Category: Features

The Jungle Marathon in the heart of the South American Amazon is regarded as one of the most extreme and unique races on Earth – and not a race for the faint-hearted. It is a tough 200km stage run through extreme terrain. Ryan Sandes, South Africa’s own world class desert runner who won the Gobi Desert Race in China and the Sahara Desert Race in Egypt, proved he has what it takes to conquer dense jungles as well. Here, Ryan tells how he took on the Amazon Jungle and came out tops.

I opted to make the long trip to Alter do Ch?o, Brazil, ten days earlier, in the hope of acclimatising to the extreme heat and humidity I would be faced with during the Jungle Marathon. Alter do Ch?o was the host city for the Jungle Marathon this year and is known as the ‘Caribbean’ of Brazil. With its white, sandy beaches on the banks of the Tapaj?s River and bordering the Amazon Jungle, this town is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and is a tourist hotspot for local Brazilians.

With my non-existent Portuguese and most local shop and restaurant owners not speaking a word of English, it made for some very interesting times when dining out in restaurants. I would point to anything on the menu that was not too expensive and hope for the best. It is quite exciting not knowing what you are going to be served and my meal selections were better than when I knew what I was ordering!

My mind started to play games with me while acclimatising in Alter do Ch?o. I wanted to do well in the Jungle Marathon – or should I say, I would have been disappointed with anything less than a win. I put a lot of pressure on myself leading up to the race and while in Alter do Ch?o, I had a lot of time to think about the race. My mind was working overtime and a few days felt like years; with five days to go, all I wanted was for the race to start. Looking back, I think these mind games were a good thing. I visualised running all six stages, thought long and hard about my race strategies, and was hungrier than ever to get a good result.

Finally D-Day arrived and we boarded the boat for the 14-hour journey up the Tapaj?s River to the start of the race. I managed to get a cabin and avoided sleeping in a hammock for one more night. I woke up in what felt like a paradise, the sun rising over the Jungle and competitors jumping off the boat into the muddy green waters of the Tapaj?s River.

BASIC TRAINING
Upon arrival at the starting point of the race, competitors were given a few hours to get settled and put up their hammocks before the Jungle training and race briefing. Let’s just say that putting up a hammock is not one of my strong points!

During Jungle training, we were informed about all the dangers in the Jungle – which is just about everything! I was most concerned about the snakes, as they told us if you get bitten by a ‘bushmaster’, you have three hours to live. It was around this point that I asked myself what I was doing there… surely I could get a kick out of things in life that are a little less dangerous?

SWIMMING IN SWAMPS
A day after the Jungle training, I found myself lining up for the start of the race. I was really nervous and already sleep-deprived after spending two nights in a hammock. Within minutes of starting the race, I was swimming across a river before we entered the Jungle. The first day was brutal and the hills were never-ending, but I was running on adrenaline and went off fast… too fast! I ran through what I thought was an ankle-deep river, but within a few seconds I found myself up to my chest in black swamp mud, with visuals of anacondas in my head!

I got to the halfway point of the stage feeling good, and felt even better knowing I was leading. However, shortly afterwards, I seemed to hit a wall, a big one; my body had no energy and even breathing seemed to be difficult. Each hill felt like I was climbing up Mount Everest, I was getting really cross with myself, and to make things worse, I had fire ants on the back of my neck biting me. At the next checkpoint, I poured some water on my head and stumbled across the finish line feeling like I had just been hit by a bus. I won the stage but my ankle looked like my knee and I knew the next week was going to be the hardest of my life. That afternoon, competitors were collapsing over the finish line and four unlucky competitors were taken away from the race by boat. Two of those competitors spent the rest of the week in a coma.

Stage two was really swampy but there were a few sections on the route that could be run really fast. I started off the stage a lot slower than the previous day and ran with Salvador Redondo of Spain for three quarters of the day. I found it a lot easier to run behind someone as I could see what branches and roots tripped them up and where they were swallowed up in the swamps; the guy in front would have to be constantly looking out for the course markers. I also hoped that if a ‘bushmaster’ wanted to test out the strength of his venom, he would do so on the first runner.

Leaving the last checkpoint, I felt strong and decided to up my pace. The course flattened out a bit and I managed to put some distance between myself and the second runner. The last 2km hurt me, but I was leading and the pain felt good in a way.

MORE MIND GAMES
Stage three was a mixture of stage one and two, neverending hills and tick-infested swamps. I employed the same tactic as stage two and started off conservatively running with Mike Wolff (USA) and Salvador. The going was tough and we all had our turns to fall over hidden roots, go over on our ankles in holes hidden by leaves and get attacked by man-eating hornets.

Just after checkpoint two, I was running behind Salvador and had a flashback of a race in Namibia earlier in the year where he had beaten me. In Namibia, I held back on stage three, saving my legs for the long stage, which in hindsight was the wrong decision. It had haunted me for the last few months and I was not going to make the same mistake twice.

I made a break and no one followed. I was taking a big risk, because when you blow in the Jungle, it is really hard to pick yourself up again because of the extreme humidity levels, but I was running on the ‘edge’ and it felt good. I pushed hard up the hills and attacked the swamps with little respect. I saw three snakes in the space of two hours and there were constant rustling noises coming from the Jungle vegetation I passed. None of this fazed me as I was running in the zone and my only focus was getting to the finish line as quickly as possible.

WATCHING EYES
8km from the finish, I stopped dead in my tracks at the base of a monster hill. It kept going up and every time I thought I was at the top, there was a new peak. I was climbing under a fallen tree halfway up the hill and accidentally peeked into a hole, and saw a pair of eyes looking at me. Those eyes gave me an instant energy boost and I charged up the rest of the hill. I crossed the finish line 47 minutes ahead of the second competitor, but the long stage was still to come.

Stage four started off with a 300m river crossing. There was a mad rush to get into the water and swimming with a backpack on is much harder than I had anticipated. Swimming across the river skyrockets your heart rate and it took about 20 minutes of running to get it down again. I ran the entire stage with Mike Wolff and the company helped to mentally refuel me for the long stage. We crossed the finish line jointly first and congratulated each other.

THE BIG ONE
I did not sleep much before the long stage and I tossed and turned in my hammock for most of the night. I knew the long stage would be where the race would be won or lost and waking up that morning, I was so nervous I could barely get my breakfast down. The long stage was 89km (Comrades in the Jungle), with the first 46km in the Jungle and the remaining distance run on dirt trails and beaches.

We started off with a big river crossing and were soon back in the Jungle. I was starting to get excited about running somewhere different to the Jungle terrain. After five days of kicking the same toe on roots, going over on my ankles multiple times and getting bitten by hornets, I had lost my sense of humour and wanted to get out of the Jungle. I was craving being able to get into a running rhythm and being able to run without having to jump over fallen trees, swim across rivers and wade through swamps.

I started off conservatively, running the entire Jungle section with Mike and Salvador. Just before leaving the Jungle, we were given a farewell present by a swarm of hornets that attacked us. That was the final straw – I needed to get out of the Jungle! It was a massive relief to get onto the dirt roads and it felt great to be able to run with some freedom again. I got a bit overexcited and took off like a headless chicken. It felt great for the first ten minutes, but then I started to regret my increased tempo. I was too stubborn to back down and let the others catch me, so I kept pushing. My legs started to hurt and I was suffering but my mind would not let my legs slow down.

I got to the second-last checkpoint and knew that if I could just keep running at a constant pace, the race would be mine. My body was annihilated but mentally I was on a high, knowing I was really close to winning the long stage, which would just about make me the overall Jungle Marathon winner. I let out a scream of joy running along the beach and lost a bit of focus. Within a few kilometres, I had run out of water and underestimated the distance to the next checkpoint. My energy levels started dropping and before I knew it, I was reduced to a mixture between a shuffle and a stumble. I was dizzy and I could feel the race and my dreams of winning slipping away. I was really angry with myself for getting into this situation.

I passed through some dense vegetation and saw a river ahead. My pace increased and I headed straight for the river. Now I had to decide whether to drink the water and risk getting sick, or not drink the water and probably not finish the stage. The choice was obvious and it was the best tasting water I have ever had! Suddenly I felt like a new person, and before long I crossed the finish line. It was a major relief to finish and I realised that all I had to do now was finish the sixth and final stage and I would win the race.

GLORY BECKONS
My hammock had become really uncomfortable by now and all I wanted was a bed and some real food. Waking up on the morning of the last stage, I was excited about finishing the race, but the last thing my legs felt like was running 32km along the beach. We started the last stage and very quickly I could feel my legs getting tired. I had a two-and-a-half hour lead on the second competitor and knew all I had to do was keep moving forward.

Once again, I teamed up with Mike and we ran the stage together. We had built up a good friendship over the past few days and the chatting seemed to numb the pain my legs were feeling. Before long, we entered the little village of Alter do Ch?o and I was handed the South African flag to cross the finish line. The last few seconds were a blur but the feeling of crossing the finish line cannot be described.

I had been sleeping and eating the Jungle Marathon during the last few months before it took place. I had made a lot of sacrifices to get to the race as strong and fit as possible. I had trained really hard and on some days, I could hardly even walk after training sessions.

Sipping a beer, I felt on top of the world and knew the hard work had paid off. Thinking back on the race, it feels like a dream, or should I say a dream come true. It was a few months of hard training and I really suffered in some of the sessions, but in the end it was all worth it.

JUNGLE MARATHON 2009 RESULTS

Men
1 Ryan Sandes (South Africa)  26:33 (Course record)
2 Salvador Redondo (Spain)  28:49
3 Mike Wolff (USA)   29:27

Women
1 Tracey Garneau (Canada) 34:28 (Joint first)
1 Nikki Kimball (USA)   34:28 (Joint first)
3 Lowri Morgan (Wales)  40:05

FOLLOW RYAN’S WANDERINGS
If you enjoyed reading about Ryan Sandes’ ultra-running exploits, you won’t want to miss the documentary film about Ryan, due for release after he runs the Final Desert, Antarctica race in November 2010.

Production began on Wandering Fever at the beginning of 2009, and will follow Ryan as he aims to become the first person to win all four desert races in the 4Deserts Series, which is rated by TIME magazine as one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

You can follow the progress of Wandering Fever at theafricanattachment.com. For investment opportunities contact [email protected].

Dreams don’t always come true, but sometimes something unexpected and amazing happens to us. This is the story of how Kashmira Parbhoo, average back of the pack runner, transformed herself into a Comrades gold medallist, and how she keeps challenging herself in all aspects of life.

It’s 4:45am on a weekday morning in Johannesburg. Like every other morning for the past two years, Kashmira Parbhoo sets off on her morning run with a group of friends, joking and chatting away at the break of dawn. After a kilometre or so, her 1.6m frame starts increasing the pace, ponytail bobbing in the air, running ahead in a distinctive style of short, fast steps with elbows seemingly fighting the space around her. No wonder her coach calls her ‘Duifie’ – when the wings come out she is ready to take off!

