Category: Columns

Race Report

Turbovite Jump City GP, 20 May,
Johannesburg, Gauteng

Jump City
GP in Newtown on a magnificent Sunday, in what should have been a cold winter’s
morning, was hands down one of the most interesting events you could wish to
do! The few technical glitches were managed very well, but with all athletes
fully aware that this was the first event of this kind, nobody was getting edgy
about the slight delays. Starting the race slowly, as I had been advised, was
the best thing I could have done. Although I wormed my way to the front of the
start along with the rest of the individual athletes, the boys all took off
with gusto while I maintained a smoother pace with the knowledge that I had a
long way to go.

 

UNDER AND OVER

The event
was a 10km course through downtown Jozi, but in the early morning hours, Newtown
felt very different. Being a Sunday start meant that most of the traders were
closed for the day, so not much was going on around us and traffic was lighter
than normal, but the Metro Cops were still out in force to help the athletes across
a few roads, and the few members of public out that early must have been fascinated
by a bunch of scantily clad runners bouncing off their pavements!

 

But best of
all, added to the challenge of getting through the city in one piece, we had to
make our way through and over some interesting obstacles! These included
netting that you had to crawl under and some cable barrels, tire obstacles,
high bars, and plenty of walls, jumps and ramps that required some skill to run
up and jump onto. The urban street running obstacles included parking garages,
pavements, the Nelson Mandela Bridge and some interesting stair climbs in and
around the city.

 

STOP AND APPRECIATE

It always
amazes me when doing these events how little we stop and marvel at the beauty
around us. Like the inner city refurbishments and older buildings that mostly only
tourists get to see, yet as residents of this city, we seldom take the time to
go see what we have right under our noses. The South African history is
stunning!

 

Apart from
the novelty of doing an event through Newtown and seeing the beautiful
buildings and architecture up close, there were unfortunately also some eye
openers: Seeing the homeless still asleep on the pavements, a few junkies here
and there, and the vast litter on the streets.

 

MANY THANKS

Looking
back at the day, I was humbled by the organisers and sponsors that gave us this
opportunity and gave the time and means for 1 000 athletes to be part of the
event! Ironically, people organise events such as this out of passion, but in
doing so, usually don’t get to do the actual events themselves, so a quick
thanks to Gavin and Chris, who ran around organising and MC’ing so we could
have fun! In terms of the sponsors, Turbovite were the headline sponsor for the
event, giving us samples in the goodie bags. along with Nativa, DoITNow
Magazine and 100Plus, who kept everyone refreshed.

 

Having had
so much fun, now I am looking forward to the next one, so bring it on guys!

Natal Carbineers Athletic Club,
Pietermaritzburg

The Natal
Carbineers regiment of the SANDF not only boasts a long, glorious military
record, but can also look back on a rich athletic history. The first recorded
training session of its athletics club dates back to 28 April 1865! During the Second World War, the
Natal Carbineers athletes acquitted themselves with great distinction in the
Eighth Army Games in North Africa and Italy, and after the war in various
inter-regimental meetings, but club activity lapsed in the 1960s due to the
regiment often moving about.

 

In 1991, the club was put back on its feet and in
order to get enough members together to be allowed back into the sport, the
regimental commanding officer and other officers all signed up, even though some
of them never actually did any running – but the club had that same can-do spirit of the
1860s. Today, the club is
an open one and no longer reserved only for members of the regiment, but
many of the 200-odd members
have ‘Carbineer blood,’ so to say, having grown up in the club after
following their parents into running.

 

PHIL’S LEGACY

In 1930, a
young Carbineer, Phil Masterton-Smith, aged 17, took part in the Comrades
Marathon for the first time. After a superb run, he finished a mere 200 metres
behind the great Wally Hayward in the first of his five wins! After the race,
Wally said, “If I have to run so hard to win this race, I’ll never run it again!”
and it would be 20 years before he did line up at Comrades again, which can
partly be attributed to a broken foot the following year and then a focus on
other running goals, but also due to the strength of that chasing Carbineer!

