant at that. I do the operational side of things. We have our moments, like any partnership, but generally it works great. She is absolutely fundamental to the events.”

Owen’s trail races have proven highly popular and he puts this down to the fact that they are so accessible. “We hit a nerve with the local runners, with between 40 and 50% of the participants being new to trail running, most of them coming from road running. The series was started with the idea to keep it short and accessible, so we marked out the courses and no navigation was needed, but the runners still had to do the basics of trail running, like carrying their own water. Because it was so successful in Cape Town, the sponsors said we should take it national, and thanks to my orienteering experience up in Gauteng, I already knew of some great venues and trails. Still, cracking the Joburg market was tough. Only 80 runners on average per event turned up in 2008, but it grew quickly and now we’re seeing a lot more trail events starting up in that area.”

“That whole first year was tough, actually, because I was shuffling between photographic commitments and the trail series, and we put on 17 races in total that year, across four series. But the success really grew from there. In 2008 we had a total of 2300 unique runners across the various races. In 2009 that figure jumped to 4200, and in 2010 we’ve had over 5000. Next year we’ll be launching a KwaZulu-Natal series as well.”

GOING LONG
At the end of 2008, Owen decided to add another event to his stable. “I had this idea to do a run on the Transkei Wild Coast, because I had done a bike ride there but thought it was better running country.” What came out of that was a 112km three-day run along arguably the most scenic coastline in SA, starting roughly 80km north of East London and finishing at the famous Hole-in-the-Wall.

The inaugural 2009 Wild Run immediately sold out, with 73 runners booking their race entries and a place in the fully booked hotel. “The idea was for the first year to be a trial run, but it ran so beautifully that we faced the dilemma in 2010 whether to take more people by adding tents in the hotel grounds. We chatted to the runners and their feedback was that it was a very personal event, where they didn’t have to fight for space with other runners. All of them said don’t make it bigger.”

FUTURE OF TRAIL
When asked where he sees trail running going in South Africa, Owen says he has mixed feelings on the topic. “More guys are jumping on the bandwagon and starting new events, but many are still in the proverbial ‘backyard’ of the cities. Real trail running is about exploring, so we’ll still have the exclusive icon events that people really aspire to run. However, exclusivity comes with a price, but as long as we’re providing value to the runner, I think it is justified. Organising these events is very expensive, including venue hire costs, permit costs and fees to access land, and runners need to be educated that trail running is expensive. Still, trail running has a lifestyle around it, and because events like ours are family-friendly and held on private game farms, and include food and drinks, a jumping castle for the kids, etc, more people are bringing their families to the events.”

Owen and Tam also put on the XL Trail Series, consisting of three 21-27km races spread out through the year, offering the ideal way to step up to longer trail races. “I just love organising events, especially when I can get people that have been road running for 15 years to get totally beside themselves with excitement after just one trail run – especially in Joburg, where everything is road, club and Comrades orientated. When they come run events in the wildlife, just 40 minutes away from their door, they love it, and it’s very satisfying for me.”


SIGN UP FOR THE TRAIL SERIES
Owen’s Trail Series events, partnered by Capestorm and Salomon, start each year with the Cape Summer Series in January, then the Gauteng Winter Series in June. The Cape Winter Series follows in July/August and the year is rounded off by the Gauteng Summer Series in October/November. You can enter just one event per series, but run four out of five or three out of four in a series and you will compete for series championship awards as well. Every series entrant gets a R50 Capestorm voucher. Just be warned that entries sell out quickly, so you have to be quick! The next race in the Gauteng Summer Series is at the Pelindaba Nature Reserve on 7 November followed by last leg at the Segwati Private Game Reserve on 28 November. Go to www.trailseries.co.za for more info.


Trail running is fun and definitely something everyone should try! Craig Murphy, a novice Gauteng trail runner, shares some light hearted pointers on trail running for the uninitiated (like himself)!
•    Don’t wear club colours. You will look like a dork and people will stare.
•    Don’t even wear licence numbers. Trail running is sort of an underground thing, a type of running sub-culture.
•    Don’t expect a gun or anything similar at the start. They just sort of count back from 5!
•    Don’t run with your watch beeping after every kilometre. After all, it’s about the experience and not the distance.
•    Don’t run ahead, stop, take pictures and then run past again. Trail runners don’t like that!
•    Do make sure the bladder in your hydration pack is working.
•    Don’t become so obsessed with your footing that you miss the branch above your head. Trust me this can hurt.