And taken off she certainly has. She has improved from running her first Comrades in a time of 10:42 to a gold medal-winning tenth position of 7:16, earlier this year, becoming the first Indian ever in the history of Comrades to place in the top ten. Not bad for someone who describes herself as a very unlikely medallist, who started running with her dad in her hometown of Lenasia, south of Johannesburg.

Kash, as she is known to friends and family, admits that one has to have a certain amount of talent to place in the top ten women at Comrades, but firmly believes she is an example of how an ordinary runner can achieve the extraordinary and excel beyond their wildest dreams by truly committing to the sport they love.

FATHER FIGURE
Her dad, Jaydev, was initially the runner in the family. By the time he came back from his usual Sunday morning races, she was still fast asleep in bed. “I would think he was crazy! Today, I’m the one thinking people are wasting their lives by sleeping when they could be running.”

Kash wasn’t very active at school, but as a B.Comm student living with her parents, she joined the newly opened gym in Lenasia. “I come from a very sporty family. My dad and uncles run and my brothers play soccer and cricket. I was the only one who was not doing anything!” Initially, she battled to run five minutes on the treadmill in the gym, but she persevered and promised herself that as soon as she could run 60 minutes, she would try running on the road.

Long distance running was, however, never an option. Even when she and her mom, Urmila, supported her dad in 2000 on the Comrades route, she never thought that she would end up running the same route nine consecutive times. “I was in such awe of all those runners, but never once did it go through my mind to run Comrades,” says Kash, who has great admiration for her father. He has entered Comrades 13 times, and finished five times. “He ran his first Comrades at the age of 50 and made his dream come true! I admire him for going back so many times and trying.”

She remembers one of her first runs with her dad. “Lenasia is pretty flat, there is one gentle hill of about 300 metres. The first time I ran up that hill and got to the top, I nearly threw up. I was bent over and heaving. A group of runners was coming up the hill behind us and I had to try very hard to act cool.”

RAPID DEVELOPMENT
She initially ran on the treadmill in the week and with her dad on weekends. Her first 21km race was in 2000 in Lenasia. She planned to run the 10km, but her Dad and then-husband-to-be, Umesh Dullabh, persuaded her to opt for the 21km. She finished in a respectable time of 2:07 but thought 21km was incredibly far. Little did she know that a couple of years later she would be running more than four times that distance, and finishing as the tenth woman at Comrades.

Her running slowly improved, but she nearly gave up after her first 32km race, the RAC Tough One in Randburg. She finished in a time of 3:46 and has no happy memories of that day. “I nearly died! I wasn’t used to the hills or the distance.” Luckily, she persevered. She kept on going to races with her dad, who according to Kash, decided for her that she was going to do Comrades in 2001. “Before I knew it, I was on my way to Comrades!” By then she was still just training in Lenasia, four times a week, with two rest days and races some Sundays.

Her first Comrades was, as it is for most runners, a painful experience from the 70km mark onwards. “I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ But when I finished it was amazing.” She continued improving, constantly chopping minutes off her race times. It was then that something powerful inside her awoke – a desire to achieve and be the best she could be, in sport and in life.

THE ART OF LIVING  
Kash has a great passion for life and believes in making the best of every day and every run! In 2004, she attended a life skills course, which involved learning a powerful breathing technique that increases energy. She also learnt principles of effective living to get the most out of your life as well as some yoga and meditation exercises, which she still does today before her morning runs.

She believes the breathing technique, called Sudarshan Kriya, has helped her immensely in her running. “The course helped me in all aspects of life. Initially, I did not even think that it would help my running, but after I did the course, my running times dropped by over an hour. When people asked me what I did differently, I could only imagine that the breathing technique was one of the things that helped me improve.” She started including time trials in her training and the year after she did this course and changed her training slightly, her Comrades time dropped from 9:53 to 8:41, earning her a Bill Rowan medal.

“That was the best Comrades! I met Nadirshah Khan, the chairman of my running club (Lenasia), at about 20km to go. We ran together to the finish. I couldn’t believe I got a Bill Rowan. I was on top of the world! That year, I realised I possibly had some talent and if I wanted to excel, I would have to put more in. I couldn’t expect things to just happen,” says Kash, who admits to being in awe of Bill Rowan runners. “I used to think I could never run 6 min/km for 90km!”

Today, she is addicted to her Garmin watch and Excel spreadsheets with times of different races and training runs. At the end of a run, one often sees Kash running around the parking lot of the Virgin Active gym in Meyersdal to make up the last 200m or so of her planned distance!

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
In 2007, Kash and her husband moved to Bassonia, where she initially ran alone. “I was a bit hesitant to run with other people because I thought I would not be able to keep up.” She was determined to improve her running and knew she had to run some time trials to increase her speed. She phoned Andries Venter, chairman of the Alberton Athletic Club, to get more details on the time trials. “I wanted to know if I could join the time trials, but was so worried about being last.” Little did she know that Andries would eventually be the one helping her improve her running even more.

Kash also met Cindy Beeming, a close friend today, at the time trial. Cindy told her about their running group that meets at 4:45 every morning and Kash joined in. “I just clicked with them. What I like about the group is that you can go ahead and run at your own pace or fall back. Today I can’t imagine not running with them.”

Cindy was following a running programme worked out by Andries, and Kash asked if Andries would mind helping her as well. And so a strong bond of friendship was formed between Kash and Andries.

THE COACH
Andries, an experienced runner of 25 Comrades, including 18 silver medals and a best time of 6:24, has been Kash’s coach since last year. “He e-mails me my programme every two weeks. Andries isn’t there to see if I follow it or not – it’s up to me to stick to it.” He advises Kash when to take it easy and when to push harder. “Andries doesn’t set goals for me. He knows what I am capable of and he doesn’t pressure me. Last year before Comrades, he asked me what time I wanted to finish in. I said sub-eight hours and I did! I finished in 7:56.”

Her programme incorporates a track session and time trials, and Andries is usually with her while she does her track session. “I believe in Andries and his programme. He is such an experienced runner and has a nice way of dealing with people. He is well read on every level of running. When he tells me to do something it’s because there is a reason behind it. He also takes into consideration my needs and capabilities. Above all, he has an unbelievable passion for running.”

She would not like a coach with a strong personality pressuring her. “That would just change my whole attitude towards running. It is so important to enjoy it. Running has become my passion. A lot of people ask me how I manage to be so disciplined, but when you love something you don’t need discipline.”

GOLDEN COMRADES
Kash’s heart was set on a Comrades silver medal this year, so she ran over 2 000km in training from January to race day and put in all the necessary quality sessions. “Andries did not ask me what I wanted to achieve this year and just gave me a time. I thought I could do it, but was scared I would disappoint myself and others. Andries didn’t put any pressure on me; he e-mailed my split times and just said, ‘I think this is achievable.”’

And so it proved to be. Few people, especially Kash, will ever forget her remarkable run at Comrades 2009. She surprised everyone, but most of all herself! Towards the end, spectators started shouting conflicting positions. “I heard someone say 12th lady! Later on some officials asked if I knew I was the tenth lady. Even then, gold didn’t feature in my mind. Ten or 100 people could have passed me. I just wanted my silver!”

When she ran into the stadium, she saw friends and people she knew clapping, shouting and jumping up and down.

KASH’S COMRADES RECORD

Year	Time	Women’s category position
2001	10:42	1 147
2002	10:02	441
2003	10:06	615
2004	09:53	351
2005	08:40	127
2006	08:44	90
2007	08:17	51
2008	07:56	19
2009	07:16	10

“I still thought, what’s wrong with them? Why are they so happy?” Only when she crossed the finish line in 7:16, did she realise what she had achieved. “Suddenly I realised it was gold! After all my hard work, look what had just happened! I burst out crying.”

Kash was thrown into a world completely unknown to her. She was taken away for drug testing with the other top finishers. “Everything was so overwhelming. I got this card around my neck saying I was tenth. The testing went on and on and all I could think about was, ‘Hurry up. I want to see my friends finishing. I did not come all the way here to sit cooped up in a room. I want to see my friends run in!”’

For days and weeks afterwards, her cell phone kept ringing. It was especially the Indian community, and her hometown of Lenasia, that were proudest of their ‘Golden Girl’ as they called her. For them, she was a symbol of hope and hard work – because for the first time in 84 runnings of the Comrades, an Indian had placed in the top ten. Kash was inundated with radio interviews, she was asked to speak at schools and surprise celebration parties were held for her.

The proudest people were her parents and husband. Her dad keeps her gold medal in his TV cabinet at home and the first thing he does when anybody visits is show them his daughter’s medal. Her husband could not go to Comrades because of business commitments, but was no less proud. “Umesh has always been so supportive of me. He has been with me since my first Comrades. He understands running and knows what is involved. His support has made a huge difference in my life.”

HUMBLE HERO
Those who know Kash will tell you that you will never hear her brag and she always downplays her achievements. The nicest thing about her is how excited she still gets talking about running, and her hopes of improving her times further.

Next year will be her tenth consecutive Comrades and she hopes to better this year’s time. She realises she will face pressure at next year’s race, but says her goal is to better herself in all aspects of life. “All I want to do is to improve next year and run a better time. If my purpose at Comrades this year was to help and inspire anyone, then I have achieved my goal. I am God’s instrument in helping to make the world a better place.”

She believes nothing is impossible. “But you must know what you want. I still have to train. I still have to run up the same hills and feel tired. I still have to struggle and battle through some runs. A gold medal does not exclude me from anything.”

There are no club membership fees, no forms to fill in, no licence numbers or club kit, and you don’t have to be super-fast or muscular to join the biggest morning run in Durban North. There is only one thing you need to become a member of the Regent Harriers: a passion for running or walking.

Come rain, wind, hail or shine, they are there every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, on the corner of Broadway and Kensington Drive in Durban North. Sometimes, up to 550 runners and walkers, of all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, with different fitness levels and goals, gather in the early morning light to do the one thing that drives them and binds them together: their love of running.

Regent Harriers has become an institution in Durban, to such an extent that out-of-town runners who ran with them years ago still pitch up at the meeting place when on holiday or business in Durban – because they know that this incredible group will always be on that corner.

The members of this group have big hearts and are firm believers that there is always space for one more. Their welcoming spirit has caught many visiting runners off guard, such as Denise Fox, a runner from Alberton who recently went on holiday to Durban.

EVERYONE’S WELCOME
Denise heard about Regent Harriers from a local running friend. “When I got there, I phoned one of the guys, Bernie Karam, for directions. He was so friendly and even offered to pick me up, but I had my own car,” says Denise. When she got to the meeting place she was even more surprised. “I parked my car and the next minute, as if from nowhere, I saw hordes of people all over. It was like being at a race! I was amazed.”