 

In 1931 Phil ran his second Comrades and became the
youngest ever winner of the great race, beating another Carbineer, Noel Burree,
by the narrowest of margins after an incredible sprint finish. The few old
photographs of this race show the two straining every muscle down the home
straight of the track, and at the line it was Phil who just edged ahead to win
by a few metres. In 1932 he finished sixth and then in 1933 he took 10^th
following a nine-day day cycle from Cape Town to arrive in Maritzburg the day
before the start! Today, the fundraising Unogwaja Challenge is held in his
memory, with a group of riders repeating his cycle trek and then running the
race. Also in memory of the great Carbineer, Phil’s badge is worn on the club
vest today.

 

THEY LOVE RUNNING

The Carbineers are well known for the brilliant
races they put on. Back in the 90s, they presented the ‘Race of the Dekade
10km’ (sponsored by Dekade Paints), which won the award for best organised race
in the province before being retired in 2001, and today the club hosts the Maritzburg
Marathon, Midlands 100 Miler and the Maritzburg Spar Ladies 10km. The club also
organises fun runs for its members, including ‘This Dam Race’ around Midmar Dam!

 

In between their own races, the members are often
seen at other races, and they also join up throughout the week at the
Carbineers Club or other selected venues for club runs, with different paced
groups setting out, as well as a walking group. Wednesday is the main club run day,
and on Fridays the club organises burgers or steak rolls for a social night
after the run. On the first Monday of each month, there is a big social get-together
at the clubhouse and all runners and walkers are welcome to join. The club also
holds a prize-giving once a year after Comrades, where ‘normal’ prizes are supplemented
with a lot of fun prizes, including the Nurse Jenny floating trophy for the
sickest person on Comrades day!

 

This is
also a club with a spirit of giving. It hosts the Pietermaritzburg Run/Walk for
Wildlife, and often assists neighbouring clubs Edendale AC and Orion AC with
their events. And speaking of giving, member Mdu Zondi organises shoe
collection and distribution to less privileged runners, while Lynton Kinloch
organises the Toys for Joy collection at Christmas, and these are then distributed
to children in the nearby France township. Added to that, several members serve on provincial running committees
as well as various portfolio committees of the Comrades Marathon Association.
It’s all just part of the legacy and values of this great club!

What do Extreme
Fighting Championship fighters, Kaizer Chiefs soccer players and some runners
have in common? They are all using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to enhance
their performance! This is a non-invasive medical treatment whereby a patient breathes
in 100% medical oxygen in a pressurised chamber, to enhance the body’s healing
power and speed thanks to the higher oxygen concentration in the body.

 

Gregory
Windrum, a hyperbaric technologist at the Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre in Johannesburg, explains
that “We only breathe in 20% oxygen from the atmosphere. When we intake
pressurised oxygen in the chamber, it nourishes the cells, and the more oxygen
you get the longer your muscles take to fatigue.” Also, oxygen is essential to all
athletic activities, because it facilitates the production of glycogen, one of
the main sources of muscle energy.

 

Tony
Paladin, chairmperson of the Gauteng Biokinetics Association, also feels that
it’s a must for swift recovery. “Bearing in mind that the body is made up of
cells that require oxygen to metabolise, increasing oxygen flow to them boosts
their ability to do their job. If each cell can operate faster, this would mean
that the entire body will heal more quickly!” Gregory adds that it is easy for
runners to injure themselves shortly after a hard race, as many get back into
training before they reach full recovery. “HBOT saturates the blood plasma and
haemoglobin with oxygen. The red blood cells become more malleable as well,
increasing their ability to penetrate restricted blood vessels,” he explains.

 

BREATHE IN THE BENEFITS

The list of
benefits and after-effects of HBOT for an athlete make for impressive reading
(and that’s not even listing the ways it can help with recovery from various
injuries, illnesses and medical procedures):

?      
Increased
lung capacity, which means your body can perform at a better, faster rate, with
increased endurance.

?      
Gets
the lactic acid moving in the body, which speeds up post-run recovery and
decreases stiffness quicker.

?       Increased oxygen delivery to the
brain facilitates brain function and enhances an athlete’s ability to make the
split-second decisions needed in top-level sport.

?       Decreased swelling and inflammation.

?       Helps the body clear toxins.

