Author: Modern Athlete

Adapting to a new medical condition this year has not stopped me from pursuing my passion for running. – BY JACKIE HENRICK

Running wasn’t always my passion, but eight years ago I put together a bucket list, and running the Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon was right at the top. I had never run before, but after much training, I completed my first Two Oceans… eight seconds after the cut-off. Since then, I have come to love running, especially long distances, and in 2017, I decided the Peninsula Marathon would be a good way to start the year. I had an amazing run, and then to speed up recovery, I went for a sports massage. While working on my right calf, the physiotherapist remarked that she could feel some lumps under the skin and proceeded to try to massage them out.

I found the whole experience painful – more so than usual – so she recommended that I take an anti-inflammatory when I got home and not to run until the weekend. Later, she phoned to check on me and I mentioned I had a strange tightness behind my knee. Despite this, I still ran 16km that weekend, but by Sunday, the tightness had become worse and my leg was swollen. More anti-inflammatories later, neither the swelling nor the pain subsided, and it was time to see a doctor. After describing my symptoms, my GP wanted me to immediately book myself in for a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) test. I was mortified. How can a fit person like me suddenly get DVT?

As I only have a hospital plan, and because I almost died when I heard how much a private hospital would charge, my first stop was Groote Schuur. I arrived for the ultrasound, but after sitting around for three hours, I was told that there was no-one available to operate the machine. To make matters worse, I wasn’t able to get an appointment at any of the other government hospitals, as there was either no one on duty qualified to perform the test, or the machines were broken!

Diagnosis Confirmed
A friend in the medical profession suggested I rather contact Dr Anderson, the vascular surgeon at Gatesville Clinic, who fitted me in, and confirmed I had DVT. Dr Anderson was even able to tell me more or less the age of the DVT and when it had flared up: It was all traced back to the sports massage. Often, enlarged veins are mistaken for lumps and when massaged, they can erupt.

My first question to him was, “Can I still run?” Thankfully, he said yes, but I would have to be careful. The constant hitting of the road could cause the blood to pool, which would make the leg heavy and feel “very full,” and if this happened, I would need to walk until the leg felt normal again.

I left the clinic in a daze. Here I was, fit and healthy, being told I would have to take medication every day for six months – and the Warfarin I was prescribed is not a nice pill to swallow. It is actually often referred to by doctors as Rattex, because it was initially used as rat poison! I was put on a strict diet: No leafy green vegetables and absolutely no vitamins K and C. Also, no anti-inflammatories, and I was prescribed special painkillers in case I needed them. I also had to cut my nails in case I scratched myself and started bleeding, and I was told that any bump would cause horrendous bruising. On the other hand, one thing that has definitely helped was getting a good pair of compression socks. I’m not talking about the kind you can just buy anywhere. The pair I got from the Orca/Orbea Concept Store is serious business. You need to be measured for them, and although they are pricey, they are the comfiest socks I’ve ever worn.

Getting on With Things
Since diagnosis, life has been a little different. I have lost some of my running speed, and I have started swimming to ease the leg while staying fit. I now have to wear an ICE bracelet in case anything happens to me, my life is governed by my cellphone alarm clock to remind me to take my ‘Rattex,’ and every two weeks I go for blood tests.

Despite all this, I still ran this year’s Two Oceans Half Marathon and was only 15 minutes off my personal best. The biggest concern was that I could have fallen – not a good idea when your blood is so thin – and I found that I was about 50 shades of purple from all the elbowing and pushing during the race! One lady even managed to cut my arm with her iPhone that was secured to her arm in a cover. Lethal things, those!

This is a journey I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and there are very few support groups for the condition within Cape Town, but with the help of Facebook, I have connected with people who are going through the same experience. I’m happy to say that my vascular surgeon is impressed that I have managed to carry on running, and that’s thanks to knowing my body and keeping myself safe.

Ten years ago, at the (then) IAAF World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the South African team finished a lacklustre 22nd on the medal table. Fast forward to 2017 and Team South Africa’s u/18 athletes are sitting on top of the world – literally – having taken the number one spot on the medal table at the recent IAAF World U/18 Championships (as they are now known) in Nairobi, Kenya. – BY REGGIE HUFKIE

South Africa competed in five IAAF World Youth Championship meets between 2007 and 2015, managing to bring home a total of 13 medals across five meets. By comparison, at the 2017 championships, our athletes won a record-breaking haul of 11 medals in a single meet, consisting of five gold, three silver and three bronze medals. This points to the next generation of South African athletes being well on track to emulating the current crop of top South African senior athletes that have been medalling on the world stage, such as Wayde van Niekerk, Caster Sememya and Luvo Manyonga. In the meantime, we caught up with our five newly crowned World Champions.

