Category: Features

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.
  

 

Most sportspeople are willing to try anything new, be it different training sessions, learning how to meditate or starting a whole new eating programme as long as they improve and achieve the results they crave. Trevor Toerien, a runner from Boksburg, has done exactly that. Through revolutionising his diet, Trevor believes he has transformed his sporting career, and achieved running times he would never have done otherwise. An added bonus: his arthritis has since disappeared. Modern Athlete chatted to Trevor on his conscious health choices in order to live a longer, healthier life and run stronger.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
The first thing that catches your eye when you walk into the pretty kitchen of a house in Germiston on the East Rand, is the luscious green wheatgrass in trays on the counter. Very close to those lie more trays, showcasing sprouts bursting with goodness. You immediately feel guilty about the scone you had for breakfast. And when you open one of the kitchen cupboards, you find rows and rows of imported and local vitamins, minerals and other supplements. With an experienced hand, Trevor cuts the wheatgrass, pops it into the blender and within minutes he whips up a wheatgrass shot, which is equivalent to about 1kg of fresh garden vegetables in nutritional value, something he has twice a day. While many of us wake up to toast and coffee or good old fashioned cereal, Trevor grinds a mixture of seeds into a powder which he has with water. He washes it down with a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, which is known to alkalize the body. And that is breakfast done for Trevor Toerien.

“I will eat anything as long as it is nutritious. I don’t care what it tastes like. Wheatgrass is an acquired taste. It does taste a bit like cut grass, but I enjoy it. If I know something is good for me, I will have it,” says Trevor, who has just won the gruelling 52km Rhodes Ultra Marathon in a time of 4:30:50. Trevor’s winning margin of 20:26 was the fourth biggest in the 21 year history of the race. He also finished fifth overall (and first Veteran) in the recent Donkey’s Pass 24km Mountain Challenge just outside Newcastle. And to top it all off, he blitzed to second place in the Veteran’s Category of the Central Gauteng Athletics Cross Country Championships held in August in an unofficial time of 26:31.

For this 43-year-old runner, living and eating healthily has become a way of life. “Initially, my friends thought I was obsessive, but once they got to know what I eat and why, they realised there is nothing weird about it.” Amongst his friends and fellow Boksburg runners, Trevor has become known for his somewhat different way of doing things, such as the time earlier this year when he took 18 bags to a Comrades training camp. He made sure he had everything from the wheatgrass to a blender to an ozone therapy machine. He uses this machine from time to time as he feels it improves circulation, relaxes blood vessels and helps to release more oxygen at tissue level. He also packed two kettlebells, a functional movement training tool, weighing 24kg each. “I must admit, it takes me very long to pack. My wife had to transport my bags with a bakkie to the bus we were travelling in. My club mates know me by now. They just laugh and say if I can run a 6:20 Comrades, they don’t care how many bags I take with. Trevor has conquered nine Comrades Marathons and ran a personal best of 6:20:34 this year, earning him his fifth silver medal.

A CHANGE OF LIFE
Trevor has suffered from arthritis since the age of eight. His aunt died from health complications as a result of arthritis and as a teenager Trevor realised that if he wasn’t careful, the same could happen to him. At the age of 21, he became a vegetarian. “It helped me to manage the pain a bit, but it didn’t take the arthritis away.” Trevor started running for Germiston Callies Harriers when he was 31 and within a year, he signed up for his first Comrades (2000). He finished in a time of 9:19. “I thought I was only going to do one. But then everyone said you have to do one up and one down run. And once that happens you just want to do more.” And that’s exactly what he did. He trained hard and longed for a silver medal in his third Comrades in 2002. “Unfortunately, I was overconfident and I went out there just expecting it to happen. I did not respect the race. I landed up running 8:03. I was so disappointed. Something like that really brings you back to earth and gets you off your high horse. It made me respect Comrades, but I was so bitterly disappointed that I took a year off running. I did not do anything and thought I would never run again.” A year later, while watching the Comrades on TV, things changed and the running bug bit again.