 

For many athletes, oxygen therapy
has helped cut injury recovery time and helped improve stamina. Gregory
explains the feeling of being inside the chamber as very relaxing. “It’s pretty
much the same feeling as scuba diving, just minus the water, and it gives you
vast amounts of energy. The great thing is that patients can relax inside the
chamber. You can listen to music, watch movies or even catch up on your work.”

 

While athletes might get excited at
this breakthrough in recovery methods, Tony explains that it should never be a
substitute for training. “I definitely recommend this to any athlete, but as
long as it is seen as an adjunct to and not a replacement for training! The
bottom line is that if you want to be able to mix it up with the best at what
you do, you need to train for it as hard as you can for 10 000 hours – around
10 years at around three hours a day. Hyperbarics allow you to recover a bit
quicker, so you can train more!”

Having
been crowned Miss South Africa last December, Melinda Bam is now halfway
through a packed year of events, functions, launches, benefits and ceremonies,
and all the duties that go with being an ambassador for your country. While she
says she is having a wonderful time, her duties and commitments have had a
knock-on effect on her fitness training time. “I used to train twice a day,
including running, but these days I can only fit in four sessions a week, and it’s
all Pilates, Boot Camp and kick-boxing. I really want to get back into my
running,” she says.

 

“I’ll
be going to the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas in December, and I’d like to
do a few races before then, because it will not only help keep me fit and toned
for the pageant, but we will also be judged on our involvement in our
community. I’ve run races before and have done 1:56 for a half marathon. I
reckon I’m ready to take on a 10km right now, but need a bit more training
before I run my next half marathon.”

 

BRIGHT SPARK

In
April, Melinda (22) took a day off from her hectic work schedule to attend the
autumn graduation ceremony at the University of Pretoria, where she was awarded
her B.Com Marketing degree, which she passed Cum Laude! “It’s been four years,
but it feels like just yesterday I began my life as a student. I feel so
blessed to have had the opportunity to study and can’t stress enough how important
it is to grant and take the opportunities to study. My studies and my work as a beauty queen and ambassador play equally
important roles in my life, and the two complement each other.”

 

Typically,
this vivacious girl who used to attend classes in flip-flops made sure she
enjoyed her graduation. “When it came time to have my moment on stage, I heard
Mary Reynolds’ words she whispered in my ear at the Miss SA crowning, ‘stop
hopping and be a lady,’ but I just couldn’t help doing my version of a victory dance
at the end. I have learnt over the years that you are responsible for making
your life enjoyable in every moment you find yourself in!”

 

POPULAR POSER

During her year-long reign, Melinda is focusing on
helping the Thuthuzela and Banakekeleni Foundation in Alexandra. “I believe
that I have the motivation, ambition and confidence to become an inspirational
ambassador to the youth of South Africa.” She was also at the Comrades Marathon
Expo and race in June to help promote the Amabeadiebeadie charity fundraising
drive, and took the opportunity to interact with the running community.

 

Everywhere
she went, people asked to have their picture taken with her – including the
author – and she obliged them all, not only smiling for the cameras, but also
taking the time to chat to the people she met. It showed that she is really
just a down-to-earth, caring girl-next-door who happens to also be a beauty
queen. Who loves running.

1987
is considered one of the greatest years in South African athletic history, due
to the records and performances by various athletes, including the incredible
world record 1:00:11 tied finish by Matthews Temane and Zithulele Sinque in the
SA Half Marathon Champs in East London. Another of the leading characters in that
dramatic year was Xolile Yawa, who set two SA 10 000m records that year, bringing the
mark down to 27:39.65, which stood for nearly 12 years and has only be beaten
once, by Hendrick Ramaala.

 

Xolile’s
record is considered by some pundits to be the absolute highlight of that great
year. He also inflicted a crushing defeat early in the year on Temane and Matthews
‘Loop en Val’ Motshwarateu in the Momentum Life Half Marathon in Bedfordview,
winning in a stunning 62:37 at altitude. That run prompted much speculation in
the media about a possible world record at sea level that year, which is
exactly what transpired, although Xolile had to settle for third place in a
personal best 1:00:56 in that race.