RETSHIDISITSWE MLENGA
(Boys’ 200m Gold, 100m Silver)
Built lean, more like a long distance athlete than a sprinter, Retshidisitswe’s soft-spoken persona doesn’t look the part either, but on the track he is a different man – and if you saw his roaring celebration after clinching the 200m World Title, you would realise he is not shy to express himself.

In Nairobi, he also showed the world that he does not back down from a challenge, after narrowly losing the boys’ 100m final to his good friend Tshenolo Lemao. “My coach told me that I work 10 times harder than anybody else on that starting line, and when I came second in the 100m and saw my coach’s face, I told myself I can’t let my coach, my parents and my family down.” (He is coached by triple jumper Reneilwe Aphane.)

He duly responded with an even greater effort in the 200m, winning in 21.03 seconds, just ahead of Tshenolo for another SA one-two in the boys’ sprints. “I came into the 200m final very focused, having made a mistake in the 100m final,” he says simply. But ask him for his long-term goals, and he just oozes confidence: “I would like to see myself as one of the best ranked athletes in the world about 10 years from now.”

BREYTON POOLE
(Boys’ High Jump Gold)
Having represented Western Province in gymnastics in primary school, as well as rugby throughout primary and high school (u/12, u/13 and u/16), plus cross country and hockey, Breyton boasts a ‘Poole’ of talent. The 1.73m tall powerhouse believes that anything is possible, and that got him over the bar at 2.24m to be crowned World u/18 High Jump Champion. “All the excitement in Kenya was crazy, and I started celebrating whilst the bar was still shaking, but the joy and relief knowing that I just cleared the bar at 2.24m was an incredible feeling,” he says.

Breyton is coached by Bennie Schlecter and after a record-breaking season and World Championships title, it seems the choice to focus on athletics is paying off for this multi-talented sportsman, who hung up his rugby boots for good in 2016. “I don’t regret choosing athletics at all, and next year I’m hoping to qualify for the World Junior Champs in Finland,” he says. “My long term goal is to go to the Olympics in three years, because I’m still 5cm short of the 2.29m qualification mark.”

TSHENOLO LEMAO
(Boys’ 100m Gold, 200m silver)
His name was written into the history books on a wet evening when he won the IAAF World u/18 Championships100m title in 10.57 seconds, becoming the first South African to medal, let alone win, a 100m at a modern World Championships. “I’ve been working four years towards this, so now I’m ecstatic that I’ve achieved it,” said an ecstatic Tshenolo moments after his victory.

But there was more to come, when he and teammate Retshidisitswe Mlenga also made the 200m final. Having won the 100m gold, Tshenolo was favourite to win the 200m as well, but in spite of a blistering start, it was Retshidisitswe who took gold in 21.03, while Tshenolo posted a PB 21.12 for the silver. While slightky disappointed, Tshenolo was still thrilled that it gave the two South Africans a gold-silver double each.

Having moved from St Andrews in Bloemfontein to the Tuks Sport High School in 2016, Tshenolo’s solid relationship with specialist sprint Coach Thabo Mathebedi from the Grigora Training Group at Tuks could mean still bigger things for him in the sport, especially considering that he still played provincial hockey in 2015. He says he took time to adjust to the move, but it has been more than worth it. “Honestly, it wasn’t easy being in a hostel at first, because being away from home made it more difficult, but having great friends Gift Leotlela and Malisela Senona there made the shift easier. Also, I think my positive attitude played a major role in my success, and that’s the same attitude I approach training with.”

SOKWAKHANA ZAZINI
(Boys’ 400m Hurdles Gold)
Sokwakhana Zazini introduced himself to world athletics when he set a new World Best for u/18 400m hurdles in March this year, clocking 48.84 seconds. Since then, he has been simply untouchable. Given South Africa’s rich history in the single lap hurdles, added to his scintillating World Best, Soks went into the World Champs with high expectations on his shoulders, but none of that seemed to phase him in the slightest.

He cruised home in 49.27 to clinch the World Title, finishing a massive three seconds clear of the next athlete home! “Yes, I dominated the race, and that was great, but people will be wrong to think it came easy. I’ve been preparing really hard since last year, and going through the pain barrier was hectic,” he says about his gold medal performance.

Added to his 48.84 World Best, the Eastern Cape-born sprinter also boasts a 46.20 for 400m, making him one of world athletics’ rising stars. He attends the Tuks Sport High School in Pretoria and trains alongside experienced Olympic hurdlers LJ van Zyl and Wenda Nel, so no surprise that the soft-spoken World Champion is already looking ahead to making it on the senior stage: “My short-term goal is to win the IAAF World u/20 Championship title next year, and my long-term goal is to make the SA senior team in 2019, in the hopes of getting experience to take me to the top.”