“While watching, I realised I should be running there. I got inspired again and slowly started training.” Trevor claimed his silver medal the next year (2004) finishing in 7:25. In 2005, he missed a second silver, finishing in 7:33. That was when he started suspecting something was missing in either his training or diet. “I thought, why am I struggling so much with my running? I realised my training was spot on and I started looking at my diet.” After doing a lot of research on health matters and soya products specifically, he decided to revert back to eating meat as a lot of soya products are genetically modified. He gradually became increasingly interested in all aspects of health and started importing a range of colloidal minerals from the USA. “These minerals contain everything your body needs and because they are in a liquid form, they get absorbed into your bloodstream quickly. I believe it has helped me a lot in terms of energy and endurance.”

Trevor started growing his own wheatgrass and sprouts in his kitchen as well as vegetables in his garden. He finds wheatgrass especially beneficial as it is known for its alkalizing qualities. It also contains a great deal of enzymes that serve as antioxidants. For lunch, Trevor digs into a bowl of sprouts and salad. Dinner time, it’s more sprouts with either grilled fish or chicken. He also eats a South American grain called quinoa, which is tasty and high in protein. He doesn’t eat any potatoes, bread or rice. “Some people walk into my kitchen and comment that it looks like a farm, but I believe living this way basically guarantees you a disease-free life. I know for sure it has helped my running tremendously. I don’t think I am a talented runner. I think my improved ability has a lot to do with my changed diet.” In a restaurant, he usually orders grilled fish. “I don’t like any sauces on my food. Just give me the food the way it was supposed to be, with no additives,” says Trevor.

LIVING LIFE
Yes, he has a life and he does have junk food once in a while! “After the Donkey’s Pass race, we had dinner with friends and I had two glasses of red wine and game. I enjoyed it, but while driving back the next day, I could already feel the effect it had on my body. At home, I went on a bit of a detox and I was fine.” For Trevor, eating healthily has become a lifestyle which he has adapted to and enjoys, especially the benefits he reaps from it. For the last couple of years, he has not suffered from the pain that goes with arthritis. “Of course I get sick, but to me it is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s your body’s way of getting rid of toxins. I just try and dose myself with natural supplements. I have not been to a doctor in thirty years or taken any medication. I don’t want to give away my powers to doctors. I respect them and they serve a valuable purpose, but I feel I can heal my body better the way I know how. I do visit a homeopath from time to time. You can take control of your own health; it’s just a matter of believing it.”

Trevor’s wife, Gaynor, and two sons, Evan (13) and Jody (8), don’t eat the same meals as him. They do have some sprouts and salads, but Gaynor prepares a different meal for her and the boys. “I’m very fortunate that my wife helps me to prepare my food. I have my family’s support and without my wife helping me it would be very difficult to stick to my eating plan. I give my boys some supplements, but it’s up to them to change their eating habits if they want to. Change must come from them and they should not be forced into it,” says Trevor.

TRAINING AND RACES
Trevor mixes up his training with speed work, hills, cross country runs and long distance. In the months building up to Comrades, he runs about 12km some mornings. These runs include two so-called ‘hot spots’, where he runs flat out for 1km and then eases off. Track training on Tuesdays consists of about ten 400m sessions and once a week he does a time trial. Thursdays are reserved for long hilly runs followed by a long club run or race on the weekends. “I do anything between 100km and 120km a week, but in peak training weeks just before Comrades, I run over 200km a week. I usually join my club on a Comrades training camp where we train on the Comrades route. Then I run 40km a day for four days. I love it. It is so inspiring and a great confidence booster.” Trevor includes strength training in his exercise regime and trains mornings and nights with two kettlebells, which he feels have strengthened his legs, upper body and core area.
 