She immediately felt welcome. “Everyone was friendly. One of the guys introduced me to a couple of runners and people started chatting to me. At exactly 5:10, a guy called the route and off we went. Some walked, some shuffled and some ran. I didn’t even have to fit into any group, there were so many people, I could just follow whoever was in front,” says Denise.

And don’t think everyone in the group is a long distance junkie training for Comrades. “Half of them don’t even run Comrades. The girl I ran with doesn’t run further than 21km and some other runners said they are only there to stay fit.”

Denise describes the run as a must-do when in Durban. “You will make new friends and experience something totally different,” says Denise, who also joined some members of the group for a 16km run on the Saturday of her stay.

A WAY OF LIFE
Regent Harriers was formed in 1960 by the late Ron Clokie. He trained with workmates Gordon McNair, Dave Russell and Ruben Turkington, meeting for early morning runs at Regent Place where he lived – and they took the name of the group from their meeting place. Over the years, the group grew to such an extent that the meeting place had to be moved 1km down the road to a more manageable venue on the corner of Broadway and Kensington.

The success of Regent Harriers, which celebrates its 50th birthday next year, lies in the group’s ability to bring people from different walks of life together, united by their passion for running or walking. “This passion levels everyone,” says Brett Florens, who shares the responsibility with Stephen Light of calling the route in the mornings.

When doing so, they have to take into consideration the amount of runners and try to avoid busy roads. “It has become such an incredible phenomenon. It is informal; you don’t have to worry about renewing licences or paying fees and you are free to come and go as you please,” says Brett.

The group has a high turnover of ‘members’, some training for events such as the Dusi Canoe Marathon or Iron Man, following which they usually relax and don’t join the group as often. Others are cyclists keeping fit when not cycling, but most are lifestyle athletes who just want to keep fit.

“Gone are the days of the 70s and 80s when people ran crazy distances. Priorities have changed. A lot of people just want to keep healthy,” says Brett. Everyone in the group has their own goals and their own reasons for being part of the morning run. “It’s an incredible support system to run with so many people. This morning someone complained about how hard the route was. Someone else immediately mentioned that one would never have done such a run on one’s own, but in a group you often push yourself beyond your limit.”

Another factor is that when running on your own, you often have no one to answer to except yourself, but when you’re in a group, your closer friends start questioning where you are if you don’t show up, says Brett.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
A big advantage of the group is that inexperienced runners can gather a wealth of information from more experienced athletes, who are all too happy to share their knowledge.

“The group is so diverse, from elite athletes who have earned gold medals in the Comrades and Two Oceans marathons, to people weighing 120kg desperate to lose weight,” says Brett. Elite runners also join in, such as former Comrades winner Tilda Tearle and former Comrades gold medallist Carol Mercer.

Mondays are rest days. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the group runs 10km, but never the same route. “We are proud to say in all the years, we have never called the same route for consecutive runs,” says Brett. On Thursdays, it’s a fixed hilly route of 10km.

Those runners who want to add some distance to their training can also join on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and these runs usually attract around 50 runners. These groups meet at different places, depending on the day:

• Wednesdays at La Lucia Mall between Durban North and Umhlanga (12km or 15km run).
  
• Saturdays at the Pick n Pay Hypermarket in Waterkant Road, Durban North (15km along the beachfront).
  
• Sundays on the corner of Broadway and Kensington Drive (20km to 35km, depending on the time of year).

CULTURAL DIFFERENCE
Many runners in the group belong to running clubs, but in Durban there is no culture of different clubs religiously meeting at their specific clubhouses every morning for training runs. “Durban is very different to Johannesburg! Our traffic is so much better and it takes most people less than 15 minutes to get to the morning runs. We only have time trials at our clubs in the evenings; no morning club runs,” says Brett.

The group also keeps growing thanks to the recruitment of new members on the runs. “When we see a lone runner, we invite him or her into our group. No pressure, though,” says Brett.

Since May this year, Regent Harriers has also had its own website. “We encourage each other on the site and runners who have emigrated post their details, inviting SA runners to join them for a run when overseas,” says Brett.

So next time you’re in Durban and thinking of an early morning run, get yourself to the corner of Broadway and Kensington Drive and experience something amazing!

For more information on Regent Harriers, contact Brett on 031 563 0489 or Stephen on 082 564 9024, or visit www.regents.co.za.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Regent Harriers strongly believes in giving back to the community and has a trust that manages funds collected for a designated charity each year, culminating in the group’s charity run on 16 December.

“We have so-called ‘bag ladies’ who collect money a couple of weeks before 16 December. Runners are free to donate money or not. Some runners have donated R5 000! Their generosity is amazing, but there is no pressure to give anything,” says Brett.

Then, on 16 December, everyone runs with Christmas hats. Afterwards, those who prefer can stay and have some refreshments right there on the pavement of the ‘clubhouse’.

THE CHELSEA RUN
About two weeks before Comrades, the longer distance group has a Chelsea Run where the local supermarket donates Chelsea buns to the runners. “We eat Chelsea buns after the run and wish each other all the best for Comrades,” says Brett. And after the Big C, awards are handed to the first and last Comrades finishers from the Regent Harriers group.

Energy in the diet comes in three forms – carbohydrate, protein and fat. These macronutrients are organic compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but in different ratios. There are three main types of fats in the diet: saturated, mono-unsaturated (MUFAs) and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Other types of fats in our foods include trans fatty acids and cholesterol. There is so much controversy about including fats in our diet, that it is essential to understand the essential role that healthy fats play.

• Energy: The main function of fat is to supply the body with fuel. This energy is stored in adipose tissue and can supply fuel for many days if need be.
  
• Insulation: Fat stored in adipose tissue is largely stored subcutaneously (under the skin) which makes it an effective insulator and helps conserve body temperature in cold weather.
  
• Padding: Adipose tissue surrounding the vital organs like the kidneys, protects against physical injury.
  
• Hormonal and cell membrane function: If your body fat percentage drops too low, cell membranes and some hormones don’t function properly for example, oestrogen.
  
• Nerve conduction: Each fast-conducting nerve fibre is sheathed in a specific kind of fat called myelin.
  
• Fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids: The fat in our foods should contain fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and the two essential fatty acids, omega 3 and 6.

DANGER! HIGH FAT WARNING
Fats and oils are part of a healthy diet. However, the types of fat and the total amounts of fat consumed are also important. High intake of saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol increases the risk of unhealthy blood lipid levels, which may increase the risk of coronary heart disease. A high intake of fat (>35% of total calories) makes it mare difficult to avoid taking in excess calories, which can lead to undesirable body fat gain. A low intake of fat (<20% of total calories) may lead to unfavourable changes in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) blood cholesterol and triglycerides, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.

GOOD FATS VS. BAD FATS
Certain fats positively affect your health and cholesterol levels, while others have a negative influence.

THE BAD

• Saturated fats, found in animal products such as butter and cheese, as well as in some vegetable oils, have gained the reputation of increasing bad cholesterol in the blood.
  
• Cholesterol is obtained mainly from red meat and shellfish. Red meat contains not only cholesterol, but also saturated fat. However, most of our blood cholesterol comes not from dietary sources, but from our livers. Our liver uses saturated fat to make new cholesterol. Thus, when you are told to lower your blood cholesterol, it is important that you watch the amount of cholesterol you eat and the amount of saturated fat you take in. This limits the amount of cholesterol the liver makes. The recommended amount of cholesterol should not exceed 300mg per day.
  
• Trans fatty acids are formed as a result of processing a fat in food manufacturing. Many of the fats used in food processing (such as those from nuts, seeds and beans) are liquid at room temperature and unsuitable for addition to foods. However, these oils may be treated chemically to make them solid through ‘hydrogenation’. During this process, fats are heated to high temperatures and hydrogen is added. This makes the fats more solid and also gives them a longer shelf life. However, it also damages fats and may lead to their conversion to unusually shaped fats known as ‘trans fatty acids’ or ‘trans fats’. Trans fats are found in a wide range of foods including commercially baked goods (biscuits, cookies, etc), fast foods, processed foods and margarines. The greater the degree of hydrogenation, the more saturated the fat becomes and the more trans fats are produced. These can cause more arteriosclerosis (fatty acid build up in the arteries) because they raise the LDL, or bad, cholesterol and lower HDL, or good, cholesterol. They have even been found to increase triglyceride levels (another type of dangerous fat that can damage the pancreas and lead to diabetes).

THE GOOD
Unsaturated fats (PUFAs and MUFAs) are beneficial to us and may help lower cholesterol, provided they are eaten in moderation and replace saturated and trans fat in the diet. 

• Poly-unsaturated fats (PUFAs) are found in two main types in the diet: omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. These play important roles in maintaining the health of the body’s systems and structures. The effects of PUFAs on the body are a result of their conversion into hormone-like substances known as eicosanoids, however eicosanoids derived from omega 3 tend to be different to those derived from omega 6. Omega 6 eicosanoids encourage inflammation, blood vessel constriction and clotting of the blood, while omega 3 eicosanoids have the opposite effect, that is, anti-inflammatory effects, reducing the risk of blood clotting. Because of this antagonistic relationship, it is important to consume these in the ratio (omega 6: omega 3) of between 5:1 and 10:1. Skewed intake of omega 6 can contribute to illnesses such as inflammatory disease (e.g. arthritis, gout), thrombosis (blood clots) and a compromised immune system. Unfortunately, the typical South African diet has far more omega 6 fats and not enough omega 3 fats.
  
• Mono-unsaturated fats (MUFAs) are believed to have benefits for the body. Including MUFAs in your diet, especially when replacing saturated and trans fats, lowers bad cholesterol and doesn’t lower good cholesterol levels. For this reason, they are considered to be cardio-protective.

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH FOR MODERN ATHLETES?
Fat is a necessary component of an athlete’s diet as it provides energy, especially for long term endurance.
Fat also provides essential elements for cell membranes and is associated with nutrients such as vitamin A, D, E and K, and essential fatty acids. General recommendations for fat are 20-30% of total calories per day, with the fatty acid proportions being 10% saturated fat, 10% MUFAs, 10% PUFAs. The daily diet must include sources of essential fatty acids (omega 6 and omega 3). Most fats should come from MUFAs such as oils from canola, olive, peanut and avocado. Nuts such as peanuts and almonds, as well as peanut butter, avocado, olives and hummus are all high in MUFAs. Keep saturated fat and cholesterol to a minimum, so opt for fat free or low fat dairy products, lean meat, skinless chicken and fish. Lastly, avoid trans fats as much as possible, such as those found in fried goods and commercially-made food.

FAT REDUCTION TIPS
Protein

• Use extra lean meat where possible.
  
• Cut off visible fat before cooking, not after, as fat seeps into the flesh while cooking.
  
• Halve the amount of red meat you would normally use by adding legumes such as lentils.
  