ZENEY VAN DER WALT
(Girls’ 400m Hurdles Gold)
Ahead of the girls’ 400m hurdles final, many pundits were sure that the pre-race favourite, Jamaica’s Sanique Walker, would take the title, but that just took all the pressure off Zeney, the Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool grade 11 scholar from Pretoria. “I was just focused on the plans coach Maritza Coetzee and I had made, and I knew I have a strong finish, so I remained 100% focused. I knew this would be the last race of an amazing season, and I knew I was 100% prepared,” she says.

Entering the home straight, Sanique had a five-metre gap over second-placed Zeney, but the South African says, “At the 300m mark, I saw I was second and that’s when I gave my best and ran my heart out.” When the Jamaican hit the last hurdle and stumbled, the South African was perfectly placed to grab the win in 58.24, out-dipping the Jamaican by a mere three-hundredths of a second for one of the biggest upsets of the championships. “After the race we had to wait to see the photo finish and as it turned out, it was gold for South Africa!” says an elated Zeney.

With spring here, we may get the urge to not only spring-clean our houses, but also our bodies. However, much as I support people making a positive change for their health, I’m a bit of a sceptic when it comes to ‘detoxing.’ – BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIAN

Detox diets can give people a false sense of security, a feeling that they are being protective of their health, but all too often they just go back to their usual way of eating. When people get to the stage of wanting to ‘detox,’ they are usually willing to participate in extreme measures, or find a quick fix, in order to feel more energetic or thinner. This extreme behaviour is generally unsustainable and bad habits easily sneak back in, and often in an exaggerated way because you are starving and feel low. This can then actually cause more damage in the long run.

People don’t realise that the body already has multiple systems in place, including the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, that do a perfectly good job of eliminating toxins from the body within hours of consumption. By just adopting a healthy eating plan, one actually causes a natural detox, but in a much safer way. Now let’s explore some commonly asked detoxing questions.

1 Is it healthy to detox? It all depends what you call a detox. A healthy eating plan, cutting out stimulants like caffeine and sugar, and things like salt, artificial products and heavy fatty foods, but not eliminating entire food groups, would be a very positive change. Extreme changes in diet, like just eating one food group, can be very limited in essential nutrients, which could be damaging.

2 Does fasting clean the body of toxins? Your liver and kidneys detox your body constantly. Fasting doesn’t do that; on the contrary, ketones build up when carbohydrates aren’t available for energy.

3 Do enemas, ‘flushing’ and detoxing help with losing weight? There is no credible scientific evidence proving enemas, ‘flushing’ and detoxing the liver and lymphatic system result in weight-loss. There is also no scientific evidence that there is even a need to ‘flush’ the liver, much less any benefit from doing so.

4 Why do some people say they feel better when detoxing? Detox dieters may report a variety of benefits, but none can be traced to the idea of detoxification. Fewer headaches can be traced to other lifestyle changes such as reduction in alcohol and caffeine intake. Clearer skin can result from improved hydration, and less bloating could be a result of eating less food. Some detox dieters even report a sense of euphoria, but this is actually a physical reaction to starvation.

LAST WORD
So is there anything positive about detoxing? Well, there is something to be gained from avoiding large quantities of alcohol or junk food, but always remember that moderation is best, and these detox regimens are anything but moderate. You can achieve the same beneficial effect by following a healthy eating plan, exercising and drinking plenty of water!

About the Author
Christene is a registered dietician based in the Johannesburg area.

One of the most remarkable things about running is that it is a great leveller: You could just as easily find yourself running next to the CEO of an international company in your next race, or a gardener, or domestic worker. Once the starter’s gun is fired, qualifications and salary count for very little as all athletes compete against themselves to get to the finish line, and one such story has been playing out in the Comrades Marathon over the past few years, as 42-year-old mother of two Maria Vilakazi has steadily climbed the ranks in the women’s field. But she admits that she has made a few mistakes along the way thanks to her stubbornness. – BY SEAN FALCONER

In the 2017 Comrades, Maria crossed the line in a personal best 7:41:42 for her fourth Bill Rowan medal, finishing 20th overall in the women’s field and fifth amongst the veterans. In the process she took just over 24 minutes off her previous best ‘Up Run’ time, adding to her already impressive running story, which began a few years ago after a long break from any form of sport. Born in Mpumalanga, Maria currently lives in Johannesburg, where she works as a cleaner for an IT company. She did some sport in her younger days, but dropped out of school in Grade 10 (standard 8) and stopped all sport as she entered the working world at a very young age.