 

ONE OF THE BEST

Xolile
can look back on an incredible athletic career. He won an unprecedented nine SA
10 000m titles, including six in a row from 1985 to 1990, and two SA Half
Marathon titles in 1986 and 1988. In 1989 he set an SA 15km record of 43:02,
which has only been beaten three times since, and by no more than four seconds.
Then in 1992 he brought home a bronze medal from the African Champs 10 000m,
made the final of the Olympic 10 000m, and represented SA in the World Half
Marathon Champs. The following year, he won the Berlin Marathon, and went on to
represent his country again in the 1996 Olympics and 1997 World Champs
marathon.

 

Born
in the remote village of Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape in 1962, Xolile recalls
that as a young man he felt he was carrying the aspirations of the Eastern Cape
when he competed. In the early 1980s, the Eastern Cape was the poor relation of
the then Transvaal, whose powerful teams were dominated by athletes from the Highveld
gold mines, including the incomparable Matthews Temane. Xolile’s rivalry with Matthews
was characterised by deep respect and Xolile unshamedly admits he idolised Matthews,
although he was a mere two years his senior. “I found Matthews completely
without arrogance and approachable. We had long chats about running and he
would help with a running tip here, a training programme there.”

 

Xolile
at first felt completely overshadowed by Matthews, who he believed was
unbeatable. “Matthews won so many races with his famous kick,” he explains.
However, while running for the President Brand mine in the Free State, Xolile noticed
that Matthews was vulnerable in the longer distances. Adopting the devastating
front-running tactics which became his trademark, Xolile found he could get the
better of Matthews over 10 000m, which saw him win a breakthrough SA title in
1985.

 

SUCCESS STORY

In
a sport in which a distressing number of former champions have succumbed to
poverty, alcoholism and early deaths after retiring from competitive athletics,
Xolile is a triumphant exception. With his 50^th birthday
approaching, he is co-owner of Carecure, a hospital management company active
in four provinces, and he recently started a project, Legendary Athletes of SA,
catering for the social welfare of former athletes, coaches and officials.
“Some athletes are so poor when they die, there is not even enough money to
bury them,” he says wistfully.

 

Now
settled in the Free State, with his son at Grey and daughter at Unisie, the
soft-spoken Xolile is outspoken about the current malaise in SA distance
running. “We could compete with the Kenyans and Ethiopians if our full pool of
athletic talent was harnessed. There are many kids out there who could be world
champions if they were given the chance. We must try to get the sport back to
where it was in the 80s, when it was in the top five South African sports. The
contribution of the mines, Correctional Services and Defence Force as well as
the universities in the old days was so important, and we need that again.”

 

Richard
Mayer is author of Three Men Named
Matthews: Memories of the Golden Age of SA Athletics, available at
Exclusive Books or www.redpepperbooks.co.za.

 

XOLILE YAWA’S PBS

3 000m       7:52.69

5 000m       13:30.40

10 000m      27:39.65

10km          28:30

15km          43:02

21.1km       1:00:56

42.2km       2:10:22

 

Louise is a busy woman! With her new single ‘How you gonna
do it’ out and frantic tour dates set all over the country to promote her
forth-coming album, its amazing how she fits in a workout and run. “Running
isn’t gym-swiping and there is no parking, it’s just you and the road. My run
means I can let the dust settle on decisions and just relax,” she says.

 

Breathing easier

 

At an early age, Louise spent four times a year in hospital
with asthma problems. As seasons changed, she would get sick with respiratory
problems but it didn’t get her down. She started horse-riding at a young age,
then running and swimming. “I have never been a team sports kind of person.
That’s what I like about running – I’m on my own, I put my iPod on and just
go!  I can get away from work and
people,” she says.

Out on a run, Louise always carries her trusty asthma pump
in case of emergency because while she has managed the condition, she feels it
more on a run. She runs about 6km four days a week around her neighbourhood
near Delta Park
in Johannesburg.
“When I run, I listen to my body and breathing and I feel more secure if I’m
carrying my pump but I’m usually fine! I even did a 5km time trial with some
friends a while back and skipped through it! I think the massive uphills on my
own route helped me!”

 

Living the lifestyle

 

While touring and travelling, Louise still maintains a
healthy diet which she explains is difficult having a weakness for chocolate
and being surrounded by different artists! “The other artists at gigs eat junk
or fast food but I remain conscious of what I eat. I always ask staff for a
vegetarian option to stay on the right path – even though they bring me fries!”