• Choose no oil varieties of canned fish (e.g. fish in brine).
  
• If labelled, choose meats with 10% fat or less.
  
• Avoid processed meats such as sausages, wors and luncheon meats such as polony and salami.
  
• Boil, steam, bake, grill, microwave or ‘dry fry’ food, rather than frying.
  
• Cook roasts in an oven roast bag and remove excess skin or fat before roasting.
  
• Eat fish (especially oily fish such as salmon, herring or fresh tuna) at least twice a week.
  
• Limit red meat to two to three times a week and avoid other high cholesterol foods such as organ meats, caviar, prawns or calamari.

Dairy

• Choose low fat or fat-free dairy products such as skimmed milk, low-fat or fat-free yoghurt.
  
• Choose cheeses with a lower fat percentage, at least less than 25% fat e.g. mozzarella, some feta, cottage cheese, etc.

Processed foods

• Choose lower fat foods e.g. bagels, low fat ice cream, banana bread.
  
• Read labels and opt for the lowest fat option. Avoid foods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
  
• Beware of products that say ‘lite’ or ‘light’. This does not necessarily mean light in fat or calories. It could be light in salt, flavour or colour.
  
• ‘Low cholesterol’ is another misleading term, since foods can still be high in oil and calories.
  
• Choose a small amount of high quality treats such as 70% dark chocolate. You will eat less and may even get some nutrients out of it.
  
• Pastries are generally high in fat. Use phyllo pastry and brush a little oil on the top sheet.
  
• When reading food labels, look for foods made with unhydrogenated oils rather than hydrogenated vegetable oils or saturated fat.

Dessert and sweets

• Choose low fat yoghurt, low fat custard, low fat ice-cream or jelly as a dessert.
  
• Make fat reduced versions of muffins, cakes and puddings.

Snack foods and take-aways

• Stay away from snack foods such as chips, vetkoek, dried wors and salted nuts. They are high in fat and we tend to over eat them.
  
• Make your own low fat snacks like air-popped popcorn, toasted pita strips, vegetables cut into small bite-sized snacks or roasted, curried chickpeas.
  
• Use hummus or avocado mixed with cottage cheese and lemon juice as healthy dips instead of high fat cheese dips or pat?s.
  
• Use avocado or hummus as spreads instead of butter or hard brick margarines.
  
• Limit take-aways and opt for healthier choices such as grilled chicken. Choose salad, vegetables, rice or baked potato instead of chips and onion rings. Share pizza and salad, instead of eating a whole pizza.

References:

• The Completer South African Guild to Sports Nutrition by Louise Burke , 1998.
  
• American College of Sports Medicine. American Dietetic Association, Dieticians of Canada: nutrition and athletic performance. Joint Position Statement. 2009
  
• Delport L and Volschenk P (2007): Eat Smart for Sport. Tafelberg
  
• Dippenaar N and Delport L (2006): The South African Fat and Protein Guild. GIFSA

He bought a brand new car, big and comfortable enough to sleep in before races. He spent hours planning which races to run where. He even forked out thousands of rands travelling overseas to find races so he could clock up as many kilometres as possible, all the time meticulously logging each and every kilometre. Brian Marshall was a man on a mission; a man who walked 3 759.7km in races in 12 months – and became the first walker ever to beat runners in the 500/1 000km Challenge. Modern Athlete spoke to Brian about walking, winning and that unspoken rivalry between walkers and runners.

THE CHALLENGE
The 500/1 000km Challenge is a well-known competition to most mileage junkies on South African roads; run or walk a cumulative distance of 500km or 1 000km in official road races in one year (the Challenge starts one day after Comrades and runs right up to Comrades the following year), and when you hit your target, you qualify for a Challenge medal. Though the distance initially sounds quite daunting, most committed runners and walkers can easily clock up the kilometres by doing what they love on weekends; running or walking official races.

As with every competition, the 500/1 000km Challenge is known for its group of competitive and committed runners and walkers who, each and every year, try and log as many kilometres as is humanly possible. And in the process, things start becoming very secretive; competitors don’t share their planned races with each other, some travel to all corners of the country to find races and if it means doing three races on a weekend, what a bonus! Some more fortunate ones even hop on a plane to log more kilometres in races abroad. All the time they keep an eye on each other’s whereabouts. If they don’t see each other at races, many get worried because that might mean that the other person has found a longer race somewhere else.

Being a top contender in the Challenge takes a lot of planning, commitment and a fierce will to come out tops. And that is exactly what Brian did. He logged nearly four times the required distance (1 000km) and was 443.7km ahead of his closest competitor, runner, Stuart Wainwright. Brian was also way ahead of the second walker, Tony Green, who completed a credible 1 884.87km. Though runners and walkers log the same amount of kilometres when they compete in the same road races, it’s a whole different story at circuit races. Runners have the advantage of clocking more kilometres in the required time as they cover more ground.

“When you are a walker, you don’t have time to take a rest when walking a 100 miler. You have to keep on going. Sometimes it is hard for walkers to do long distance races as they don’t always make the cut off times. I have an advantage because I come from a long distance running background,” says Brian, who three years ago changed from running to walking because of back and knee problems.

HOW IT ALL STARTED
Brian started running in 1985, though he lived a life of too many drinks and cigarettes. “I was an alcoholic and smoked way too much. I have a drunken driving charge against me and have written off a couple of cars while driving under the influence. I knew I had to stop, but I just never found a way,” says Brian. Every year, he watched Bruce Fordyce running Comrades and every time he swore to run the race.

“One day my wife Brenda said I would never do it. I wanted to prove something so I started running,” says Brian. He did not take things slowly. His first run was on 1 January 1985 and a couple of weeks later, he ran 15km at the Varsity Kudus race in Johannesburg. Not long afterwards, he finished the Johnson Crane Marathon in a time of 4:17. Brian admits to having a compulsive nature. “When I drank, I drank; when I smoked, I smoked and when I ran, I ran.”
 
He went ahead to run 14 Comrades; his slowest time was 11:27 and his fastest time was 9:26. But alcohol and cigarettes still played a role for most of his running career. He eventually gave up drinking on 15 November 1994. “I am not ashamed of people knowing that I was an alcoholic. I told everyone at work about it and everyone at my running club. There is no way I will ever drink again. I am now a stronger person.” But letting go of cigarettes was not easy. Brian smoked for the biggest part of his running career. “During one Comrades, I smoked 14 cigarettes. I used to light a cigarette at the bottom of each major hill. Believe it or not, there were so many runners asking me for a cigarette.” Today, he regrets abusing his body in this way, but says you can only let go of an addiction when you are really committed. “Only when my mind was right, did I let go.”

NO MORE RUNNING
Brian eventually gave up smoking in 2000, because he wanted to run the Western States 100 mile race in the mountains of California in 2002. He knew he could never run it as a smoker. Though he didn’t finish the race because of flu, he was at least rid of a bad habit. In 2005, on his third try, he finished the race, an achievement he still sees as a highlight in his running career. But by the end of 2005, Brian’s running days were coming to an end. His last running race was in 2006 and he was forced to stop because of back and knee problems. “My back was so bad that it took me 20 minutes to get up after lying on the floor.” Giving up sport altogether was never an option and Brian took to walking, proudly and passionately sporting the big W on his running vest.

CHASING THE MILAGE
It has been three years since he started walking and as usual, he does nothing half heartedly. He has entered the Challenge a couple of times and made it his goal to win it this year. As a walker, it meant he had to go the extra mile to clock up more mileage than the front runners. Brian studied the racing calendar and picked races in provinces where he could accumulate the most mileage. This sometimes meant a lot of travelling; he would drive to a province on a Friday night, sleep in his car, run on the Saturday morning, drive to an afternoon race if he could find one, drive back to Johannesburg the same day and compete in a Sunday morning race. “I once did 240km in eight races in nine days,” says Brian. He has also done three 100 miler (160km) races in three months; the Washie 100 miler, the Cape Town 100 miler and the Ultimate 100 miler. And only a week after the last 100 miler, he walked another 100km at a 24 hour race in Mpumalanga, all the time keeping an eye on his closest competitors.

“At races, I always checked to see who was there. I tried to make it my mission to know who was doing how much mileage. But we kept secrets from each other. When someone asked me how much mileage I had logged, I conveniently forgot a couple of hundred kilometres,” says Brian. He walked Comrades this year but did not finish. “You have to walk 7.8min/km. It’s not easy. I got to the 73km mark and realised I would not make the cut off, but would finish in about 12:10. I decided to stop, especially because the athletes who don’t make the cut off, are not allowed into the stadium.”

Just before Comrades, he flew to New York to take part in a 5/10 day Circuit Race held from 22 April to 2 May in Flushing Meadows, Queens, but not before asking his closest competitor if he was also going to run the race. “If he was going, I would cancel my race because I knew I could not clock up more kilometres if he ran the race,” says Brian. He completed 701km in ten days on a one mile route, placing second in his age category (50-59). Walking the same circuit over and over again didn’t bother Brian. “I am a draftsman and do calculations all the time. From the moment I started walking, my mind calculated how far I had gone and at what pace.” Brian was elated when he won the 1 000km Challenge, but admits he was already looking for a new challenge by then. “It’s about the journey and not the destination. The most exciting part of it all is the preparation for the races.”

RUNNERS VS WALKERS
He admits he looked down on walkers when he was still running. “Runners sometimes disregard walkers. I also did it when I was a runner. I am so happy I won this challenge; I did it for the walkers out there.” He sometimes experiences animosity between runners and walkers at races, especially when walkers insist on starting the race right at the front. “When you speak to walkers, they all tell you they have just as much right to start in front as the runners. I agree, but then one should stand to the right and not start as a group. The ideal situation of course would be separate starts for walkers and runners.” One thing that gets Brian’s blood boiling is when walkers mix a bit of running with their walking. “It gives all walkers a bad name.” His future goal is to walk all the races that he ran as a runner. “I could never stop walking. Even if I end up a cripple, I will race in a wheelchair. You have to do something; otherwise you might as well lie down and die.”