“Seriously though, I did enjoy my first trail run at the Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria. As you would expect I broke all of the above rules (except wearing club colours and licence numbers as I was forewarned).”

Name it and she does it: road running, trail running, triathlons, mountain biking, road biking and even adventure racing. Carla van Huyssteen is the perfect example of a Jack of all Trades and a Master of ALL! She is one of the few athletes in South Africa who not only participates in so many different sporting disciplines, but also excels at most of them. – BY MICHELLE PIETERS

If you had to name nearly any sport you can think of and ask bubbly Carla van Huyssteen if she had ever tried it out, or competed in it, you can bet the answer will be a resounding yes! At the age of 26, she has a sporting CV that leaves your head spinning.

• SA Triathlon Champion 2005/2006/2007 (age group 20-24)
• Triathlon World Champs Switzerland 2006 (seventh place)
• Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Series 2006 (2nd SA elite female)
• 2007 Imfolozi Mountain Bike Race (second elite female), to only name a few.

The cherry on the top of this long list of achievements was Carla’s first place in the 20-24 age group at the 2008 Triathlon World Champs in Canada!

And there is no stopping her now. More recent achievements include a fourth place at the Xterra Champs in Switzerland in September, which she followed with a local win of the first leg of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series at the Roodeplaat Dam in Gauteng.

HER FATHER IS A SPRINGBOK LEGEND
With a father like former Springbok rugby player Gerrie Germishuys, Carla was bound to take up some kind of sport. Little did her parents know that their sporting daughter would one day take up more types of sport than any other regular girl. “I grew up in a sporting family and had a natural sporting ability from a young age. I participated in everything – netball, tennis, hockey, athletics, gymnastics. Name it and I did it,” says Carla who grew up in Linden, Johannesburg, but today lives in Pretoria.

She has always been game for anything. Even when a school friend asked her in grade 11 to swim the Midmar Mile with her, Carla did not hesitate to say yes! “My parents thought I was crazy. Our pool was only about 10 metres long, but every Saturday I swam up and down for about an hour! It took me forever to complete the Midmar Mile, but I was so proud of myself!”

VARSITY SPORTS
At the University of Pretoria, where Carla studied physiotherapy, she played hockey and was part of the Northern Gauteng u/21 team. That was clearly not enough. In her second year she decided to do the BSG Energade Triathlon Series with some friends. She bought a bike, started swimming a bit more, and in 2004 completed her first triathlon. “My friends and I eventually did the whole series and I finished in 15th, 30th and 35th positions!”

Another triathlete friend recognised Carla’s potential and persuaded her to take it a bit more seriously. “He gave me a training programme and in 2005 I competed in my first Gauteng North Championship, where I finished in eighth position.” Carla then joined a training group and surprised herself and her parents when she finished first at the SA Triathlon Champs (age group 20-24) in 2005. “My parents were at the finish and they were so proud, and as surprised as I was, that I actually won! I was only hoping for top 10.” Carla qualified for the Triathlon World Champs in Hawaii that year and had her sights firmly set on doing well.

RACING FOR ADVENTURE
In the meantime, a friend approached her to be part of an adventure racing team and true to Carla’s nature, she saw this as a challenge and grabbed it with both hands. “I didn’t even have a mountain bike, but when I pitched on the day of the 180km race, my team gave me a bike to use. It was the first time I got on a mountain bike, but I was game for anything, so I hopped on and got off to a good start.”

Now for those who don’t know too much about adventure racing; it takes quite a bit of technical skills and a lot of endurance! All team members need to stay together at all times and complete all tasks, which include anything from running, rowing and abseiling, to mountain biking. A navigator plots the route and the race can take several days. “This opened a whole new world to me. I saw things I thought I would never see, and did things I only dreamt of.”

Carla was hooked on adventure racing and in between her triathlon training, she competed in some serious adventure races, such as the Bull of Africa, a 500km race over seven days. Unfortunately, she got injured shortly before the Triathlon World Champs, but because everything was paid for and organised, she decided to still give it a go. She reached the finish line in a disappointing position. “That made me realise I could not concentrate on adventure racing and all my other sports. Adventure racing is just too extreme. It is very hard on your body and it takes a long time to recover.”