“I come from a big family, with 10 boys and five girls, and I saw my mom was suffering, so I decided to help her by dropping out of school and starting to work. I stopped sport when I started working, but I used to love running, even though the teachers thought I was a sprinter and always put me in the 100m, because of my body shape. I was never a sprinter, but I still loved running,” says Maria.

DESIRE TO RUN AGAIN
It was many years later, while watching the 2008 Comrades Marathon on TV, that Maria rediscovered her desire to run, and that prompted her to want to go for a 10km jog, but she admits she did not know how to get started. Fortunately, her employer at the time, was more than willing to help when Maria asked for help a few months later. “I was working for Shashika Ramsamy in Bryanston and told her I wanted to start running, so she Googled info for me on beginner running and said I should join a club. Then she looked for clubs in our area and got info for me about the Run/Walk For Life club just around the corner from us. She told me to go ask them if they can help me, so I went and met Michelle Orlando, the branch manager, and she told me to come and join that same day at 4pm. I was so excited that I was finally going to run, but when she made me run just five minutes that first time, I was not happy! I thought, ‘Oh no, this is not for me,’ because my goal was to run 42km comfortably and then run the Comrades, not five minutes!”

With Michelle’s guidance, Maria steadily built up her mileage and went on to run her first road race in early 2009, at the Randburg Valentines 10km, but she admits she was still itching to go further and faster than Michelle was telling her to. “She told me to train and build up from five minutes to 50 minutes, and then run that first race around 60 minutes, but she said I must take it easy. She was happy and said I was in good shape, but now we must build up to 15km, then 21km, and only much later the 42km. I was not happy, because I wanted to go further and faster, but I realise now she knew what she was doing.”

The reason Maria knows this now is because she had to learn the age old lesson of running the hard way: Too much, too soon, may lead to an over-use injury. It happened because she moved from doing that first 10km race to tackling the Old Mutual Two Oceans 56km ultra-marathon just a few months later. “I didn’t listen to Michelle and that led to ITB from overtraining. I still ran the Two Oceans with the ITB, finishing in 5:19:50, but it set me back, and so no Comrades that year.”

DOING IT HER WAY
The following year, she did make it to the Comrades, and clocked an impressive 9:42:39 on debut, but again, her expectations and reality were not quite in tune. “I said I wanted to run my first Comrades in sub-9 hours, because it was 87 kays, and 10km/h sounded doable, but I didn’t realise how far it was, and once again I didn’t want to listen to Michelle about taking it easy in my first one. I was still very happy to cross the line in 9:42, but in 2011 I wanted to break nine hours. I did that second one in 9:24 and got my Back2Back medal, but I still had 24 minutes to take off.”

Once again, the advice of more experienced runners proved true, as Maria overdid the running in 2012 and picked up a stress facture and tendonitis in the same leg, although she still managed a 5:57:12 Two Oceans finish. “I told Beth Hammer, the new manager at Run/Walk For Life, that something was wrong with my foot, because I could only run 1km before the pain came. She got me an appointment with a physio, who told me I can’t run Comrades… but you know us runners, we never listen, and I decided to start and then bail if necessary. It took me a long, long time to finish – 11:37:55 – and I will never advise anybody to run Comrades if you feel pain. I already had to sit down at 10km due to pain, and didn’t think I could do another 79km, but there was no ambulance or bus there, and I was getting cold, so I decided to jog a bit more. When I eventually crossed the line, I thought I would never run again.”

“I was lucky that Beth then worked so hard for me. She made time to drive me to the physio, and told me, ‘Maria, you can’t give up without a fight!’ I was still sure I did not want to run again, but I didn’t want to disappoint her, and I am the runner I am today because of her. Also, I was helped by Neerashi Ramsamy, Sheshika’s daughter, who is a chiro and did fantastic work to help fix me. She always makes time for me, no matter how busy she is, even after hours at home.”

RETURNING STRONGER
Due to the injury and 18-month recovery, Maria missed the 2013 Comrades, but in 2014 she was back with a proverbial bang, clocking 5:42:50 at Oceans and 8:56:27 at Comrades to finally break the nine-hour mark. “Soon as I finished, I phoned Neerashi to share the news that I had done it.” Then in 2015, having won the Vaal Marathon and Colgate 32km, she went event faster, blitzing 4:34:28 at Oceans and then 8:05:44 at Comrades, and the plan was to break eight hours in 2016, but in early May, while out running with training partner Vusi Ludiki, Maria was hit by a taxi and injured her shoulder. That meant she couldn’t train for the rest of that month leading up to the race on 29 May, but she still ran 8:51:49.