For her morning start, Louise believes in a good breakfast to get her day
started with a bowl of oats, almonds and honey. “It grounds me and gets my
metabolism going. It’s important for me to eat right. I chose this lifestyle
and I enjoy it and people who want to see results should adapt their lifestyle
for the rest of their lives!”

 

Making music

 

When Louise was just a two-year-old, she’d start singing at
the top of her lungs and by the time she was 10 she was writing her own music.
At age 15, she did opera training and was signed by a music label shortly
after. “Music chose me. I always knew I’d be making music. I was the woman who
wasn’t fantasizing about her wedding day – I was dreaming about performing on
stage!”

 

Louise’s music can be described as both melodic and edgy as
well as conquering the pop and electronic genre. Her new single ‘How you gonna
do it’ off her forthcoming album is different to her previous work as the
lyrics are both haunting and introspective, “My new stuff is dark. As a writer,
I like to point out the imperfections. It’s an organic electronic sound. I
couldn’t restrain myself any longer and the single shows how I’m following my
gut more,” she explains.

 

Louise is also planning several tours countrywide to promote
her album, single and play some of the old favourites!

 

Handling it all

 

It’s a wonder Louise leads a healthy lifestyle but she
manages to share her advice to those who say there’s no time to exercise. “The
key to handling it is to be decisive. Don’t think ‘Should I or shouldn’t I go
out on a run?’ Just do it! If I don’t have time, I still workout – even if it’s
forty-five minutes,” she says.

 

With her new album just months away and keeping her music on
top of the charts, Louise keeps running to improve her fitness and health. “It
makes me re-connect with my body because often I’m so often in my head!”

 

For more information on her new single and tour dates, go to
www.louisecarver.com

 

 

 

 

 

It is with suitable humility
that I apologise for ever having referred to Ironman as a fairly soft physical
endurance event! Yes, on a good day the water supports the body during the swim,
and the bike supports you during the cycle, so one is left “flicking the arms
over” and “spinning” for quite a long time. Then one goes on to jog a marathon,
still using energy, but not quite able to hammer the body. But when Mother
Nature decides to test you… Oh boy!

 

There we were, 1500-odd of
the original 1800 entrants, standing on the beach having been told that the
final decision to allow the swim to take place had finally been taken. Eish!
The lifesavers pulled out about 100 and there were some further 20 or so who
crawled onto the beach after the swim cut-off. No problem, we’ll recover on the
ride, right? Wrong! About two thirds of the 60km lap was into the teeth of the
wind! I kept thinking, “hang in there, Boet, it has to change,” – and change it
did! It got steadily worse by the lap! Imagine standing on the pedals in Granny
Gear and the wind blows you to a standstill!

 

Having done five of these
things, I usually take between six and six-and-a-half hours to do the cycle.
This year it took me eight hours! I made the cycle cut-off by a mere 12 minutes!
That still left me with a soft six-and-a-half hours to jog a marathon… But then
the rain came down! And what ugly rain it was, being blown into you from all
angles by a bitterly cold wind!

 

I made it, enough said… and
I am able to look myself in the mirror and say: “Ja, Boet, maybe your worst time,
but your best performance!”

Ironman
Warrior

 

“The wave swells were about
four metres high and the wind clocked in around 70km/h. Conditions were unreal,
but I’m glad it was a tough one for my first Ironman!” said a relieved and
happy Ruan after finishing in 13 hours and 35 minutes. The swim went well and
the cycle was tough, but in the last 5km on the run, I fell apart. My body told
me I was too tired, but knowing my dad was waiting for me at the finish kept me
going.”

 

Ruan is a facilitator at
Warriors Adventure Camp in Mpumalanga,
and also had his young Warriors family back home waiting to hear of his finish.
“The last 20km stretch is all in the mind, and I knew if I didn’t finish, not
only would I be disappointed, but they would too, so I just kept telling myself
to push through to the next lamp post, then the next, until the finish.”

 

He is no stranger to endurance
sport, having taken on the Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour as a young boy and
joining a cycling club thereafter. “There was this guy in the club doing
Ironman and I knew from then, at age 12, that I wanted to do it!”

