Author: Modern Athlete

It might not be the most visible running club at road races, and it certainly doesn’t have the most members, but each and every one of this small close-knit club’s members is passionate about promoting the love of running in their hometown community, south of Johannesburg.

The idea of starting a club in Lenasia began with five friends debating the issue on their journeys to different road races in and around Gauteng. Siva Veeran and his four friends, all from different clubs, longed for a club in their hometown they could call their very own. Their dream became a reality in 1988 when Lenasia Athletic Club (LAC) was formally established.

Initially, it was such a small club that Siva had to register all his family members in order to meet the amount of members required for a club to be recognised by the former Transvaal Road Runners’ Association (TRRA). Club colours were chosen as white with blue and red stripes, but the TRRA rejected the design as not being visible enough. Two circles (blue and red) on the front of the vest were then accepted and today this design serves as the proud logo of LAC.

The club’s goal back then was simple, to offer runners an opportunity to be part of a local running club. Today, nearly 21 years later, the club’s goal is still very much the same. There is only one slight difference: over the years a strong focus on the development of running, especially among the younger members of the community, has developed.

GIVING BACK
LAC has about 130 members. “We are not known for hosting big races and we don’t have a lot of members, but we feel strongly about our community and about getting youngsters involved in the sport of running,” says Club Chairman, Nadisha Khan, better known as Nadi amongst friends and fellow runners.

Up to four years ago, LAC proudly hosted a 10km/21.1km race in Lenasia, but a lack of sponsorship forced the club to cancel the race. This did not demoralise members and they pursued their passion for organising development races, which are mostly run on a shoestring budget and require determination and hard work to put together. “We try to focus especially on the development of school children, but we also try to get the adult community involved,” says Nadi.

LAC’s biggest development race is the annual Valentine’s Night Race, which is held in February and starts at the Trade Route Mall in Lenasia. The turnout is anything between 300 and 400 runners. Entry for school children is free and older participants only pay R5. There is no prize money, but the organisers make sure each and every participant is sent home with a medal.

Once a month, from July to November, more development races are held in Mayfair, close to Lenasia. “We have experienced that a lot of adult community members support these races. They are hesitant to participate in the usual big club road races, but they feel more comfortable and willing to try their hand
at running in a more relaxed atmosphere. And even if it’s just a water bottle, we ensure that everybody gets something,” says Nadi.

CHANGING A GENERATION
Nadi is the first to admit the Indian way of life is not conducive to health and fi tness. “The Indian population has a very high incidence of diabetes and heart disease because of their lifestyle. We cook with a lot of butter, we eat a lot of meat and the majority of Indian people generally just don’t exercise and are not health conscious.”

Less than 1% of Lenasia’s 200 000 residents walk or run. “The younger generation is slowly growing up to be more active and healthy, but the older generation is still not very health conscious.”

A couple of years ago, a gym opened in Lenasia and helped to establish a gym culture, mainly among the younger community members. Walks such as the annual Ghandi Walk and the Spring Walk usually attract the adult community members.

LAC helps the different community organisations with the marshalling of these events. “More people are starting to live active lives and many are going to the gym, but very few are running. A lot of residents are still saying to me, ‘Why must I run like Nadi when I can walk like Ghandi?’”

Running was brought to the foreground in Lenasia in 2009 when their hometown girl, Kashmira Parbhoo, finished as the tenth lady in the 2009 Comrades Marathon. “Kashmira’s achievement was a huge boost for running in Lenasia. Residents started realising the benefi ts of an active lifestyle and saw what could happen if you believe in yourself. Kash’s performance also forced the running community to recognise LAC and take notice of us!”

SOCIAL SCENE
LAC utilises the facilities of a sport centre in Lenasia when they hold club functions. A pre-Comrades get-together is organised every year while the club’s annual gala awards evening is the highlight of their social calendar. LAC encourages its members to recruit family and friends, even if it is just to join in on a weekend run. “I always encourage our runners to be social and friendly on the road, because they carry the club’s image,” says Nadi.