He finds the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon to be a tough race as it usually forms part of his build up to Comrades and he is not very fit at that time. He remembers one particular Two Oceans where he sat at the side of the road feeling as if he was going to die. “I didn’t train well that year and thought I could run on memory. I didn’t bail, which was good. I did bail once in my life and that was at the RAC Tough One.” Trevor ran this Randburg race shortly after his one year lay off from running. “I wasn’t used to the distance and gave up at about 28km. I got into a car and was later devastated that I bailed.” His favourite race is the Rhodes Ultra Marathon, which he has run four times and won twice. “It is a beautiful race. I’m not the sort of guy who will win any road races, but to win a trail run like that was special.”

He has a competitive spirit and loves to give his all. “I always measure myself and say, ‘Well, if you did that, what else could you do?’ In every race and training session I like to run on the edge and push myself.”

GOALS AND DREAMS
Trevor would love to run even faster, but for that to happen, he feels he will have to follow an even stricter diet and train harder. “My dream is to run a sub six hour Comrades, but I’m not getting any younger. It gets harder the older you get. I’m going to run one more Comrades next year. Then I will have done ten. After that I would like to concentrate on Two Oceans.” He believes wholeheartedly in his healthy way of living, but is very cautious of telling other runners what to do. “I would rather live by example and if others see it works for me and they want advice, I am willing to share my story.”

Trevor has one ultimate dream, “To run Comrades at the age of 100. I want to be the oldest finisher of Comrades.”

FAST FACTS

Not being able to run makes me feel… As if something is missing. It’s almost like a drug.
I run because… It helps me in everyday life and in my business. It’s like a form of meditation. While you run you can think about things and let go of a lot of other things.
I like long distance running because… It builds character.
Hardest run ever: Cross country Championships – Witbank
Words to live by: Never give up.
Words of advice: If you work hard, you will achieve. It’s not about wishing for it, it’s about going after it.
Running mentor: Frank Da Ascencao.

The tall, muscular figure running into Durban’s Sahara Kingsmead Stadium almost gets lost amongst all the other shapes and sizes, but there is something about the look on this man’s face and the way he beats his chest that makes you look twice. Sibusiso Buthelezi, a runner from Johannesburg Harriers Athletic Club, is not only finishing his very first Comrades Marathon, he is also proving that determination can make you realise your dreams. Who would have guessed that merely two years ago, this man was 50kg heavier, weighing in at an astounding 143kg? This is the story of one man’s transformation from ‘fat boy’ to Bill Rowan medallist.

NEW BEGINNINGS
It is 3:30 in the morning. Sibu, as he is known to his friends, is suddenly wide awake and lies silently in the dark. That’s when he decides he has had enough of his big body. Today is the day to start running. He gets up and fumbles in the dark to find his shoes. He can’t even remember when last he had them on. Sibu then reaches for his size 48 tracksuit pants and shirt. A couple of minutes later, he breathes the cool morning air, silently welcoming the darkness, knowing that at this hour no one can see his 143kg frame trying to exercise. He knows a 4km route close to his house in the south of Johannesburg and approaches it with a walking/running attitude.

That was 7 August 2007, a day Sibu will never forget because it changed his life forever. “That day, I ran from one lamppost to the next and then I walked from the following lamppost to another. It took me 50 minutes to finish 4km. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and sore, but within me there was a lot of excitement. It was me against the world. I did not want to share my plans with anyone because I have disappointed them too many times before,” says Sibu.

Up until then, he had lived a life of too many cigarettes, beers shared with friends while watching sport on television, eating oversized portions and sometimes even eating two meals for lunch in the canteen at work. Though he was not chubby at school, he was also not the fittest boy in class either. While studying for his BCom Accounting degree, his weight fluctuated constantly and when he started working as Head of Operational Risk at African Bank in 2004, his weight problems reached an all time high.

“I am very outgoing and love spending time with my friends, many of whom I have known since school days. I am always surrounded by people and to me a good time means sitting and chatting with friends. Unfortunately, that is also how it all went wrong. We used to drink a few beers and while drinking you end up eating more and more,” says Sibu.

WEIGHTY MATTERS
Sibu has a big frame and boxed at school and university because his father was a professional boxer. He also tried a bit of weight training, but time and again, he would fall off the wagon and go back to his old ways of no exercise. “I had moments where I was trying to be fit and health conscious. But sometimes I trained so much that when I lost interest, I did so completely. I didn’t even want to drive past a gym because it made me feel guilty. It wasn’t a happy life. My weight was forever fluctuating,” says Sibu.