EIGHT RACES (240km) IN NINE DAYS

21 Feb	Bay Ultra (PE)	50km
22 Feb	Peninsula Marathon (Western Cape)	42.2.km
25 Feb	Gino’s 10km Night Race (Western Cape)	10km
26 Feb	Diaz Vasbyt (Day 1) (Mossel Bay)	40km
27 Feb	Diaz Vasbyt (Day 2) (Mossel Bay)	30km
27 Feb	Infantry School Cango Caves 5km (Oudtshoorn)	5km
28 Feb	Infantry School Cango Caves Marathon (Oudtshoorn)	42.2km
1 Mar	Rand Road Warriors Half Marathon (Edenvale)	21.1km

TOP TEN 1 000km CHALLENGE COMPETITORS

1	Brian Marshall	W	3 759.70
2	Stuart Wainwright	R	3 316.00
3	Marthie Brits	R	3 066.60
4	Susan Hurter	R	2 877.80
5	Neels Vermeulen	R	2 683.90
6	Kosie Van Vuuren	R	2 453.40
7	Abie Smit	R	2 417.60
8	Keith Solomon	R	2 244.90
9	Corrie Fourie	R	2 153.87
10	Michelle Fookwe	R	2 078.00

 

Most runners’ daily runs take the same routes. Most races are the same year after year and sometimes, the predictability of a route leaves you wanting something else. I have been running consistently since my winter hibernation period after Comrades, yet I felt something was missing. I have never been a gym bunny, so I knew a high-tech gym with its huge, claustrophobic walls was not the place to find the missing puzzle piece in my training schedule. I was in desperate need of a dose of some other cross training motivation. So, when I got the opportunity to be part of a four-week Adventure Boot Camp, I jumped at the chance to do something different.

GI JANE
At first, the thought of an exercise Boot Camp conjured up images of army clad GI Janes crawling through muddy water, climbing over walls and swinging from ropes, all the time being watched by a mean man with a thin moustache barking orders. When my friend, Denise Fox, told me about the Adventure Boot Camp she was attending at the Rietvlei Farm in Alberton, south of Johannesburg, I immediately wanted to know if it was an army style environment. “No ways, but just know, you are going to work hard,” said Denise, a tough cookie who has done 12 Comrades and often runs, teaches spinning and does Boot Camp – all in one day.

On my first evening as a Boot Camper, I had no idea what to expect. To be brutally honest, I had second thoughts about my new cross training project when the group of about 40 women started warming up by walking twenty steps and jogging another twenty steps. “How is this ever going to make me tired?” I (then) arrogantly thought. I was about to eat humble pie. As the days progressed, the classes became more challenging with endless squats, sit-ups, push-ups and sprints. After only two sessions, my muscles were so sore I found it difficult to get out of bed for my morning runs. Not even a marathon left me with such soreness, but at the same time I felt a feeling of satisfaction knowing that I was building a stronger body; which would probably help my running. Needless to say, after the first week, I was a loyal Boot camper.

Boot Camp is not about exhaustion to the point of no return; it’s about strengthening your body, building lean muscle and using muscles you forgot you ever had – and never strengthen while running. After week one, my soreness disappeared and my body started adapting to the new exercises.

Boot Camp does not require elaborate equipment. It has the same benefits as a gym (if not more) but it is more sociable and motivational. For me, the best part of Boot Camp was the natural environment one uses to make exercises more challenging; imagine exercising with peacocks and ducks surrounding you and looking up at the leaves of the trees as you cool down. Fields, walls, hills and steps are all used while exercising. For me, it was so much better than a gym!

Our energetic instructor and camp leader, Jason Coetzee, who is qualified in personal training, was full of energy and a great motivation, though he only likes hearing one answer and that is: “Yebo!” Jason’s favourite saying is, “Imagine strutting your stuff in December on Camps Bay. You will thank me.” One thing he is very good at is distracting you so that you don’t always realise how hard you are working. What I enjoyed most was being outdoors and seeing women of all shapes and sizes and with different goals give it their all, often displaying a sense of humour only a Boot Camper can have after what feels like the 60th ab crunch.

HOW DID THE BOOT CAMP CRAZE START?
Adventure Boot Camp was started in 2005 by Huenu Solsona. The four-week programme in a number of outdoor venues around the country, is a women-only thing and nothing like an army environment. It started with 30 enthusiastic women at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town and has grown to over 19 camps countrywide; all with a mission to create positive awareness in women both mentally and physically.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
You can choose between three sessions or five sessions a week. You don’t need trendy gym clothes and you’re not out there to impress anyone. Each boot camp session starts and ends with stretching. The hour of exercise involves a bit of everything and the challenges are upped every week, with the aim of leaving you feeling stronger and fitter after four weeks. You can expect to do squats, lunges, stomach crunches, skipping, running, obstacle courses, weight training and a lot of something I call triceps torture. It’s all focused on women’s needs. Exercises are designed to firm your butt and thighs, flatten your stomach, reduce body fat and increase stamina. These exercises hit the spot! You will tie ropes around your ankles and later use them to do arm exercises; expect to do these until you groan. Words like the Spiderman Plank and the Bear Crawl will soon become part of your vocabulary.

A pre- and post-evaluation on the first and last Friday of Boot Camp is done to help you monitor your progress. On assessment day, you do a timed sprint of 1.2km and as many sit ups and push ups as you can master in one minute. Each and every Boot Camper exercises to her own ability. There are women who can only walk, those who can only jog and those who sprint, some who can’t do any sit ups and some who would give GI Jane a run for her money. One thing is for sure; nobody is left behind or asked to complete more than they are capable of, but no one will go home unchallenged either.

I need to confess, my competitiveness did get the better of me and many times I tried to outrun everyone. Yes, it is easy to cheat and not do some of the exercises while your camp leader looks the other way, but at the end of the day you are only cheating yourself.

WHY DO BOOT CAMP?
You can expect a reduction in your body fat, some weight loss, improved posture, endurance improvement and an increase in strength. Just remember, none of these things will happen if you don’t adapt the rest of your lifestyle to a healthy one. Apart from this, Boot Camp is fun; you get to be outdoors and it’s motivating exercising in a group.

MY INITIAL DOUBTS ABOUT BOOT CAMP
I thought Boot Camp was just for women who are not fit and who have never exercised. I thought I was fit and strong. How wrong I was.

HARDEST PART
The Bear Crawl!

MONTLY COST (different regions may differ in price)
Five Days: R650
Three Days: R530

THE END RESULT
I loved doing something where I could push the limits again. I feel stronger and faster on my morning runs. In the past month, I have taken one minute off my 5km racing time. As with all new things, the question remains: has my running improved mainly because of Boot Camp or is it rather a case of running more consistently and feeling positive? I don’t know, maybe it’s a mix of everything. But one thing is for sure, Boot Camp was the most fun I have had exercising in a long time. It’s about sisterhood and team work and a great place to make friends. Maybe the adrenalin and my firmer thighs are clouding my sense of logic, but I am already considering signing up for the next camp.

CONTACT DETAILS
Adventure Boot Camp
(Cape Town head office):
021 671 1741

HOW CAN CROSS TRAINING SUCH AS BOOT CAMP HELP IMPROVE YOUR RUNNING?
Boot Camp is a functional approach to fitness, says Jason Coetzee, personal trainer and Boot Camp leader at Rietvlei Farm. When you run, you are forced to hold your own body weight and at Boot Camp, you are using basic equipment and body weight during the work out. Because of this, the training is more specific to running. As runners, we tend to forget about the other components of fitness namely strength, conditioning and flexibility which are covered ex

“I am blind and my wife has cancer. You read about these things and think it will never happen to you.”

When you go out on your next run – be it an easy 5km or a tough marathon – try the following: close your eyes and hold on to your running buddy. Let him be your eyes. Most likely you will not last 500m with your eyes shut because none of us like the fear of the unknown. Now imagine hearing, but never seeing. Imagine running in a world where every pavement, every bump in the road and every water table has to be pointed out to you. It takes courage and determination. Modern Athlete spoke to Stefan Steyn from Polokwane, on running blind.

It was that time of day on the route of the Comrades Marathon; somewhere past the halfway mark and somewhere at the bottom of the umpteenth hill. Stefan Steyn and Guppy Wilkinson, his running guide and best friend, were ready to tackle a monster hill, as always tied by the arm and running side by side, only inches apart. “You are so lucky you can’t see the hills ahead. It must be much easier on you,” a fellow Comrades runner remarked as the two friends struggled up the hill. “I am blind. Not stupid!” Stefan said.

Comments like these are all part of a blind runner’s day on the road, says Stefan, a 46-year-old attorney who runs for Polokwane Athletic Club. He has always been partially sighted but his world became dark in 2000. This has certainly not kept him from living life to the fullest or doing the one thing he loves most, running. He has completed eight Comrades Marathons, loves to bungee jump and lives for his family and running mates. “Runners are amazing people. They can be so funny but some of them can also put their feet in their mouths.” The perfect example of this is the time Stefan’s running guide lost concentration for a second and allowed him to run straight into another runner. “Can’t you see where you’re running?” the woman shouted. “Actually, I can’t,” Stefan replied to the runner, who later realised Stefan was blind, turned back and profusely apologised.

“Attorneys can be very serious. That is why I love being out on the road, running amongst people who are always ready to crack a joke. I have heard some very entertaining comments such as, ‘Are you guys on a blind date?’ and ‘Who is leading who?’ When I run, I can just be myself without any pretence,” says Stefan. But there was a time when his blindness bothered him so much that he tried to hide it from friends, colleagues and to a certain extent, could not even admit it to himself.
 
LOSING SIGHT
Stefan suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that leads to total blindness. He was born with this condition but for most of his school life, his parents thought his impaired vision was due to meningitis, which he had had as a child.
Stefan could see in front of him but battled with tunnel vision and night blindness. As a child, he knew something was wrong with his eyes, especially when participating in sport. He never played rugby because he couldn’t catch the ball when it was out of his field of vision. He never experienced the joy of participating in team sport. At the age of 12, his desire to be part of some kind of sport lead him to running and he started jogging for a couple of kilometres on his own every day.

For a while, Stefan attended a school for vision-impaired learners, but soon decided he could see better than the other kids and went back to a normal school. After school, he enrolled at the North-West University (the former Potchefstroom University). He jogged a bit, mainly with his older brother, Abel, who was born blind and also suffers from RP. “Abel held on to me while the two of us ran together. It was like the blind leading the blind. I could still see back then, but my vision was quickly deteriorating. We sometimes even rode on a tandem. If only my brother knew how little I could actually see!”

Stefan started working in Polokwane and none of his colleagues knew he was partially sighted. “I did not want to talk about it or tell anyone. A lot of people have told me they used to greet me back then and I never responded. Now they realise it was because I couldn’t see. Back then they thought I was just rude.” He continued running short distances and in 1995, he was so inspired watching the Comrades Marathon on TV that he put on his running shoes and ran 18km, silently promising himself that one day he too would be part of the Comrades.

SEEING THE LIGHT
In 1997, he underwent an eye operation but his eyes deteriorated even more in the months that followed. At this stage, he still managed to run on his own and completed a couple of races. In 1998, he ran his first marathon with a friend, Johan Moolman. “I was so tired but ecstatic when we finished in a time of 4:12.” Unfortunately for Stefan, running without a guide was soon a thing of the past. When he and Johan arrived at Om Die Dam Ultra Marathon in Hartbeespoort Dam, Stefan realised how bad his vision had become. “There were just too many people and I battled to see. I held on to Johan’s arm for the first 25km. At Saartjie’s Nek, I was finished and got into the bailer’s bus. The silence in that bus was deafening. When I got out, I looked for my wife; I was struggling to see anything. I walked up to people and asked for help but many thought I was either drunk or joking. Eventually my wife and I found each other. For a couple of weeks after that race, I did not want to know anything about running.”