TRAINING
Because the club is relatively small, nearly all its members train together in the mornings. Some meet at the gym while others get together at different garages. Each group has a different training pace and some of the more serious groups mix their distance running with quality work such as hills. LAC does not host a weekly time trial, so members try to incorporate some speed work into their morning training runs.

“Lenasia is very small. You won’t even be able to run 15km around it. Therefore, it is quite convenient for runners who choose to run shorter routes to just drop off anytime and find their way home,” says Nadi.

And though the club is small, nearly half of its members enter Comrades each year. “The Comrades culture in this country is just so big that even in our small club nearly everyone enters.” More than 60 members have entered for Comrades 2010, says Nadi, who has completed seven Comrades and a few
Iron Man races.

Last year, 45 members entered the 2009 Comrades. While two did not qualify, one did not start and eight did not finish, some achieved remarkable performances, such as Naresh Nana who completed his 21st race, Pete Naidoo who ran his 19th and Adam Suliman who walked away with his 17th medal.
Those members who did not finish the 2009 race are determined to tackle the 2010 race, including
Sullie Saloojee. “I know I was lazy, but I know I have the potential to complete the race. My lack
of training has caused me to disappoint not only myself, but most importantly my family and friends. Running allows me to be myself, it gives me time to refl ect and connect with the Divine. I will be back.”

LAC has a strong walking group that trains under the guidance of Valla Moodley. Many of the walkers participate in the annual 50km Verulam Big Walk in KwaZulu-Natal. Quite a few LAC members are also eager cyclists. “Every year we encourage our members to try something else other than just running. I believe that you have to do something every year that challenges your boundaries and comfort zones, and that excites you.”

RAISING FUNDS
The fi ght against cancer is a subject close to many members’ hearts because many of them have experienced the pain of losing family members or friends to this disease. Each year, LAC raises money for CANSA as part of their build-up to Comrades. They have donated more than R70 000 to CANSA over the years. Most recently, seven runners raised a further R17 000 by participating in the New York City Marathon. Nadi Khan, Bhupenda Purbhoo, Hasmukh Patel, Ajit Vallabh, Jeff Sukha, Pradeep Gowan and Nanda Dalpat, all experienced runners, ran their very first international marathon in  November in the Big Apple. Apart from having the time of their lives, they did it all for a very worthy cause they truly believe in.

“We had a fabulous time. The runners from other countries were very soccer World Cup orientated when they saw us. They all shouted that they would see us in 2010,” says Nadi, who ran in a shirt depicting the South African flag.

Though it is a small club, LAC is vibrant and its members believe in what they do. Most importantly, they have a passion for their community – and that is what counts, according to Nadi.

Club: Boxer Superstores Athletic Club, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Age: 33
Achievements: Represented South Africa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2007 All Africa  Games, and 2007 and 2009 World Athletic Championships.
PBs: 10km – 33:58, 21.1km – 1:14:41, 42.2km – 2:36.

Tanith, a Durban-based athlete, has just received an elite entry into this year’s Virgin London Marathon on 25 April. “Competing in the London Marathon has been a dream for years. London is like a second home to me, having gone to school and later worked there,” says Tanith, who ran the fastest marathon time by a South African female since Elana Meyer in 2001, when she clocked 2:36 in the Warsaw City
Marathon in 2008. “I am hoping to run a sub-2:32 or better in London!”

At the time of writing, Tanith had also been invited to take part in the Xiamen Half Marathon in China on 2 January. She will be concentrating on the shorter distances up until mid-February, then build up her mileage for London in April. “I hope to participate in a couple of 5000m track races and 10km road races.”

Running international races is nothing new to Tanith, who competed in the Great South run in Portsmouth in the UK last year, although she fi nished a little disappointed in 12th position. “It was an amazing experience lining up with 35 000 runners for a ten-mile race. Unfortunately, I picked up severe Achilles problems and wasn’t able to put in the performance I wanted.”