He started gaining so much weight that he had to buy size 48 pants. “Every time I bought clothes, I had to buy one size bigger. It was horrible. I don’t have to wear a suit to work, but I still like to dress nicely. Unfortunately, my size kept me from doing so. I bought clothes that would fit instead of clothes that I liked. The belt of my pants just made the last hole.” His usual cheerful attitude towards life started changing. “I became nasty and spiteful because I thought the world was unfair towards me.”

Every time he saw his friends, they would comment on his increasing size. Sibu tried to down play it and often joked along. “A lot of my friends said I looked more like a taxi driver than a man who worked in an office. Inside, I felt bad but I tried not to show how much it bothered me. The funny thing was it didn’t make me eat less. The only other time I felt guilty was when I bought clothes.” At work, he struggled to climb two flights of stairs and by the time he reached the top, he was drenched in sweat. But Sibu kept on eating and drinking, anything from pizza to beer. Eating became a habit, it became synonymous with socialising. But after his first run on 7 August 2007, Sibusiso’s life started changing.

CHANGE AND DETERMINATION
He started running every day and also changed his eating habits. “I started taking a lunchbox to work, filled with a sandwich, fruit and salad.” Initially, he did not make any drastic changes as he was scared he would be put off by bland diet food and not stick to his new programme. He slowly introduced dietary changes such as no longer buying snacks at the vending machine, but rather nibbling on fruit and dried fruit. He no longer ate at the work canteen and changed to eating low fat products. “I just made small changes, for instance I still had a bit of mayonnaise on my sandwich, but it was the low fat version.” He cut out red meat and only had chicken once a week. He mainly ate fish and vegetables or stir fry for supper. “By then my wife (Lizzy) realised it was not just another one of my whims and she supported me. She got my running clothes ready in the morning and prepared all my food,” says Sibu, who also added a weight training routine in the evening to his exercise programme.

By September 2007, he was running 8km, though he still started at 3:30 for fear of people seeing him and making fun of him. “I remember the security guards laughing at me when I ran. At work, a lot of people doubted me and said I would never last. In my mind, I created an imaginary book called my humble pie book. Every time someone laughed at me, I would write his name in my humble pie book. The names in that book increased every day,” says Sibu.

Initially, he didn’t weigh himself. “I was so scared because I wasn’t even sure I could maintain it, but I could feel I was losing weight. My belt was now in the third hole.” Only six weeks into his new programme, he worked up enough guts to get on the scale. He still weighed a hefty 136kg, but was 7kg lighter than before.

Sibu kept on running, alternating between 8km and 10km runs. He eventually confided in a friend, Meetash Patel, about his desire to tackle a running race. In November 2007, Sibu, weighing 107kg, and Meetash ran the Soweto 10km in an hour. “It was my first race ever. I enjoyed it so much and just wanted to do more,” says Sibu, who was still not running in proper running shoes. He describes his shoes as a pair of takkies he bought over the counter a couple of years earlier. They were so old, he kept the front parts together with tape.

REAL RUNNER
In February last year, Sibu ran his first 21.1km at the Deloitte Pretoria Half Marathon. “My time was 2:07 and for the first time I was not embarrassed to run. I was a man on a mission.” He completed a couple more half marathons before a friend at gym, Zola Mafeje, convinced him to join Johannesburg Harriers Athletic Club. Sibu’s goal was to run the Soweto Marathon and by the time he ran it in November last year, he had already slimmed down to 97kg. His first marathon was no walk in the park and the words ‘hitting the wall’ soon became a reality. “Things went well up to the 36km mark, but then my body suddenly just came to a stop. I had to walk and even that was too much of an effort. My feet hurt and I had blisters. I eventually finished the race in 4:18. That’s when I realised I also needed proper running shoes.”