The
Morningside Running Club was established in 2005 by Angus Hudson and in seven
years has grown to some 150 members. Angus is now the Honorary Life President
of the club and no longer serves on the committee, but he is still extremely
active in club matters, particularly when it comes to major events like the Old
Mutual Two Oceans and Comrades Marathon. He remains an inspirational figure in
the club, in particular to people starting out as runners, and his big,
friendly personality really did set the tone for the club right from the start.

 

COLOURFUL CHARACTERS

This
club has never been one for the ‘big names’ in the sense of elite or famous
runners, but it boasts quite a few big personalities, like Angus, that make
club life that much more fun and interesting. Another that deserves a mention
is Club Captain Roland van der Merwe, who would never be described as a quiet
person. He’s always laughing and joking, and is often the life of the party at
Morningside social gatherings, but he is also greatly appreciated by his
clubmates for his hard work and dedication. For example, he often volunteers to
be the tail sweep runner in extreme trail runs such as the Wild Coast Wild Run
and Lesotho Wild Run.

 

Other
colourful characters and social members include Richard McEvoy, who can lay
claim to 22 consecutive silver medals at Comrades (20 of them under seven
hours), John Woodnut, who has run a marathon on all seven continents and has
some interesting stories to tell, and former chairman ‘Bobby Buck,’ now
residing in ‘Slaapstad,’ who has 20 Two Oceans ultras and 12 Two Oceans 21s to
his name. They are always willing to assist any runner by sharing their experience
and advice.

 

FRIENDLY AND SOCIAL

Current
Chairman Gerry Comninos says that leading the club is more pleasure than hard
work, thanks to the great spirit in the club. “I’m blessed to be working with
an efficient committee who handle the administrative task of issuing licences,
the club finances and of course the coordination of both our social and race
events. We often participate in running water and support points at prominent
races, which typically end up more as having fun rather than work. Morningside
road runners are known for their friendliness and socialising.”

 

That
sees Saturday morning runs often end up with breakfast at one of the local
cafes, and long social get-togethers in the clubhouse after Wednesday night
time trials. The actual clubhouse is a small hut in the grounds of the
Morningside Country Club, so members usually end up in the neighbouring hockey
pub, which is a hive of activity every Wednesday night. Morningside Country
Club is a great facility and being associated with it is very beneficial to the
running club, with many other sporting facilities available, which encourages a
healthy, fit and friendly atmosphere.

 

BUT STILL SERIOUS RUNNERS

A
large portion of the club participates in the Wednesday time trial, which is reputed
to be one of the hardest in Gauteng. It offers 8km and 5km routes, both with a
lot of climbs, which are quite a challenge for those who want to work on their
speed. Many of the members are regulars at the weekend races, where the club’s
blue chequered gazebo is also often seen. Morningside has about 50 participants
entered for Comrades 2012, and they have all the support and motivation of the
rest of the club behind them, although all the non-Comrades runners are just as
important to the club.

 

GIVING BACK AS WELL

The
clubs hosts the News to News Run twice a year, a fun club run from News Cafe
Rivonia to News Cafe Woodmead, to raise funds in aid of breast cancer awareness.
Gerry explains that it is neither a sanctioned CGA event, nor a prominent item
on the running calendar, “but it is beginning to enjoy somewhat of a cult following,
and we hope to keep this going every year.” Other notable charitable drives by
Morningside members include that of the club’s first registered member, Tracy
Bamber, who has raised over R800 000 for various charities, including Children
in the Wilderness and The Wilderness Trust, while Raoul Jacquand is the top donor in
the Comrades Marathon’s 2012 Race4Charity, having raised R66
124.27 for World Vision SA, all through running!

The Ambit offers a
full suite of running tools, including GPS, sports computer, three-dimensional
compass, barometric altimeter, plus optional heart rate belt, and data
can be uploaded to www.movescount.com, Suunto’s online training
community and support base, for analysis,
discussion and planning. Ambit owners can also upgrade their watches with
downloadable software updates and new features through the site, and still
better, you are able to personalise the displays of your watch.