Tanith’s running ability must be in the genes. From a young age she was seconding her parents in the Comrades Marathon. She was eight years old when her uncle won the SA Marathon Champs in Durban in 1983. “I was really taken with running and he actually bought me my fi rst pair of North Star takkies!”

A typical training day consists of two sessions. She does quality sessions in the morning, including track intervals or longer tempo runs on the fl at beachfront area followed by a gym session. In the afternoons, she runs 90 minutes as part of a recovery session. Her weekly mileage during peak marathon training is around 150km much part of my life that I would feel lost without it.”

Tanith prefers the half marathon distance, although she hasn’t had the success she would have liked at this distance. “It’s not as demanding and gruelling as the marathon distance. Marathon preparation is tough and if something goes wrong in the race, it goes very wrong! I fi nd the half marathon requires a good balance of both speed and endurance, and allows an athlete to be competitive over all the distances from 5000m.”

The highlight of her running career has been representing South Africa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. “It was such a memorable experience and my first real taste of international competition.” She has also had her fair share of disappointments; at the Hamburg City Marathon she had fl u but decided to push through. “Just after halfway, I lost my vision and collapsed. That was the fi rst marathon I did not fi nish,” says Tanith, who works part time for adidas.

She describes herself as compassionate, determined and dedicated, and has one big dream: to represent South Africa at the 2012 London Olympics. “It would round off my career and it would be such an incredible experience to participate in an Olympic marathon in London! To say you are an Olympian
and to compete at the highest level possible is something very special to me.”

I started running to lose some weight. Since then I have fallen in love with the sport and in the process also achieved my initial goal by losing 4kg quickly!
I still need to lose another 2kg, but I am battling. No matter how much I run these days, my weight stays constant. Any advice on how to burn off the last excess kilograms? – MEGAN, NELSPRUIT

ANSWER
Delighted to hear about your love of running! Since I don’t know your height and weight, it’s difficult to know if you really do need to lose another 2kg at all. However, what I would suggest is that instead of focusing on your scale, which after all, only tells you how much of you there is, rather concentrate on your measurements. For example, if you lose a few centimetres on your waist, it’ll indicate some fat-loss, but you might weigh the same because you gained a bit of muscle mass. Your body composition is changing for the better. The scale can be very deceptive. If you still feel you need to shape up a bit more, then why not include a session of interval training or speed work (even a time trial will do) once a week? This will certainly kick-start any sluggish metabolism. Also, if you feel your eating habits might not be ideal, consult with a registered dietician – it’ll be well worth it.

Kathleen McQuaide-Little – Modern Athlete Expert

Qualifications:
BSc. H.D.E M.Ed. BSc (Med)(Hons)
Exercise Science

I was interested to note in your article on shoes (November edition) that one shouldn’t wear road shoes for trail running. So what shoes would you wear for running on the beach or gravel/jeep track?  Personally, I wear road shoes for easy trail/beach and gravel, and trail shoes for technical single track. I do however know of quite a few people who prefer road shoes and wear them on all terrains – simply because it’s ‘their shoe’ (you know how protective we get when we find a shoe that works for us). Would be interested to hear your advice. – ELLIE COURTS, CAPE TOWN

ANSWER
You can indeed run on any surface with a conventional road shoe, but trail shoes are generally better for off-road surfaces, as they provide more grip thanks to the heavily lugged sticky rubber outsole materials and designs. It comes down to the same principle as cyclists using slick tyres on a road bike for less resistance on the tar, and knobbly tyres on a mountain bike for improved grip on loose surfaces. Similarly, better grip in your shoes means sure footing and no slipping.

Trail shoes also tend to be more supportive and protective than road shoes, with thicker padding in the upper and full-length anti-rock plates to protect your feet. The upper is usually made from stronger materials, which are better suited to the mud, gravel and sand, both in terms of handling the wear and tear as well as being darker coloured, so less likely to be ruined by a muddy run.

The bottom line, however, is that you should wear whichever shoes work best for you. There is no right or wrong answer here.

Sean Falconer – Modern Athlete Editor & Gear writer

Sean has ten years’ experience testing and reviewing running shoes for runninng publications.