By then Sibu’s humble pie book was nearly empty. “People congratulated me on my weight loss. It inspired me because I had the weight of an audience on my shoulders. I did not want to disappoint them.” In February this year, he ran the Dischem Half Marathon in Bedfordview in a time of 1:43. A couple of days later while running in Meyersdal, a suburb south of Johannesburg, he met up with a group of runners who meet every morning at 5:00 at the Virgin Active gym. “They saw me running and said I should join them. The next morning I was there. It was so nice. For the first time, I ran with people who knew different routes. Some of the runners were faster than me, all were more experienced and they talked about running all the time. It changed my life and my running improved so much. Everyone just accepted me. At first we just spoke about running, but later we shared other things too,” says Sibu.

He never really gave Comrades much thought but after a couple of weeks running with his newfound friends, it slowly started becoming a dream. “Every time I ran with my new group, every second sentence had to do with Comrades. That’s when I decided to tackle it.” By then Sibu weighed 92kg, ideal for his frame and height.

He qualified for Comrades in a time of 3:39 at his second 42.2km ever, the Cape Gate Vaal Marathon. Shortly afterwards, he ran his first ultra marathon, Om die Dam, which he describes as a learning curve. The race made him realise he is an impatient runner who starts fast but fades in the latter part of the race. “After Om die Dam, I ran the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon and also had to negotiate the last few kilometres. I thought that was the way it was going to be at Comrades; run faster in the first half and negotiate the second half. I had a finishing time in my mind but never said it out loud. My goal was to finish in the single digits. 9:59:59 would have been perfect!”

A LIFE CHANGING DAY
He felt prepared, but also very nervous on Comrades day. “People always say you feel emotional after Comrades, but for me it was the other way around. I was very emotional at the start. There were so many people around me, but I felt so lonely. I looked left and right and it seemed as if everyone around me knew exactly what they were doing, except me. I was scared I would not finish and disappoint myself as well as my family and friends who were there to support me,” says Sibu.

He saw the sub-nine hour bus at the start and decided he just needed to stay ahead of it. At the 30km mark he joined a smaller group of runners and did everything they did. “I had no idea what I was doing so I thought I might as well join them. I was like a student. When they walked, I walked and when they ran I ran.” Just after the halfway mark, the sub-nine hour bus passed them and Sibu decided to take a chance and join them. “There are so many things about Comrades that I don’t even remember because I was too emotionally involved in that race.”

At about the 70km mark, Sibu’s energy was low and he started thinking of falling back, but at that moment he heard someone screaming his name. It was his wife and two boys, Njabulo (6) and Vukani (3), joined by friends cheering him on. “No one will ever know how much energy that gave me. I didn’t pull back and hung on to the bus.”

Shortly afterwards, he ran past a feeding station with speakers announcing the tenth lady, Kashmira Parbhoo, had just made her way into the stadium. Kashmira is one of Sibu’s running friends, with whom he trains in the mornings. “When I heard Kashmira’s name, I thought, it looks like this is our day! And as we started getting closer to the stadium, I realised that a sub-nine hour was on the cards for me. It was the most amazing feeling. When I ran into the stadium, I saw my family and I beat my chest for my boys. That day was so emotional not only because I finished the race, but because I realised I had come a long way. For the first time, I saw myself as a runner.”

OVERCOMING HARD TIMES
When one speaks to Sibu’s friends you quickly realise how much he is loved and respected, not only for his sheer determination to lose so much weight, but also because of the many hardships he has endured in life.

At the age of 4, he was kidnapped in Soweto where he grew up, but as his kidnappers fled with him in their car, they were involved in a car accident and Sibu was rescued. In later life, he was involved in a serious car accident and landed in hospital with a blood clot in his brain. He could not read, write and had no feeling in his arm and one part of his face. “Doctors thought it could also be a brain tumour that I had before the accident. They wanted to operate, but I refused and started seeing a homeopath. A couple of months later it was gone,” says Sibu.