In 2017 it all came together as she broke through eight hours and into the top 20. “I can’t explain this year’s race, I don’t know what happened. But I also can’t take the credit for myself – I had two ladies who helped me, Lee and Muriel of the Fitness From Africa (FFA) club, who invited me to join their track training group under coach Marcel Viljoen last November. The speed work really helped, but I still didn’t expect to be selected for the provincial team to run the SA Marathon Champs in Durban.”

The problem was that the Champs were just a week before the Two Oceans, and Marcel told me I can’t race both, so I will have to choose. Since I had never been selected for SA Champs before, I decided to race that, so he gave me pacing instructions to race hard for a 3:10 finish, but I never told him I was still going to save a little bit for the next week’s Two Oceans. As you have already seen, I am very stubborn… Anyway, I found 3:10 quite easy and finished sixth overall and second veteran, then I took the week off, drove to Cape Town and ran my best Oceans time by nearly two minutes, 4:32:35.”

SILVER GOAL
For Comrades, Marcel gave Maria pacing instructions for a 7:41 finish, and that’s exactly what she ran. “He told me he believed I can run a silver if I pace myself correctly right from start, with a 5:10 first kilometre, but I ran 4:30. I think that’s why I didn’t run 7:30 for that silver. Another lesson learnt.” Two weeks after Comrades, Maria ran 85 minutes at the SA Half Marathon Champs to finish second veteran, once again showing her remarkable powers of recovery, and she says the big goal now is sub-7:30 finish for a Comrades silver. “That’s what I will be chasing in 2018, but let’s see what the coach says.”

Running has many characters and personalities who bring flavour to the sport, and in the Cape Town running scene, one who stands out from the crowd is Moegsien Ebrahim. He isn’t known for being the fastest runner, but rather for taking amazing pics of his fellow runners, and for not being shy about sharing his opinion about running issues on social media. – BY PJ MOSES

Besides running, and talking about running, another of Moegsien Ebrahim’s passions is taking photos, and it has become the norm to see him at all the races with camera in hand, taking hundreds of photos. His pics featuring runners doing what runners do are found all over social media these days, and he’s become a mini celeb in his own right by being the man behind the lens. “It has become an expectation from people to have their picture taken during races, and everyone is always asking me, where is the camera, when I don’t have it,” says the enigmatic running photographer.

Nowadays hundreds of runners look forward to featuring in a Moegsien Ebrahim pic, and before, during or after a race, they line up smiling and always have a pose ready when they see him. On average, he takes about 400 to 500 pics per race, and it doesn’t matter if it is road, trail or even the cross country events, Moegsien’s camera has become well known at all of them. Thousands of pictures later, he says he still keeps all of the photos he has taken over the years.

ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT
By his own admission, Moegsien is not a natural runner, and he says the running bug bit him fairly late in life, but he adds that it opened up a whole new world to his adventurous spirit. As a nine-year-old, he would disappear from home every chance he got to go play hockey or cricket with his friends, without his parent’s consent. By the time they found out what the young Moegsien was up to, it was too late to stop him, so they just let him be. In the years that followed, it was cricket in the summer and hockey in winter, but when injuries and a declining love of these team sports led him to look for alternative sporting activities, he turned to first walking, then running.

“I just found that staying idle over a weekend wasn’t working for me,” he says, adding that he was soon drawn to the great social vibe amongst the athletes, even though he didn’t know anybody at the time within the athletic community. “At my first event, the FNB Big Walk, I decided to do the 35km walk because I was active and knew that I could do it. During this race I saw quite a few people with these coloured vests and I thought, ‘I want one of those vests.’ So I started looking up running clubs in the phonebook!”

This led Moegsien to join the Celtic Harriers running club and soon he was being spotted walking at many races in his green and white hoped club kit. Then, when he grew tired of just walking, he decided to try his hand at running. “I saw there were many people of all shapes and sizes running, and I thought to myself, ‘I can also do that!’ It didn’t start so well, but I saw people older than me running comfortably, so I thought with time it will get better, and luckily it did!”

OUTSPOKEN VIEWS
Making the most of the busy life running has given him, Moegsien averages close to 80 races a year these days, and the medals and memories have piled up since those early days. “I do not go to movies and I do not go to shows, I spend my money on running and running apparel. I also try to support as many races presented by clubs as I can, and especially clubs that in my opinion are struggling financially, because they need our support,” he says. And during races, you’ll find him at the back of the pack, because he says he loves the chats, jokes and laughs that you find there, as well as the camaraderie and determination to finish. “For me, those are the true heroes of running.”

At the same time, Moegsien is a man who believes in speaking his mind, and this has meant that he doesn’t shy away from debating things on social media. He has been notably outspoken about the ballot system for entries in a major Cape race as well as the way the #runclean campaign has been implemented by some race organisers. He doesn’t have a problem with these things, per se, but in his opinion both need to be tweaked to the benefit of all runners.