However, the urge to do the one thing that made him feel free was overwhelming and Stefan was soon back on the road, this time with the help of another friend, Leon Visser. The two friends decided to tackle Comrades. “Leon is the one who invented the straps around our wrists with a string that looks like a shoelace tied to both straps. It works so well. We keep the lace, which is between 90 and 120cm long, tied to the wrist straps. Leon shortens the lace until our hands nearly touch. The longer you run with someone, the easier it is to read his body language. Trust is by far the most important thing between a blind runner and his guide. The biggest mistake people sometimes make is to grab a blind person by the hand and drag them along,” says Stefan. “I am comfortable with our system of guiding. Another option often used is where the blind guy holds on to the guide’s elbow.”

Though he has never tripped one of his guides, Stefan has often fallen himself. “I am very good at doing somersaults. Cat eyes in the road are the most dangerous and I have tripped over a couple of those.”

STAYING POSITIVE
Stefan’s first Comrades in 1999 was not meant to be. At Botha’s Hill, he got into the bailer’s bus but while waiting for the bus, he vowed to return and conquer the distance. And he did. In 2000, Stefan and Leon finished in a time of 11:45. “I was so happy and exhausted. After the race, I kept on saying I would never do it again, but the next morning I found myself already talking about the next one.” The year 2000 was significant in many ways. Stefan realised he was becoming completely blind. “It was quite a mind shift to admit it. My eyes were so bad that I had to ask my staff to type documents in bold lettering. I even battled to read.” In this time, he also had to deal with the painful experience of his wife, Hanlie, being diagnosed with breast cancer. “The less I could see, the more I ran. It was my way of clearing my head of everything that was happening.” In 2002, Stefan and Leon improved their Comrades time to 10:36.

Stefan’s blindness does not keep him from experiencing the great atmosphere and excitement at a race such as Comrades. “I listen to the voices of encouragement and my guides are usually very vocal. When I ran with Leon, he described all the pretty girls to me. I have found the male guides I run with usually tell me about the girls while the female guides describe the beautiful scenery,” says Stefan. When Leon moved away, Stefan went on to complete two more Comrades with another friend, Dries Stoltz.

THE DREAM RUN
In 2006, he started running with Guppy, his guide of the last four years. Since their first run together, an unbreakable partnership has been formed. “Initially, it takes time to get used to a new guide. There are some guides I can run with and some I just can’t. It’s got nothing to do with length, it’s all in the stride and rhythm. The most important thing is you have to be good friends. Guppy and I are very close; make no mistake, we do have our moments when we disagree. We have to be in agreement as to how fast we are going to run and if we are racing or not. It’s not as if we can let go of each other halfway through the race.” They know each other inside out. “When I get tired, Guppy starts singing ‘We are the Champions’. That’s his polite way of saying we’d better speed up.”

Stefan and Guppy have different morning schedules. They train together three times a week, on weekend days as well as one weekday at the local time trial. On the other two training days, Stefan runs on a treadmill, something he has become used to but does not enjoy. “I run about 50km a week with Guppy and on the treadmill, but increase my distance as Comrades approaches. Right now, I am running an average of about 60km or 70km a week. I will build up to 110km in the months closer to Comrades,” says Stefan. He admits to getting frustrated when Guppy is sick or on holiday and can’t run with him. He then resorts to his treadmill and runs by holding on to the bars with one hand. “I am used to it. Believe it or not, but in seven years of treadmill running, I have not fallen once.”

Their dream of a Bill Rowan medal came true this year when they finished Comrades in 8:59:22. “I asked Guppy to tell me when we got to the 3km-to-go mark. He forgot! When I eventually asked if we were there yet, we were already at the 2km-to-go mark. That was a good feeling, but we had to move in the last kilometre. My wife was at the finish and it was such a special race!” A week before the race, Stefan had dedicated his 2009 Comrades to his wife. At that stage, there wasn’t a specific reason for it, says Stefan. Little did they know what was to follow a week after Comrades; Hanlie lost consciousness and was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. “Now I realise there was a reason for me running that race for my wife. We are trying to stay positive and see every day as a grace and a gift from God,” says Stefan.

Stefan has been her rock and has stood by her and supported her through her illness, says Hanlie. The Cancer Association of South Africa recently organised a fundraising night relay in Polokwane for cancer patients and in remembrance of everyone who has lost their lives to cancer. Stefan wore a special t-shirt with the words, ‘Stefan for Hanlie, in faith, hope and love’ and participated with all his colleagues. It was freezing cold and rained a bit yet Stefan and his running mate ran through the night. By 5:50 the next morning they had done 58km. “I could never ask for a better husband,” says Hanlie.

He tries to live as independently as possible. His guide dog, Ziba, goes with him everywhere. “Ziba must be one of the holiest dogs; he even goes to church with me.” Stefan believes in using all the new technology available to blind people. “I dislike pity and it makes me angry when people say, ‘oh shame.’ ” He finds his inspiration in his faith and through running, has raised money to buy bibles for primary school children in Polokwane. In 2007, he raised enough money to buy more than 600 books.

LOOKING AHEAD
According to Stefan, he wants to get his green number in Comrades and if it happens that he runs another ten Comrades after that, so be it. He also dreams of tackling a 100 miler soon. “I run to clear my head and to get rid of stress. In running, there are no social boundaries and everyone accepts each other. If only we could project these positive feelings amongst all runners in society; this country would be a better place.”

Through everything, he tries to stay positive. “I am blind and my wife has cancer. You read about these things and think it will never happen to you. It’s only human to wonder why it has happened to us. But we are living in faith and making the best of every day. We can’t stop living.”

AN INSPIRATIONAL FRIEND
Though he loves being Stefan’s guide, guiding might not be for everyone, says Guppy. You have to be dedicated; when you don’t feel like running you still have to because you need to consider the other person. You also have to be the type of person who likes to help other people.

Being a guide is not as difficult as it sounds. The most difficult part is motivating the other person when they become tired. Taking drinks from water tables is also no walk in the park. “Stefan runs on my right and most water tables are also to the right side. Sometimes people at water tables don’t look at Stefan and can’t understand why he is not taking water from them. I have to try and lean over and get drinks for both of us.”

Guppy initially started running with Stefan to help him out on a couple of runs, but they immediately got along so well that they are inseparable today. “If Stefan doesn’t run because he is sick, I usually also don’t feel like running. Sometimes I run on my own. It is nice because you can run to your own rhythm, but Stefan and I are lucky; we are equally strong.” Stefan is the most inspirational man he has ever met. “You will never hear Stefan utter negative things. He and his family have been through so much, yet he never complains. His faith is very important to him and has carried him through some hard times. Stefan is a true inspiration to me.”

SO HOW DOES GUIDE RUNNING WORK FOR ELITE-LEVEL ATHLETES?
A blind runner may choose to use an elbow lead, a tether or to run free and receive verbal instruction from the guide. Commonly, the blind runner is tethered to the guide runner, the tether tied loosely around the wrists or else knotted and held between the fingers in each runner’s hand. The ‘rules’ are that the tether should be non-stretch material of a specific length, and that the guide runner, if racing, should never cross the finish line before the blind runner, and should also never be seen to drag or propel the blind runner along.

WHAT ELSE IS IMPORTANT?
A guide runner must be faster or have the potential to be faster than the blind athlete. For this reason, many top blind sportswomen have male guide runners, as they usually have greater ability to run fast enough for elite level competition.

It helps if a guide runner is a similar height to the blind runner, as it is easier to match the stride pattern. Technique isn’t as important as the stride pattern and ability to keep pace.

 

A number of blind runners have participated in the Comrades Marathon (the following are stats of runners that the Comrades Marathon Association are aware of).

• Johnny Demas (in 2003 Johnny was awarded the Spirit of Comrades award. He has completed 21 Comrades)
  
• Renette Bloem (1)
  
• Louis Potgieter (13)
  
• Chris Stander (18)
  
• Christo Botha (8)
  
• Derek Carter (3)
  
• Jean-Claude Perronnet (1)
  
• Charlie Mcconnell (1)
  
• Carl de Campos (1)

Additional sources: www.disaboom.com

Together they have run nearly 350 marathons and 48 Comrades. One of them was part of a group of only 12 runners on the starting line of the very first Jackie Gibson Marathon in 1946. The other has logged nearly 90 000km in his 33 years of running. Amazingly, both of them are still running today. Allan Ferguson (88) and Des Robins (80) are two of the most well-known ‘mature’ runners on our roads.

I was fortunate enough to meet these two gentlemen. They are absolute characters in the true sense. Both were dressed to the nines for our meeting, Mr Fergie in his smart black blazer and Des in his favourite Comrades Green Number Club golf shirt. Listening to them speak about running makes you want to put your running shoes on and not only run but excel at it. Their passion for running and life is admirable.

They joined Modern Athlete for a trip down memory lane.

The little black book in his hands initially looks like any other notebook, but when Mr Fergie, as he is affectionately known by his friends and family, opens the book, a mind blowing history of running unfolds. He has logged each and every race he has ever run since the very first one more than sixty years ago. When he starts chatting about all the different races, it’s hard to keep up. His list includes, 50 Jackie Gibson Marathons, 32 Springs Striders (32km), 40 Milo Korkie Ultras (56km) and 60 Naval Hill 10km races, to name a few. The Naval Hill race has even been named after Mr Fergie; it is now officially called the Coca-Cola Allan Ferguson Round Naval Hill 4/10km. About 40 runners from Johannesburg Harriers Athletics Club (JHAC), of which Mr Fergie has been part all his life, recently ran with him when he completed his 60th consecutive Naval Hill race in Bloemfontein.

Mr Fergie has been running since his 20s and after his retirement, he travelled for a couple of months all over South Africa, running all the races he always wanted to. He has run 36 Comrades and in 1995, at the age of 73, he was the oldest competitor to finish the race that day in a time of 10:16, something a whole lot of 30-year-olds battle to do.

Mr Fergie’s contemporary, Des, is just as passionate about running and still plans to run the Comrades next year at the age of 80. If he succeeds, he will become the oldest competitor ever to finish this gruelling race. In 1989, at the age of 79, Wally Hayward finished the Comrades in a time of 10:58.

Des has an impressive resum? of his own. Though the logbook with all the races he has run was stolen from his car a while ago, he still remembers clearly what he has achieved. He has run a total of 89 ultras. The races that stand out include, City to City Marathon (28 runs), Two Oceans 56km (11 runs), RAC Tough One (26 runs) and Springs Striders (27 runs). Together, these two men are living legends; young at heart and still just as much in love with running today as all those years ago. 