LOOKING AHEAD 
He believes running has brought him closer to his family. “In the past, I would get home late and not see my kids before they went to bed. Now I can account for my time and I make sure I spend quality time with them. My family also comes with me to races. Races have become a family outing for us. We wake the kids and they dress up. On the way to the race, my wife plays my favourite music by Tracy Chapman. My family is proud of me and my eldest boy has also started running a little bit now.”

Sibu could never go back to his old ways. He looks forward to his morning runs and enjoys his healthy way of living. He is inspired by people from his running group, especially Cindy Beeming and her husband, Arthur, with whom he has a special bond. “They are just such inspiring people with an amazing ability to make everyone around them happy and feel good about themselves,” says Sibu.

He loves running because it is an undiscriminating sport. “All shapes and sizes run. There is no such a thing as this one has a R10 000 bike and that one has a R3 000 bike. Runners are all equal in those long kilometres on the road. It’s just you, your running shoes and your fellow runners around you.”

Sibu would like to run many more Comrades and one day maybe even compete in an Iron Man. “God has given me a lot of chances in life. I have learnt how to live my life in the right way. This is one chance I am not going to mess up.”

Few of us ever reach the age of 100. In fact, most folks can’t even imagine making it to 90, and if they do, the last thing on their minds would be exercise. The next time you feel old and ready to hang up your sweat towel, you may want to consider a 99-year-old Australian great-grandmother called Ruth Frith, the oldest competitor in the upcoming Sydney 2009 World Masters Games.

Ruth trains six times a week and believes that everybody has to try their best. To this golden girl, it’s not about winning events, but about being brave enough to enter and compete, no matter what your age. This is the inspirational story of a granny to whom age is just a number. Modern Athlete spoke to Ruth, hoping to learn some of her secrets to staying healthy and young at heart.

She was always on the sidelines of the athletics field, a proud mother watching and encouraging her daughter to compete. While watching, athletes she had known for many years would dump their sport bags at her side, and she would be the designated guard, keeping an eye on the bags while they competed. Until one day. Ruth, then 74, had had enough. “If they can do it, I can too,” she told herself. That was in 1983, the start of Ruth’s long and glorious athletics career. Today she is the holder of five world records in the women’s 95-99 age category, that is, in the discus throw (9.85m), hammer throw (11.37m), shot put (4.72m), weight throw (5.11m) and weight pentathlon (5 544 points).

This Brisbane great-grandmother, who will turn 100 on 23 August, represents the Gold Coast Masters Athletics Club in competitions all over Australia. She has become the first centenarian to sign up for the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games, the world’s largest multi-sport event. This event is open to sportspeople of all abilities and most ages; anyone can compete as long as they satisfy their sports’ minimum age, which ranges between 25 and 35. The Games, held between 10 and 18 October, will see 25 000 people from more than 100 countries compete in 28 sports at more than 70 venues throughout Sydney, including many Olympic sites.

Ruth, who has been competing in Masters Athletics for 25 years, says she couldn’t wait to sign up for the Games. Turning 100 soon is no big deal to this proud grandmother of six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great, great-grandchildren. “To me, birthdays are all the same. I have never looked at it thinking that I’m getting old. It’s just another year gone by.” She is certainly not like any centenarian we could have imagined. Her voice is clear and her sense of humour is as sharp as that of a 30-year-old. She enjoys telling how she was charmed by South Africa on her visits in 1992 and 1997, and how much she loves the country.

She has outlived her husband, Raymond, who made it to the ripe old age of 97. The couple lived in Sydney, but when Raymond passed away after kidney failure, Ruth moved to Brisbane to live with her daughter and coach, Helen Searle. Her mother’s love of sport must be genetic, because 68-year-old Helen is also a world record-breaking athlete. She competed at the 1960 Rome Olympics and in 1964 in Tokyo. She won a bronze medal in high jump at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff and a silver in high jump and long jump at the same Games held in 1962 in Perth. Mom and daughter will both compete at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games.