He is a man who sticks to his guns and has no regrets about anything he has said or done in the running public eye. He talks about things that are close to his heart and though he will agree to disagree about the issues, he will not stand down on anything that bothers him. Unsurprisingly, these critical views have made him unpopular with some people and they have, according to Moegsien, been giving him the cold shoulder, but he just laughs about that. “I will never just sit silently by and keep my thoughts to myself if I feel that runners are getting a raw deal. It is about fairness, because I don’t like unfairness. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Maybe I should have gone into politics, but that has just never been an attraction to me.”

POSITIVE VIBES
Of course, it is not all doom and gloom in Moegsien’s world, and he feels that the growth of the running community has been the biggest plus over the years that he has been a part of it. “I remember when I was starting out and there were just a few runners at local events. Now you have hundreds upon hundreds, and some of the bigger events pull thousands of runners to the starting line. This is a very good thing, but the problem is that race entries have also increased to very expensive levels. This has to be addressed by the powers that be, or else there could be a sharp decline in running numbers again.”

Still, he recommends the running lifestyle to all he meets, telling them not only about the health benefits and improved quality of life, but also about the social aspect of running, that you meet new friends and interact with people from all walks of life. “In my opinion, a running life is a win-win,” he says to conclude the interview, just in time to head off to go run (and photograph) the afternoon cross-country event.

Winning a national title on the road is a fantastic achievement for an athlete. Winning a national title on trail is just as fantastic. Then you get the ultra-marathons, and earning a gold medal in the Comrades is considered a pinnacle achievement in South African running. Doing all three? Until Danette Smith came along, it had never been done. – BY SEAN FALCONER

In April this year Stellenbosch-based school teacher Danette Smith travelled to Durban to participate in the SA Marathon Champs, and having taken the lead around the 30km mark, she powered her way home to claim the women’s title in 2:54:59. Then in June she finished eighth woman in her debut Comrades Marathon, to become just the ninth women to win the SA Marathon Championship as well as a Comrades gold medal. That saw her join a star-studded list that features Charne Bosman, Colleen de Reuck, Frith van der Merwe, Grace de Oliveira, Rianna van Niekerk, Lindsay van Aswegen, Helene Joubert and Beverley Malan (who was fourth in the 1987 Comrades and earned a bronze medal, but would earn a gold medal by modern standards).

However, Danette has another SA title to her name, which gives her an unprecedented ‘Treble’ that no other South African female athlete has achieved. In 2014 she won the SA Long Distance Trail Championship title, meaning she is the only woman to win both these SA titles as well as a Comrades gold. In fact, she is the only woman to win both a road running and trail running SA title along with a Comrades gold. But as is her way, the 29-year-old runner who is sponsored by KPMG, Brooks, TomTom and Superbar, sheepishly grins and tries to talk down her achievements when this is mentioned.

Unexpected Win
“To be honest, it wasn’t my goal to win the SA Marathon Title, and Durban came as a big surprise,
given that Comrades gold was the plan. I consider it a massive gift given to me in an already incredible year,” says Danette. And incredible about sums it up: She was second in the Bay to Bay 30km, won the Red Hill Classic 36km, ran a PB 1:21 at the Western Province Half Marathon Champs, was second in the Cango Marthon with a PB 2:49, was second in the mixed pairs category at AfricanX with JC Visser, ran a 10km PB of 37:24 in the Spar Women’s Race in Cape Town, then won the SA Marathon title – even though her coach, Ernie Gruhn, had told her not to race too hard in Durban.

“My main reason for wanting to run the Champs was to check out running in Durban and better prepare myself for Comrades, plus I needed another long run anyway, as I wasn’t running the Two Oceans this year, but Ernie told me I was not to go faster than 2:55 pace, to save my legs for Comrades. However, I was so honoured to be selected by Western Province and still wanted to do my best… but I never went there with the intention to race it as hard as possible. In fact, I thought I would be lucky to make the top 10!”

“The Champs race was two laps of 21km, but I didn’t listen to the announcers properly and didn’t know this. After the start I had no idea where I was in the race, until a spectator told me around the 15km mark that I was fourth lady. Then when we ran past the stadium at the end of the first lap, I realised we had 21km runners with us, because they turned off. Just after that the Western province team manager told me I was in second place. The route also had a long stretch on the Durban Promenade, and my KPMG clubmate Jenna Challenor was doing a long training run at the same time. When I passed her, she told me the leader was just a few hundred metres ahead of me, so I put in a surge, caught her at 28km, then took the lead. Ernie had told me not to run too fast, but being in the lead sparked the adrenaline. Suddenly I found myself wondering what to do when I reach the finish, how to act or celebrate! Winning was just so completely unexpected.”