 

TECHNOLOGICALLY PACKED

The Ambit uses an integrated accelerometer along
with the GPS to track your performance in terms of speed and distance – the accelerometer
helps to improve accuracy – and you can programme in waypoints for navigation as well as
check your location. Thanks to the barometric
altimeter, the watch provides data on your altitude and climbing speed, and the
barometer can even give you insight into changing weather conditions.

 

When using the (optional extra) heart rate belt,
Suunto’s Peak Training Effect programmable heart rate-based training tool helps
to keep you within your optimal training rates, while the Recovery Time
function tells you when you’ve fully recovered and are ready for your next
interval.

 

LOOKS
GOOD TOO

Like most GPS watches with built in
antennae, the Ambit is a fairly big unit, but it is one of the more attractive
offerings on the market, thanks to its round face and dress watch-like
appearance. It is remarkably lightweight in spite of its size. Great news is
that it offers 50 hours of battery life
in full GPS mode, which makes it a pleasure to work with – even though it is
easy to charge with a USB cable plugged into your PC, it is great that you only
have to do so now and again! The watch is also built robustly, with water
resistance up to 100m, so it can really be put it through its outdoor paces.

 

Recommended Retail Price: R5 299 without heart
rate belt; R5 799 with heart rate belt.

Available: In black and silver, at
selected outdoor and sporting retailers, including Cape Union Mart, Sportsmans
Warehouse, Due South and various independents.

More info: Tel 011 796 8960,
[email protected], www.suunto.com

The
Comrades Marathon is a challenging race, and your body will give you signs all
day what it can or can’t do, and what it needs. These signs include looking for
water or something to eat, or a warning to slow down, or even stop entirely. “The
aim is to enjoy the race and finish in a reasonably healthy state. It is your
body, and your responsibility to care for it!” says Dr Jeremy Boulter, convenor of the Comrades Medical Panel.
“Be sensible, take note of what is happening to yourself and make responsible
decisions. If you start running into trouble, rather pull out before it is too
late. It has become apparent over many years that people feel it is more
important to finish the race than to be concerned about their health.”

 

Further to
that, Dr Boulter says no runner who cannot continue on their own should be
carried. “Runners who collapse after they have finished, even if they require
urgent medical attention, will almost certainly recover fully, but those who
collapse during the race are most probably suffering from a very serious and
potentially fatal condition. So while the support and encouragement of fellow
runners is an intimate part of the race, this has led to runners being helped
and carried when they should have stopped running and sought medical help. Any
runner who is unable to move forward under their own power will be prevented
from continuing and medical attention will be called for.”

 

SIMPLE CHECKLIST

After many years of involvement in the race, Dr Boulter has compiled a
simple but effective list of medical do’s and don’ts for runner to stick to:

 

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DO drink enough: Hydration is refreshing and
prevents heat-related illnesses; dehydration can cause headaches, nausea and
cramping.

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DO eat: You need sugar in your blood and
liver glycogen, so having a snack on route is essential, but take small
portions to avoid cramping or indigestion.

?        
DO listen to your body: If you’re cramping up, readjust and
slow down. If you are experiencing something worse, like chest pains or extreme
nausea, seek medical attention immediately.

 

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DON’T run if you are not properly
prepared: If you
don’t feel you can finish the race, rather don’t start. There’s always another
year.

?        
DON’T run if you have been sick or
on antibiotics in the three weeks prior to the race: Running while drugged up on flu
meds is a danger to your health!

?        
DON’T take ANY medication during the
race: Painkillers or
anti-inflammatories will not cure pain or an injury, they will only mask the
pain temporarily. Worse still, they may cause kidney failure after the race!

?        
DON’T be afraid to bale: You will only make it worse by
continuing when your body says it really can’t go on.

 

AFTER THE BIG FINISH

Dr Boulter
adds that it is important to start the post-race recovery process immediately.
“Make sure that you take in adequate
fluid to correct any minor level of dehydration, and monitor your urine output.
If you have not been passing much urine during the race, it may be due to the
presence of a hormone called ADH, which can be caused by physical stress. If
so, you will start passing large amounts of urine very soon after finishing. If
you continue to pass very little, or none at all, by late that day or night, it
may be indicative of a kidney problem. You should then seek medical attention.”