Ruth, an athletics official at the shot put and discus events from 1960 to 2001, says that everyone is born with a gift of some sort. Her father was a good runner and she believes his gift was passed on to her. As a 10-year-old girl, she ran everywhere. She has participated in some sort of exercise throughout her life. She wanted to be a doctor, but unfortunately mathematics at school wasn’t her strongest subject. She eventually worked in admin in a solicitor’s office until she got married.

“I don’t think I have secrets to staying young. I am just blessed with good health. I don’t believe in diets and all that nonsense, because if you exercise, you don’t need to diet. Surprisingly, I don’t eat vegetables and potatoes, but I do like fruit.” She says she has a sweet tooth, but gets tired of all the chocolates she receives. “People don’t know what to give a 99-year-old, so I always end up with chocolates. I got nine boxes of chocolates last Christmas. I didn’t know what to do with them. My favourite treat is sponge cake with plenty of cream.” She loves cooking and gardening, but finds it difficult because her eyes are degenerating, leaving her half blind. When she competes, it’s in a category for athletes who can see a metre away. This has not kept her from giving it her all. “You put up with what you have. I have lived 99 years with red hair and freckles, and if you can do that, you can live with anything.”

Ruth trains six times a week. On three of those days, she will train 90 minutes per day in shot put, hammer throw and the other events she competes in. On the other three days, she starts off her training by cycling on a stationary bike for ten minutes and then does light weights in her sunroom.

Ruth’s life motto is to stay true to herself. She believes if you can’t do that, you can’t be true to anybody else. She loves athletics and wherever she goes, she motivates people to go out there and try. “Just the other day, I said to a lot of elderly people that even if you have grey hair and creaky knees, it shouldn’t stop you from exercising. Nobody is expecting you to be an Olympian, just do your best. I know for certain even if you are beaten, the sun will rise the next day. There is no disgrace in being second.” Ruth competes in tracksuit pants or shorts and wears her club vest proudly. But there was a time when she didn’t like wearing shorts. “Women didn’t even wear slacks in those days and most officials were men, so to go out there in a pair of shorts was like not wearing clothes at all.”

“I love training. I have always said that the day I don’t want to train, will be the day I give it up. I will be lost without sport in my life. If it gets taken away from me, it will be like taking my life away.” She’s looking forward to the Games, especially her favourite event which is hammer throw. One thing is certain: Ruth Frith is guaranteed to break records. “Whatever I do at the age of 100 will be a record. My goal is just to go out there and do the best I can.”

Extra sources: www.2009worldmasters.com

Name any South African city, Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and many of us can claim to have finished numerous races there, received another medal and added the umpteenth t-shirt to our already overflowing collection. Been there done that, we sometimes boast. One thing not many of us can say is that we have run seven marathons on seven continents, experienced penguins sitting on our laps and allowed a big burly Russian to scrub our shoes on board a boat in the Antarctica. Modern Athlete spoke to Dimitri Kavallineas about his Seven Continents journey – and starting it all over again.

STARTING OUT
It started out with holidays in faraway places and ended in the southernmost part of the world. As a runner with ten Comrades and 12 Two Oceans Marathons under his belt, Dimitri and his long time buddy, Charles Stewart, are always looking for a race to run while on holiday. They happily refer to themselves as ‘running tourists’.

After finishing the Boston Marathon in North America, the Athens Classic Marathon in Europe and the Buenos Aires Marathon in South America, Dimitri, a self-confessed running addict, realised a marathon on each continent was within his reach, and that one day, he could belong to the elite Seven Continents Club. And so the pilgrimage started. Dimitri and Charles were off to Australia in 2006 to run the Sydney Marathon, followed by the Beijing International Marathon in Asia the following year. Six continents (including their African mother continent) had been conquered and they had just one left to complete the set.

MARATHON MEMORIES
Each marathon holds a special place in Dimitri and Charles’ hearts. It was the different stadiums and the historic routes that especially stood out. The Athens Classic Marathon finished in a stadium with marble seating, built in 1896 for the first Modern Olympics, while the Beijing Marathon finished in the same stadium where the Olympic Games were held last year. As two seasoned Comrades runners, they sometimes got less than what they bargained for, but sometimes they got a whole lot more.

