Author: Modern Athlete

While good old H2O is always going to be a runner’s tried and trusted whilst training or on race day, there are also healthy alternatives that can keep your body hydrated and replenished. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

When you run, your internal temperature rises and blood-flow to the skin increases. This transfers heat away from the body’s inner core and water is released through sweat, which means that you need to replenish your body’s water, electrolytes and sodium chloride (salt). So what are your options when hydrating? A sports drink with added electrolytes rehydrates well while adding a combination of sodium and carbohydrates, which in turn also help more water to be absorbed. (When you’re not training, it’s also vital to keep your body hydrated in order to keep energy levels up.)

These days the market is flooded with sports drinks, many with extra punches of concentrate and sugar, but there are a few simple but healthy and effective alternatives you could look at:

·         Coconut Water contains essential electrolytes, punching more potassium than a banana! There is no added sugar or fat, and it’s one of the healthiest options to replenish lost nutrients. It contains easily digestible carbs from natural sugars, which makes it an easy alternative to sports drinks.

·         Green Tea gives you a natural caffeine kick and antioxidants increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which improves muscle endurance. For the endurance junkies, drinking green tea can help your blood-flow, because flavonoids relax blood vessels, so blood can flow more easily.

·         Wild Water: Many people find it hard to drink plain water, so choose sparkling water with soaked strawberries and mint, or still water with ice, lime and apple slices. These drinks provide something different with the bubble, kick and flavour, but don’t overpower with sweetness, so you will cut calories, but if you need some sweetness, a spoon of honey will do wonders.

After two hugely successful years in the sport of triathlon, including four African championship titles, wins on the international tri circuit and a Commonwealth Games team silver, Henri Schoeman is fired up for the New Year while planning ahead for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
– BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

Two big wins in October really put the icing on the proverbial cake for Henri’s 2014 triathlon year, as the 23-year-old won the ITU Triathlon World Cup event in Tongyeong, South Korea and then defended his 5150 African Champs title in Germiston a week later. Earlier in the year, despite starting 2014 with an injury, he had bounced back with a bang to successfully defend his African Championship title in Zimbabwe in April, beating the likes of fellow South Africans Richard Murray and Wian Sullwald, and then in August he was in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, where he placed 17th in the individual event and helped the SA team win the silver medal in the mixed relay event, alongside Kate Roberts, Gillian Sanders and Richard.

With such a successful 2014 behind him, to go with an equally successful 2013, Henri’s road to the Rio 2016 is well on track, and he says that getting to the Olympics is very much his focus right now. “I always look at the bigger picture, and with the experience gathered in 2014, I can now focus on getting more podium finishes and wrack up as many good performances on the WTS circuit as possible this year to get qualified for Rio. The Olympics is always in my sights!”

Swim Sense
Born in Vereeniging, Henri moved to Durban at an early age and started out as a talented swimmer, also taking part in lifesaving, cross-country and duathlon for fun. “My parents wanted me to have a good sense in water, being by the sea, and growing up in an environment where your family is sporty, it’s quite easy to keep going.” That saw Henri take the natural step up to triathlon while still in school, and success soon followed as he won the under-19 title at the SA Triathlon Champs for two consecutive years, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing…

“The transition from swimming to running and cycling was slow,” he explains. “I picked up bad injuries in my shins. As a swimmer, you have ‘soft’ bones, so it’s a process to adapt. Then in 2011 I broke my collarbone after a fall, but it was definitely a blessing in disguise – because I came back stronger!” The enforced lay-off allowed Henri to concentrate on strengthening his legs as he worked his way back to full fitness, notably with pool-running, and it paid off. “There were times when I thought about giving up, but then the improvements came,” he says, “and with a good start in my first year on the international circuit in 2013, I learnt so much, could travel by myself and handle the pressure of it all.”

Success upon Success
That year, he picked up wins in the ITU African Cup, ITU African Championships, 5150 African Champs, South African Champs (in the elite under-23 category), ITU East London Premium Africa Cup as well as the KZN Provincial Champs. He also placed 14th overall in the ITU World Triathlon Series, and finished the year with a world ranking of 10th position. Then came the success of 2014, which saw Henri add to his reputation as one of the world’s best up-and-coming young guns, and he says his achievements thus far in the sport are thanks to the hard work he has put in.

“I guess it’s down to discipline, to training three times a day, putting in two to three hard runs, one hard bike and two hard swims each week. I have one rest day a week, but I take an easy swim anyway! I have this inbred drive to perform and I like that triathlon is demanding,” says Henri. “I believe that the Olympics will be a reality, and I have to thank my family and friends for their support in getting me to that point. Also, as far as the sport goes, I think our two medals in Glasgow have opened people’s eyes. There is still hard work to be done, but that keeps me motivated!”