Taking on Comrades
A few months later, and with her target splits written on her arm, Danette lined up for what she describes as an emotional Comrades start. “I just wanted to enjoy the experience of all the sites and sounds, and it was amazing to have my parents and my boyfriend there to support me along the way. I stuck to my plan as much as I could and I was lying seventh for a long time, until halfway, but then I felt an old injury flare up a bit and was passed by two girls. Now I was really feeling the pressure, because I was almost out of the gold medals!”

“I was being seconded by KPMG’s Pierre Jacobs and KPMG clubmate Colleen De Reuck’s husband, Darren, so I was getting feedback as well as nutritional support. Round about the 75km mark, I passed Stefanie Smith, who was cramping, and then Pierre and Darren told me I was safe, that I could just enjoy the rest of the way. I still had Polly Shortts to climb, and Ernie had told me I can walk four times during the race – he even gave me the exact number of steps I may walk – and because I had only walked once up to that point, I used all three remaining walks on Polly’s. Running into the stadium was just amazing, and I had to laugh when a guy said he was going to stay with me because he wanted to be on TV. Getting that rose was so special, because I had told friends I had actually imagined it so many times. Just an amazing day!”

Unsurprisingly, given the national prominence of the Comrades Marathon, Danette says she has gotten the most reaction from friends, family, colleagues and pupils due to her Comrades gold, and much more so than her two SA titles. “People only really focus on the Comrades result. The trail title happened and passed, the marathon title happened and passed, and people only tend to talk about the Comrades gold, but it is still wonderful that so many people care. The reaction I tend to get is emotional from people who have known me for many years, because they say they feel they have followed my journey and shared in my success.”

Trail versus Tar
Danette’s running has taken a few interesting turns over the last four years. In 2014 she turned to trail running to get stronger in order to benefit her road running, but when she won the SA trail title and qualified to represent SA at the World Long Distance Trail Champs in the USA, she understandably put more focus on off-road. At the Worlds, she finished 28th overall amongst the women, and fourth in the 25-29 age category, so got onto the stage at prize-giving, and she describes it as a tough but amazing experience.

“My next goal was the Sanlam Cape Town Trail Run, where I finished third, and my then coach, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, suggested I run the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon the next day just to experience a marathon. It was also the SA Champs Marathon for that year, but I had obviously not been selected for the Western Province team because I had not run a marathon before, but I ran a 3:01 and finished third Western Province woman in spite of not racing it hard. Jacques then suggested I run the 2015 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, as he thought I was better suited to ultra distance, and I finished 12th in 4:10, and was first Western Province woman home. The rest of 2015 was relatively quiet, I think because I was a bit tired overall, but in 2016 I was 12th again at Two Oceans.

Later that year Danette was back on the trails, finishing fourth in the Hout Bay Trail Challenge 65km, which doubled as the 2016 SA Ultra Distance Trail Champs. Her goal was to qualify for the World Ultra Distance Trail Champs, but in the end the SA team was not sent to Spain. Still, the long run did prove useful. “I also wanted to use it as a tester to see how long I can run, to see if my legs can handle the time needed for Comrades. It took me 10 hours to finish and was very tough, but I felt OK, so when the SA team was not sent to Worlds, I changed my focus to the Comrades for the rest of the year. I still used shorter trails to build my strength, but from November I put my foot down on the road mileage.”

New Challenges
Looking ahead, Danette says her running focus for the remainder of 2017 will centre on races, first the Sanlam Cape Town Trail Run in September and then the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon in November. “I’m really excited about Soweto, as it will be my first race at altitude since the Trail World Champs in 2014. After that my focus will turn to the 2018 Two Oceans and Comrades, and I’m also really excited about running Oceans again, because next year it’s not as close to Comrades, so I can do both, and I want to go for a sub-4-hour time and a top 10 position. Also, at the back of my mind I’m wondering about the World 100km Champs… I would be really honoured to represent my country again if we were to send a team of women, and think I have the strength for the distance. I’m curious and motivated for next year, and excited to see what I can still achieve in running.

In the early 2000s, Hendrik De Villiers was one of SA’s leading sprint and Olympic distance triathletes, but his pro career was cut short by financial constraints. Having gone into financial planning and insurance, he is now trying to give back to the athletes of our country by offering them an opportunity to generate income to fund their careers. – BY SEAN FALCONER

He may have run his first Comrades Marathon this year, clocking 9:50:49, but Hendrik’s first love will always be multisport events The multisport bug bit him early, when he started doing biathlons at the age of 10. He says he could run and swim well, so did quite well, and that naturally saw him progress into triathlons in high school, when he and friends participated in the relay event at the 5FM Energade Series. “I can still remember my first tri race as a 16-year-old at Maselspoort in Bloemfontein. We won the relay, and I still have the Energade bag that was part of our prize hamper.”