HOW DID YOU START RUNNING?
Mr Fergie: I played rugby in the former Rhodesia. When we came to South Africa, I wanted to continue but the rugby players here were so big. I thought, “Bugger this Ferguson. They will kill you.” Then I met Arthur Hampton, a bloke I worked with. He introduced me to running. 
Des: I have been running for 33 years, I only started at the late age of 47, because all my life I mainly played tennis and golf. My son, Corrie, wanted to run a race called the TV Race and asked me to join him. When we got to the race, I met up with some old friends. In the months that followed, we started running together. They eventually stopped and I just carried on.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE FIRST RACE YOU RAN?
Mr Fergie: The JHAC hosted the first Jackie Gibson Marathon in 1946. It was the first marathon after the war. We were 18 runners on the starting line and I came sixth in a time of 2:59. Wally Hayward won the race that day.
Des: The TV race I ran with my son was held in 1977 and it was broadcast on TV; many people ran it just for that reason. The route was three laps of 8km.

THE NAVAL HILL RACE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ROAD RUNNING EVENTS IN THE COUNTRY. YOU HAVE RUN ALL 60. WHAT WAS THE FIRST ONE LIKE?
Mr Fergie: Before the start of the race, all the athletes gathered in a small room. The announcer called the names of the competitors one by one. You then ran past spectators down stairs to the start. We were about 20 competitors then. This year, there were more than 300 runners and after the run, I got a clock and a pen from the organisers.

WHAT WAS COMRADES LIKE IN EARLIER YEARS?
Mr Fergie: When you arrived at Comrades, you looked for your name and number on a huge board. You ticked it off and that was registration done! You were ready to run. There were no such a thing as exhibitions and goodie bags. And don’t think there were any water tables on the route. You drank water where you could find some, be it a garden or at a shop. Some competitors were lucky enough to have seconds helping them, but that did not always work well. I remember running up Inchanga when I saw my second for the first time in the whole race. He was riding on his scooter calling out, “Hey Fergie, I’m here!” And all I could say was, “Where the bloody hell have you been? I am 50km into the race and now you want to give me water!”
Des: Cars always got stuck behind each other because of seconding. The last time seconds were allowed was in 1980. I remember: a lot of competitors stopped halfway into the Comrades and had a big meal before carrying on running. In the old days, there were no physiotherapy stations like now. I think it was much harder to run Comrades then than now.

WHICH SHOES DID YOU RUN IN?
Mr Fergie and Des: Takkies!
Mr Fergie: For 27 years, I ran in Bata takkies. I even remember one guy running the Comrades in rugby boots.

WHO WERE YOUR GREATEST COMPETITORS?
Mr Fergie: Wally Hayward of course. I came second to Wally so many times. That man was built like a bronze god. Those bloody calves of his were enormous. I would run behind this guy and think ‘how does one compete against someone like this?’ Then there was a guy called Johan Coleman, an Afrikaans guy. My friend Arthur Hampton always told me how Johan was sitting next to the road buggered, but as soon as he saw Arthur passing, he would get up and suddenly start sprinting.

WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING PROGRAMME DID YOU FOLLOW THOSE DAYS?
Mr Fergie: I worked in Germiston and ran to work and back every day; it was about 20km. Later, I increased my distance. One of my longest training runs was a 60km run all the way to Vereeniging and back. I started the run with a bottle full of coke and ran all the way on my own. As I went along, I filled up my bottle with water from gardens and garages. The year (1973) I increased my distance, I ran my best Comrades (6:57). I believed in doing a lot of distance, so did Wally. He told me that on a Sunday he would start running at four in the morning and only finish at four in the afternoon.
Des: In those days, there weren’t specialised training methods and runners had to work a lot harder.

WHAT WERE THE ENTRY FEES, THE NUMBERS AT RACES AND MEDALS LIKE?
Mr Fergie: Comrades was never about the numbers. It was just another race. I remember one Comrades with only about 30 runners. In those days, the first six runners got a gold   medal. I have three gold medals; in 1948, I came sixth, in 1949, I came third and in 1952, I was fourth (He also has 12 silver and 21 bronze Comrades medals).
Des: It was a couple of rands to enter races and at the finish we got cloth badges. There was no prize money. Medals only came along in the early 80s. I used to sew all my badges onto a tracksuit but it got lost and I started collecting and framing them. Today, they are all displayed on a big wall in my house (Des has 12 Comrades bronze medals).

WHICH WAS THE HARDEST, BUT NICEST RACE YOU HAVE EVER RUN?
Mr Fergie: Jock of the Bushveld (in Mpumalanga) was one of the nicest runs. It was the poor man’s Two Oceans.
Des: The old Milo Korkie (from Pretoria to Johannesburg) was definitely the hardest run. It was 56km and there was a six hour cut off.

WHAT ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR RUNNING CAREER?
Mr Fergie: I ran the Comrades Marathon with my two sons, Graham (56) and Derek (54). My two grandsons, Allan Ziervogel and Gavin Yves, also ran with me on two separate occasions (In 1993, Mr Fergie ran with his grandson, Gavin and his son Derek. They finished in a time of 9:23. He also ran the race with Graham, Derek and his grandson, Allan. The Ferguson family created history. It was the first time three generations had run the Comrades together. He and his two sons have a massive total of 84 Comrades medals. Derek has 22 Comrades medals and Graham has 26 medals. It would be interesting to see if there is another family out there where all are still alive and have accumulated as many medals). 
Des: Running my tenth Comrades with my son was special. I am also proud of my best Comrades time of 9:36.

WHAT ARE SOME RACE TIMES YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
Mr Fergie: I ran a sub-three hour marathon when I was already over 60!
Des: My best time for a marathon, which is 3:23.

DOES YOUR FAMILY SUPPORT YOUR RUNNING CAREER?
Mr Fergie: My wife, Marion, passed away in 1999, but she was always there. I don’t know if I could have run so much if it wasn’t for her. These days, my sons take me to races with them.
Des: My wife, Shirley, has supported me all my life, through rain and shine. She used to go with me to every race, but because she battles with problem feet now, she can’t always make it these days. Running is a very healthy sport. Your family always knows where you are. It’s not like golf where you stay long after the last hole! You run from five to six in the morning and you’re done. Running is much healthier than golf.

WHAT TRAINING DO YOU DO THESE DAYS?
Mr Fergie: I run at least 5km every day. Sometimes I build up to 10km, depending on which races are coming up. I stay in an old age home and run on the grounds. I run a figure of eight route which is 1.2km long. I repeat it four times (Mr Fergie organised a race at the old age home a while ago and about 120 people took part; some were even pushed around the course in their wheelchairs! At the start of the race, Chariots of Fire played and there was even a little Polly’s Shorts on the route. He has also started a gym at the home and tries to do all his exercise on the grounds, mainly because it is safer. He got robbed about four years ago. Robbers pushed him down and stole his shoes while he was out running).
Des: I exercise every morning for half an hour. I do sit ups, push ups and exercises with light weights. On Thursday evenings, I run my club’s (Fit 2000) 4km time trial in Bedfordview and on weekends, I run 10km and 21km races in Pretoria and Johannesburg. If I want to run Comrades next year, I will soon have to start increasing my mileage!
(Both men say they have never had serious injuries, but these days they battle with breathing when running. It takes them a while before they manage to control their breathing).

DO YOU FOLLOW A HEALTHY EATING PLAN?
Mr Fergie: I only have a cup of coffee before a race and generally I try to eat healthy. I don’t drink alcohol. I used to drink a lot of beer in my day but ten years ago I said, “No more liquor for you old man. It’s not doing you any good.”
Des: I have a bowl of cereal before I run and try to stay away from junk food the other times. Every night I still enjoy my coke and whiskey.

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO NEW RUNNERS?
Mr Fergie: Build up slowly and get your mind used to distance. Don’t overdo it.
Des: The biggest mistake new runners make is trying to run every race faster than the previous one; when it doesn’t happen, they are disappointed. You have to know yourself and your abilities.

We decided to get Mr Fergie and Des together to do the one thing they love most – run! And so it happened. On a cool September morning, they met at the Clearwater Florida Flat One Race in Roodepoort on the West Rand. It was apparent how much these two men are loved on the road. On the way to the starting line of the 5km, Des was stopped by the ladies and got a big hug and kiss while Mr Fergie was recognised and greeted by more people than I can even remember. When the gun went off, they were on their way, passing a lot of people half their age. After the race, Des even told how he helped a lady push a pram up the hill! Fergie was very impressed with their time, 42 minutes! “I wanted to run 45 minutes but this old bugger pushed me,” he said. After the race, Mr Fergie sat down on the grass in the sun, patiently waiting for his two sons to finish the 10km and 21km races. Des was off to a coffee shop to socialise with friends, one of the perks of
running, he says.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Isn’t it great how remarkable and timeless our sport can be? Here are two gents who are the essence of Modern Athletes and they are in their 80s. I am sure all our readers will join me in saluting you for your achievements and we hope that we can stay on the road as long as you have. Well done gents, keep on running!

The subject of gender testing in sport is currently a hot topic and Modern Athlete asked an expert, Sports Physician Dr Gavin Shang, to give us some insight on the topic.

Caster Semenya is South Africa’s newest athletic sensation, having won gold in the 800m at the recent IAAF World Athletic Championships in Berlin. However, her remarkable achievements on the track have been overshadowed by questions surrounding her gender and possible physiological advantages she may have over her competitors. Many ‘informed’ politicians have advocated that she is indeed female and that a simple check for the ‘necessary parts’ would verify such statements. However, this is not as simple as it seems.

The questions and speculation from rival athletic bodies and competitors have only been fuelled by a released report, stating that her urine testosterone: epi-testosterone level was three times higher than normal for a female athlete. This is only one piece of information that may or may not be relevant once her entire case has been reviewed. Levels higher than 4:1 raise suspicion and further testing is then conducted.

The complex and in-depth analysis and evaluation process of gender verification or determination in sport requires a multidisciplinary approach involving geneticists, internal medicine specialists, gynaecologists, psychologists and endocrinologists; and even when a thorough investigation is complete, the answer is sometimes still in doubt.

This is not a new issue to the sporting community and has been brought up in the past when the eligibility of an athlete competing in an event, limited to a single gender, is questioned. This is usually only made relevant during elite international competitions. History shows us a number of occasions where male athletes have competed as females to win, or where natural inter-sex individuals have competed as females:

• German high jumper, Dora Ratjen, placed fourth at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and set a world record at the 1938 European Championships. She was actually a man, Hermann Ratjen, who was forced by the Nazis to disguise his gender.
  
• Polish 100m sprinter, Stanislawa Walasiewicz, won gold at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, but was runner up at the 1936 Olympics. She accused the American winner, Helen Stephens, of being male. Subsequent autopsies in the 1980s revealed that both athletes had ambiguous genitalia.
  