FALLING IN LOVE WITH XTERRA
Carla’s love for the outdoors and need for adventure was satisfied when she shortly afterwards discovered Xterra off-road triathlon racing. She finished third at her very first Xterra race, but admits to being very inexperienced at first, and chuckles when she remembers how she competed in a swimming costume while all the other athletes were wearing expensive triathlon suits!

“I love doing Xterra races. It’s exactly like triathlons but the bike leg is on a mountain bike and the run is a trail run. It is so much fun!” She raced as part of Team Jeep for a while. “I have to admit my passion is with Xterra racing. It doesn’t matter if you have a good race or not, whether you are slow or fast, at some stage in the race you are going to look around and see the beauty that surrounds you!”

DIVERSITY
Carla admits to sometimes feeling torn between all the different disciplines she loves so much. “I have done so many diverse things and must admit that sometimes I feel all these different sides tearing at me. When I get to an Xterra race I just want to train harder on my mountain bike, but when I get to a triathlon I am inspired to train harder and improve my 10km road run!” She says she still has to work hard at all the different disciplines, though. “I definitely have an above average talent for most disciplines, but there is no one discipline that comes naturally to me. I have to work hard at everything and concentrate on technique.”

Carla, who is a qualified physiotherapist, met her husband, Dreyer, who is also a very good sportsman, through the sporting squads they were training with. Naturally, their first date was a three-hour mountain bike ride! They got married in April this year and Carla describes it as the most amazing day of her life.

ELITE ATHLETE
Carla currently competes as an elite athlete and recently did her country proud when she finished fourth at an Xterra in Switzerland in September. “That’s when I made up my mind that I would like to concentrate on Xterra races from next year.” She quickly adds that this does not mean she will be giving up any of her other sporting disciplines. “I will still race triathlons and other races. It’s all part of training,” says Carla, who races for Team INOV-8, named after the trail running shoe that has won several awards in Europe as the trail shoe of the year.

Currently, Carla is building up to March, when the international Xterra season starts. She is also considering competing at the Ironman 70.3 in January, all depending on other races around that time. “Xterra racing and races such as Half Ironman are not just about speed. They are about endurance, and I have realised these type of races suit me best.”

She trains under the watchful eye of professionals at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria and swims 16 to 25km, runs 60 to 80km (including two track sessions), and does four bike sessions per week. Carla thrives on this type of training, as she says she never gets bored!

Her advice to novices wanting to get involved in triathlons or any other sporting discipline is to join a training group. “You get to learn so much and you can ask advice from people who have been there and done that. Also, have a good look at your lifestyle and how much time you have to train. Don’t let it take over your life! Keep perspective and have clear goals. Most of all enjoy it!”

After a long run your muscles begin to contract and you can be left with that unpleasant tight feeling when your step shortens and the stairs become a major obstacle. If this is what happens to you, take it as a sign that your body is petitioning for a release – and the best way to relieve your body is to stretch straight after a run. Better yet, make these five great yoga poses, or asanas, an integral part of your training regime. They will not only alleviate that tightness in the leg muscles, but also strengthen them, because yoga is not just about stretching, but also strengthens the body. We asked yoga instructor Groschaan Emmanuel to give us a yoga/stretch routine to help runners develop a lengthened, more efficient running stride and recover faster from long runs (The asanas are ‘modelled’ by Anna Neale-Shutte and Wade Holland, who have different levels of flexibility, thus showing different ways of doing the asanas).

Start by removing your shoes and socks, then lie on your back, breathe in to prepare yourself, and breathe out as you stretch your arms overhead and lengthen the entire body, pointing the toes and fingers away from you and reaching as far back as possible. Breathe in, and then breathe out as you flex the feet by bringing the toes towards your face and pushing away from you through the heels whilst continuing the stretch. Do five of these stretches very slowly. Now you’re ready to begin. Remember, you cannot do yoga without breathing, so focus on breathing in through the nose when you are stationary, and out through the nose when moving. If you feel pain in your knees while doing any of these asanas, try raising yourself or supporting yourself with a cushion or foam block, but stop if the pain persists.