In 2001 he set an under-19 SA Record in biathlon, which still stands, and was crowned World Biathle Champion three times from 2001 to 2003, before moving up to triathlon. Although he did own a bicycle in high school, he had only used it for commuting to school and practice, so giving triathlon a full go had to wait till after school. “I only got my first racing bike after school. I used all the money I had saved my whole life, and I told myself I would not buy another bike unless I earned enough through the sport to afford it.”

“I was studying full-time at Potch at the time, for my B.Com. Accounting degree, which is a really tough course, and I had to save up as well to afford weekend racing trips around the country. Fortunately, success came almost immediately. My running and swimming were strong, and even though my cycling still had to catch up, it was easy to ‘hide’ on the bike because drafting was legal. On the other hand, I was racing the three Storm brothers, who often worked together against me, but I did well and was approached by the Nestle team to race for them.”

ELITE PERFORMER
With sponsorship support, Hendrik became a podium regular throughout SA as well as in several international races and championships, often using his devastating run speed to clinch wins. He won the 5FM Energade series four years in a row from 2003 to 2006, won five SA Triathlon Champs titles, and also five African Triathlon Champs titles. Straight after completing his studies, he raced in Germany for a Bundesliga team, and contested his first World Cup season in 2004, posting five finishes frustratingly just one position outside the prize money!

In 2006 he won the London Triathlon, which he describes as a career highlight, and then finished 10th at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. The following year he won the Richards Bay World Cup event. “I was the first South African ever to win a World Cup event, which was the top level equivalent to the World Triathlon Series of today. That was probably the most special memory of my career,” says Hendrik. In 2008 he finished fourth in the World Champs in Vancouver Canada, and that saw him selected for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, but he unfortunately had to withdraw shortly before the Games due to illness – and that proved to be the closest he would get to the Games…

CALLING IT A DAY
While he continued posting numerous top 10 World Cup finishes as well as two end-of-year Top 5 World Rankings, Hendrik’s career came to an unplanned and abrupt end in March 2012, when he was 30. “I originally intended to retire after hopefully making it to the 2012 London Olympics, but I lost my sponsor in February that year and the national federation pulled my funding in April after I suffered a tummy bug at the African Champs in Mauritius and didn’t earn any qualifying points that day to help get me into London. At that time I only had three events left where I could earn more points, and I was only ranked 57th in the world – you needed to be in the top 50 to make the Olympics. The one race was in the USA, another was in Spain, and I think the third was in Canada, so it would have been very expensive to travel to all three events.”

“I was already in debt, had two beautiful children depending on me, and my divorce had just gone through, so I decided to retire, because it was just not financially possible for me to continue. It was a very hard decision, because I think I could have managed three Olympics if things had gone right for me and I had the financial backing to go all the way. These days I just watch the sport, and when I see what the guys earn thanks to the Ironman events and lucrative sponsorships, I really think I was around just a bit too early in the sport.”

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Having hung up his racing shoes, Hendrik went into the financial planning and insurance industry, and his experience in the final years of his triathlon career has very much influenced his decision to develop the Champsure platform specially targeted at athletes. “I learnt from my own experience that there are a number of financial gaps that athletes need to fill, including having insufficient funding to start their careers and no benefits such as medical aid or provident fund while pursuing their careers, losing out on prize money due to injuries, losing a sponsorship or federation funding, and retiring after a 10-year sporting career with little or no corporate work experience.”

“So, we are helping them to generate income for their sporting careers, and for after they retire, via the insurance industry. In essence, it’s a referral contract, but we also create a profile for them on our website, to promote them. The athletes get friends, family or even fans to sign up with us as clients, in order to support the athlete thanks to a portion of all payments being allocated to the athlete that brought their business in.”

Hendrik says Champsure is primarily focused on individual Olympic sports, such as athletics, swimming or triathlon. “Apart from individuals, we also sign up schools and sport clubs, and the public can also nominate them via our website. Many individual athletes and the minor sports tend to get little or no exposure and media coverage, so no funding either, and Champsure is therefore a great model for athletes, schools or clubs to make extra income… but this is a long-term deal, and we tell guys not to expect a get-rich-quick solution. This is about creating a win-win-win scenario for the client, athlete and the company, giving back and enabling athletes to live their dreams.”

For more info, visit www.champsure.com or contact [email protected]