• Czechoslovakian athlete, Zdenka Koubkova and British athlete, Mary Edith Louise Weston, excelled in various events in the 1930s, but were both suspected of being male, although this was not proved. Both later had operations to change their gender.
  
• USSR athlete sisters, Tamara and Irina Press, won five Olympic track and field golds and set 26 world records in the 1960s. However, they never competed again after they failed to appear for gender testing in 1966.
  
• Polish sprinter, Ewa Klobukowska helped win gold in the 4x100m relay and won bronze in the 100m at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. In 1967, she became the first athlete to fail a gender test due to a rare XXY chromosomal condition. This did not give her any physiological advantage, but she was still banned from further international competition.
  
• Eight athletes initially failed the gender verification tests at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta; seven of the eight were attributed to Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS). The condition does not make the individual sensitive to the effects of testosterone. They were all subsequently cleared and reinstated.
  
• Indian 800m silver medalist, Santhi Soundarajan, at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, failed a gender verification test and was stripped of her medal.

HISTORY OF GENDER VERIFICATION
Gender verification in sports was requested shortly after the 1936 Olympics, following performances by some questionable individuals. However, ‘proper’ tests only began in 1966 at the European Athletic Championships where many Eastern European and Soviet female athletes were suspected of being male. The tests were only mandatory for females and involved improper nude parades for assessment of their external characteristics. However, many conditions exist that allow for ambiguous genitalia to be present and is thus not the easy answer for determining the gender of a suspected athlete.

The next logical step would be chromosomal testing, which conventionally reveals an XX female or an XY male. However, many problems can arise during the many stages of foetal development, which can allow for a myriad of conditions to occur due to chromosomal, gonadal or hormonal influences. These varied intersex conditions present with the genetic sex differing from the external appearance of the individual and with varying physiological functions. Thus, XX males and XY females can exist with ambiguous external genitalia, which makes their classification as male or female more difficult.

Hormonally, testosterone is 10 to 20 times more abundant in males than in females; and is naturally produced by both the male testes and the female ovaries as well as by the adrenal glands.

The androgenic effects account for the primary and secondary sex characteristics in males. In females, testosterone effects are subtle and are responsible for musculo-skeletal development and libido. It is suggested in the literature that testosterone is important for memory, attention and spatial ability.

ILLEGAL DOPING
Illegal doping continues in sport, and athletes and laboratories go to exceptional lengths in attempts to conceal such abuse from regulatory bodies. The anabolic effects account for the lower body fat mass, increased muscle mass and strength and increased bone density, which allows those athletes to have a physiological advantage over their competitors. Excessive prolonged use can have masculinizing effects of facial hair growth, decreased breast size, menstrual irregularities, male pattern baldness and a deepened voice. One famous athlete who used testosterone for doping purposes and developed male characteristics was Heidi Kriegler, who later became Andreas Kriegler after retirement.

In 1996, Mary Decker-Slaney, world champion long-distance runner in the early 80s (infamously involved in a collision with South Africa’s Zola Budd at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles), had a urine testosterone:epi-testosterone level that was much higher than the 6:1 ratio allowed by the IAAF. She argued that females in their 30s and 40s on birth control medication could have higher than normal levels. The case eventually went to arbitration and still remains controversial.

Raised levels of testosterone can thus be due to many sources both exogenous and endogenous. Levels can vary widely amongst individuals and a higher than normal level does not always equate to a failed drug test. This makes possible infractions difficult to detect. If an athlete has raised levels, that individual is monitored at regular intervals to establish their normal levels and these are used as a marker for any future suspicious elevations.

Raised levels can be caused by doping or a number of disorders:

• hormonal imbalances;
  
• adrenal gland disorders;
  
• polycystic ovarian syndrome;
  
• testosterone producing neoplasms;
  
• medication;
  
• enzyme deficiency disorders (5-alpha reductase deficiency);
  
• AIS amongst others. The IAAF allows athletes with AIS to participate as females, despite their being genetically male, highlighting how simple genetic analysis alone does not suffice.

A SENSITIVE ISSUE
The process of gender testing has many variables and unfortunately in high profile cases, is played out in front of a world audience. It has been termed socially insensitive, humiliating and discriminatory towards females and individuals with disorders of sexual development. The far-reaching psychological consequences and social stigma for those who fail such tests are other issues all on their own. These are not new concerns; and much scrutiny and debate led to the IAAF ceasing compulsory gender testing on athletes in 1992, but it retained the option of assessing gender should suspicions arise or if challenged.

In 1996, IOC World Conference of Women and Health passed a resolution to discontinue the process of gender verification during the Olympics, and the IOC officially ended compulsory gender testing in 1999.

In the end there are no winners in this difficult matter, not to the sport or to the competitors and most importantly not to the individual at the centre of it all. Gender testing has a place in the sporting world to ensure fair competition for the athletes, but it should be handled more sensitively than it has been. All we can do is wait for the complicated process to be completed and for all the variables to be considered before jumping to conclusions.

 

Dietician, Christine Peters, shares some secrets about how PROTEIN affects our diet!

Proteins are made up of amino acids, the building blocks of all tissues in our body. As well as being essential for growth and repair of body tissue, they are used to make hormones, enzymes, antibodies and neurotransmitters, and help transport substances around the body. Both the quality of the proteins you eat (determined by the balance of these amino acids) and the quantities of proteins you eat are important.

Generally, it is recommended that protein make up 15% of our total energy intake, but we are often not given enough guidance to the quality of protein. For example, the average baby only receives about 1% of its total energy intake as protein and manages to double its birth weight in six months. This is because the quality of protein is good and easily absorbed. Assuming that you actually take in 15% protein daily, 10% should be good quality (about 35g). This is an optimal intake for most adults, unless pregnant, breastfeeding, recovering from surgery or undertaking large amounts of exercise or heavy manual work. For us runners, the amount and quality of our protein intake is vital in ensuring we stay fit, healthy and strong.

PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS AND ENDURANCE EXERCISE
The amount of protein you need increases or decreases when exercising, according to the amount needed to fuel muscles, and the amount needed to account for any extra muscle that is laid down. As an athlete generally consumes more calories, this extra protein needed during endurance sports is generally covered, so there is no need for athletes to supplement with powders and supplements.

Most athletes’ total protein needs are met with 1g protein per kilogram of body-weight e.g. 60g for a 60kg athlete. However, if an athlete’s daily training sessions are lengthy and intense (burning up a significant amount of their protein fuel), they will require an increased protein intake. The protein requirements of different athletes are summed up in this table:

General sports activity	1g of protein per kg body weight
Endurance training athletes (aim for high end of range for very strenuous and prolonged activity)	1.2g to 1.6g of protein for every kg you weigh
Adolescents and growing athletes	2g of protein for every kg you weigh
Pregnant athletes	Extra 10g of protein per day in trimesters two and three
Breastfeeding athletes	Extra 20g of protein per day

Most South African diets cover these recommendations (12% to 15% total energy intake as protein) however, low-energy consumers may find that 15% to 20% of their total energy budget is needed as protein. For example, people who are watching their weight and are only eating limited amounts, may need to consume a slightly bigger percentage of their total intake as protein.

PROTEIN MYTHS
In the sporting world, many people tend to think that consuming large amounts of protein will lead to bigger muscles and enhanced muscle function. However, any excess protein that is not used is broken down and its waste products are excreted via the kidneys in urine. This means that a high protein diet will put strain on the kidneys and can even leech calcium off your bones, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. In fact, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that massive amounts of protein in any form are advantageous to athletes. Also, concentrated amounts of amino acid solutions found in protein can cause cramping and diarrhoea due to the large amounts of water that are drawn into the intestines.

GOOD PROTEIN, BAD PROTEIN
Protein choices should always be made with other nutritional goals in mind. Animal proteins supply the body with essential amino acids which are easily absorbed, as well as other nutrients such as calcium (dairy products) and iron (meat and shellfish). But, many animal proteins are also naturally high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The best choice is to choose proteins with a low fat content, such as low fat or fat free milk, chicken without skin, lean beef or boiled eggs. Vegetable proteins, on the other end of the scale, tend to be high in carbohydrates, such as is found in soya products like soya sausages, cutlets, burgers.

Complete Versus Incomplete Proteins
Some foods provide a good balance of essential amino acids and are generally regarded as superior sources of protein. Generally, animal proteins are seen as more ‘complete’ in terms of their amino acids, than vegetable proteins. But, people who don’t eat many animal proteins can obtain essential amino acids from a variety of plant foods such as vegetables, fruit and grains. Grains, nuts and legumes are great sources of plant protein but they all lack a different essential amino acid. When these complementary proteins are eaten together, all the essential amino acids can be obtained from them. Not sure how to combine these? Try rice and beans, rice and peas, peanuts or peanut butter and bread, or samp and beans.

YOU DON’T EAT MEAT?
There are a lot of concerns surrounding vegetarians and vegans. Vegans have to make a concerted effort to eat sufficient amounts of high quality protein and are at risk of having insufficient amounts of calcium, iron and vitamin B12. It is recommended that true vegetarians consult a dietician to ensure they get a good balance of essential nutrients. Lacto-vegetarians (dairy consuming vegetarians) and ovolacto-vegetarians (egg and dairy consuming vegetarians) can easily meet the recommended intakes of these ‘lacking’ nutrients.

PROTEIN, PROTEIN EVERYWHERE
This table can be used a guideline to help you assess which proteins will help you meet your daily nutritional requirements.

Protein-Rich Foods
The following foods have approximately 10g protein:

Low-fat animal proteins

• Grilled fish (50g cooked weight)
  
• Tuna, salmon or pilchards (50g)
  
• Lean beef or lamb (35g cooked weight)
  
• Turkey or chicken (40g cooked weight)
  
• Game biltong (15g)
  
• Lean beef biltong (25g)
  
• Eggs (2 small)
  
• Cottage cheese (70g)
  
• Reduced fat cheese (30g)
  
• Low fat yoghurt (200g carton)
  
• Low fat milk (300ml)
  
• Liquid meal supplements (150ml)

Vegetable proteins

• Wholewheat bread (4 slices)
  
• All bran flakes (2 cups)
  
• Cooked pasta (1 ? cups)
  
• Cooked brown rice (3 cups)
  
• Cooked lentils (2/3 cup)
  
• Baked beans (4/5 cup)
  
• Cooked soya beans (? cup)
  
• Nuts (50g)
  
• Raw tofu (120g)
  
• Peanut butter (3 tablespoons)

Source: Langenhoven M, Kruger M, Grouws E, Faber M. MRC Food composition Tables, 3rd Edition. Parow: Medical Research Council. 1991.

References:

• The South African Fat & Protein Guide by Prof Nola Dippenaar & Liesbet Delport (RD) SA.
  
• The Complete South African Guild to Sports Nutrition by Louise Burke.