Asana 1: Paschimottanasana (Forward Bend)
Sit on your buttocks, legs stretched out in front of you, with legs and feet hip distance apart. Make sure you’re sitting evenly on both buttock bones. Your upper body should be vertical – if it isn’t, sit on the edge of a cushion or foam block. Contract your quads (front thigh muscles) to pull up your kneecaps, and flex your feet to bring the tops of your feet towards your face. Pivot in your hips to bring the upper body forward, trying to keep the spine as erect as possible – don’t drop your head or squash the back of your neck, and avoid rounding the spine or dropping the head.

Now clasp your hands around your flexed feet, preferably holding the sides of your feet. If you can’t reach your feet, use a belt, strap or towel around your feet and hold the ends as you maintain an erect spine. Keep your shoulders away from your ears by activating your lats (broad back muscles), but if this feels too intense, bend your knees a bit. Now push the back of the knees into the floor. Hold this for a minute, then relax forwards completely onto your legs – or as far as you can go – with your spine arching and arms loosely on either side of your legs. Do this for another minute.

Asana 2: Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Pose)
Sit in a forward bend position. Keep your left leg extended and bend your right leg. Place the sole of your right foot alongside the inner thigh of your left leg, with the heel as close as possible to your pubic region. The bent knee should extend down towards the floor, exposing the inner right thigh, but if your bent knee feels uncomfortable, slide your right foot further down your left thigh until the discomfort eases. Sit evenly on both buttock bones.

Your core muscles will work to keep you level, but if you can’t stay level, take the corner of a cushion or sponge and slot it underneath the buttock bone of the extended leg. Now pivot in the hips, leaning forward with an erect spine, keeping shoulders away from ears and reach towards your extended foot. Your navel should travel towards the outer knee of the extended leg. This provides a twisting action highly beneficial for the abdomen. Contract the quadricep of the left leg to pull up the kneecap. Flex the left foot as you hold it with your hands (if you can’t reach your foot, use a strap). The bent knee should feel as if it is moving behind you. Hold for one minute, breathing slowly, then repeat on the other side.

Asana 3: Marichyasana (Great Sage Pose)
Sit in a forward bend position with legs extended. Bend your right leg and place the right foot alongside the outer left thigh. Depending on your flexibility you can decide how far up or down the outer left leg to place the foot. Sit evenly on both buttock bones with spine extending upwards through the crown of the head. Pull up the left kneecap by contracting your quadricep and flexing your left foot. Then turn your upper body towards your inner right thigh, trying to maintain an erect spine. Cup your right knee into your inner left elbow and make sure you don’t collapse the right leg. Place your right hand behind you on the floor, but don’t rely on this hand to keep you erect – your core muscles should do that. Hold for a minute and repeat the sequence on the other side.

Asana 4: Baddha Konasana/Badrasana (Butterfly Pose/Cobbler Pose)
Sit evenly on buttocks with the soles of your feet touching each other, and your spine erect. Interlace your fingers and wrap your hands around your feet, (Position A) then place your outer elbows on your inner knees. Inhale and exhale as you gently push your knees down towards the floor. Repeat five times, inhaling as you prepare and exhaling on the exertion. This should take you a minute.

Then release your hands from your feet and extend them ahead of you, shoulder distance apart. Pivot in the hips as you extend your spine forward (Position B). Don’t let your spine arch excessively. With time and practice you will gradually descend all the way to the floor, but if you can’t get your head on the floor at first, place a support in front of you and rest your forehead on it. Hold for another minute, with slow breathing.

Asana 5: Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero Pose)
Kneel with your buttocks on your heels. Keep your spine erect, then raise your hips and part your feet and sit between your feet (Place a cushion under your buttocks if your knees protest). If comfortable, you are ready to proceed to the reclining stage. On exhalation, slowly begin to recline backwards onto your hands, then your elbows and then onto the floor. Your lower back will let you know how far you can go. If your lower back protests, do not proceed further. You can stack a cushion or two behind your back to provide support. If you can, lower yourself all the way to the floor and lie there for one minute, breathing in and out with arms relaxed on either side. To get out of the position, push yourself up onto your forearms and then your hands, lifting through your sternum and bringing your head up last. Do not rush to straighten your legs – this should be done very slowly, one leg at a time whilst on all fours.