He’s got a few nicknames in trail running circles, most to do with his age, but none of them have anything to do with being slow. On the contrary, Noel Ernstzen is still giving the 20 and 30-year-olds a run for their money, despite being in his 50s.
– BY SEAN FALCONER

It’s been more than a year since Noel Ernstzen’s epic 2013 run at the Otter Marathon, when he became the first masters age-grouper (50 and over) to break the five-hour barrier in the Grail of Trail, but still people are talking about it. In fact, it has been called the most inspirational run of 2013 by quite a few people in trail running circles. That’s because Noel set out to do something that very few runners were able to do, let alone somebody in their 50s, and he brought the proverbial house down in the process. Pandemonium broke out when he popped out of the trees near the finish, and with race commentator Altus Schreuder going crazy and everybody cheering him on, Noel made it across the final water crossing, despite a few stumbles, to cross the line in 4:57:04. Then the emotion got the better of him and he lay down and had a little cry as his wife Meg embraced him. There were quite a few other people wiping away a tear as well.

“I did a sub-five and I think I was 17th or 18th. Three years earlier I would have won the damned thing with that time, but that 18th means more to me than any of the first places I had run,” says Noel. “The thing about setting yourself goals is that you need to visualise that you can do it, so I visualised breaking five hours a million times, crossing the line, hitting the watch and seeing sub-five, hugging my wife… I lived that moment many times over. And then I did it.”

Never Too Old
Noel (54) only took up running late in life, which makes his achievements in the sport all the more remarkable. He had last done serious sport in junior school when he started cycling and later mountain-biking in his 40s, then also got involved in adventure racing, and in 2010 he found himself lining up for a five-day adventure race in the Southern Cape that included a marathon-length run on the first day, along the Otter Trail. “I had to start running to train for that event, so I was not as fast as the other guys and not very good on the technical running, and I remember I was so peeved that so many people beat me on that run, because I am quite competitive. So, I decided to train for it and see how fast I can do it.”

“When I did the Otter proper the first time, I saw the top two guys doing sub-five hours, and I thought it’s unbelievable to run a race like this in sub-five, it must be such an achievement, so I decided to go for it myself.” That saw Noel embark on an incredible run of wins and podium finishes in race after race, usually beating all (or nearly all) of the much younger runners along the way. He raced the Namaqua Challenge, ProNutro AfricanX, Table Mountain Challenge, Fisherman’s Trail Challenge and many others, getting fitter and faster all the time, but everything was geared up to prepare him for the Otter, and his sub-five goal.

Family Man
Born and bred in Tokai, Cape Town, Noel is married to Meg, a fellow competitive runner and mountain biker who often podiums in events, and they have a daughter, Frances, who is quite the runner as well, having recently finished second in the Berg and Beach two-day trail running event in Kleinmond. He also has a son, Wayne, from an earlier relationship, and three grandkids, and true to his ageless character, he has a unique relationship with his grandson Kai: “He calls me Dude, because I refuse to be called Grandpa!”

Noel recently sold his kitchen design and construction company after 23 years and is currently a partner in the Trail & Tar bike and trail running shop in Tokai, in partnership with his future son-in-law, Grant Bender. “We opened Trail & Tar three years ago and we’re looking to open more branches soon,” he says, adding that one of the highlights of each week is the Wednesday evening trail runs that Trail & Tar host.

Taking a Break
Just before Otter 2014, Noel’s racing plans were derailed when he was diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus, which had been bugging him for a couple of months, and he required an operation. So he had already written off the rest of the year for recovery, when disaster struck: While doing a trail running photo shoot, he was walking towards his bag in order to change his shirt when he slipped and fell badly, ripping his ankle ligaments.

“It was the worst fall I’ve ever had, despite years of bombing down mountains at 60km per hour,” he says with an ironic laugh. “Now maturity doesn’t sit well with me, nor patience, but for once I listened to the doctors and kept the air boot on for the full six weeks, and now I’m seeing three physios, one for my knee, one for the ankle, and one for general aches and pains. I also waited until the exact day they said I could run again, although I was already cycling to work each day to get the legs going again.

Planning the Comeback
Now that Noel is able to start running again, he says he is undecided whether to make the Otter his focus in 2015. “I love the event, but I kind of feel I’ve been there and done that. I don’t want to go there just to take five minutes off my time – if I run Otter, I want to go for a sub-4:30 finish. I truly believe I am capable of that, if the conditions are right, because when I broke five hours, I ran it specifically with a five-hour finish as my goal, and felt I could have gone faster. But I also have unfinished business with the AfricanX, and I’m quietly confident that my fitness will be good enough to give it horns.”

“I often get asked by people how I can be competitive at 50-plus against the 20 and 30-year-olds, but I say it’s simple, I’ve been around longer than them, so I’ve had longer to train and should be faster than them. Seriously though, there’s nothing to say that a 50-year-old must be slower than a 20-year-old, especially in long races, where probably 80% is in the mind and 20% is fitness. To be frank, us older guys are better at mind games than the youngsters!”