Dimitri was especially surprised when he ran up the so-called ‘Heartbreak Hill’ in the Boston Marathon, without even realising it. When he saw his supporters next to the road, they immediately asked how he felt going up the much talked about hill. “What hill?” Dimitri asked. “We are so used to hills coming from Pretoria, that this route was as flat as a pancake. It was a great marathon, but there were too many people (about 35 000). It took us nearly 13 minutes to cross the start,” Dimitri says.

It was a whole different story at the Athens Classic Marathon, much to Dimitri’s dismay. He looked at the profile of the race on the internet and interpreted it wrongly, expecting a few hills in the first 10km, followed by a flattish latter part of the race. “We started running and we just kept on climbing. The downhills never came. I had to wait for 32km before seeing a downhill!” Their marathon journey took them to some famous landmarks. They ran over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finished at the Sydney Opera House. In Beijing, the two comrades ran the same route as the Olympic Marathon last year. But it was the big mama of marathons that still lay ahead; the Antarctica Marathon, often referred to as the Last Marathon, because it is the last place on Earth one would think to hold a long distance race.

THE END OF THE EARTH
Antarctica is bigger than Europe and twelve times as big as South Africa. It’s colder than anywhere else on Earth. It is no wonder that the Antarctica Marathon is seen as one of the most extreme marathons in the world. This was a challenge Dimitri and Charles were fired up to take on. The waiting list for entries is about two years. Dimitri and a group of friends, including Tom Cottrell, author and publisher, had to plan things meticulously. They flew to Buenos Aires and took a flight to Ushuaia in the south of Argentina. From Ushuaia – 3 900km from the South Pole – they took a boat to Antarctica, a trip that took about six days. “There were two boats filled with runners and their companions. The organisers decided to split the group of South Africans, because the year before, the South Africans apparently drank the bar dry before they got to the Antarctica,” says Dimitri.

The Last Marathon is certainly no ordinary marathon and you won’t find big numbers on this desolate piece of land. Competitors in the half marathon and female competitors started a few minutes earlier than the men. This was done to minimise the race’s ecological impact on the pristine conditions in this remote part of the world.

The race, with a combined field of no more than about 200 runners, started at the Bellingshausen Station, a Russian scientific research station on King George Island, which is part of the South Shetland Island group. Dimitri and Charles, as always, started together. Though they were kitted out in hi-tech thermal running gear, there was clearly a difference between the South Africans and other international runners, Dimitri says. “We pitched up with our normal running shoes while the North Americans pulled out their yak tracks – a harness with little spikes you pull over your running shoes to stop you from slipping on ice and snow. They were clearly better prepared than us.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold at the start as they expected. At 9am it was just below zero degrees, feeling like a very cold Johannesburg morning. The route was marked out in a figure of eight, over an unforgiving terrain of glaciers and muddy snowy hills. Runners had to follow flags along the way and carry their own hydration packs as there were no manned water tables. Unlike South African road races, in which you see runners pulling in behind bushes for a much needed stop, competitors weren’t allowed to stop anywhere for a loo break. They had to go into one of the stations to use the toilet.

DETERMINATION
Charles, who has run nine Comrades, slipped about 6km into the race and hit his head. A doctor on the route had a look at him and diagnosed him with a concussion. He was a bit confused, but he would be fine. “The waiting list for this race is two years. It’s not like normal races where you can go back the next weekend and do another one. We decided to push through,” says Dimitri, but both men knew a battle lay ahead. It was already hard enough dealing with the terrain. Dimitri compares running on that terrain to running on an ice cube. Not an easy thing to expect from anyone, let alone a man with a concussion. Dimitri kept on asking his Phobians-running mate if he was okay, refusing to leave him behind. The course was marked out in miles and Charles, totally dazed, kept asking Dimitri where they were. “He couldn’t remember a single thing and I had to repeat everything. I must admit, it took my mind off things.”
 
As the day progressed, an icy wind and sleet set in, but the two men pushed through. They crossed the finish line in 6:39 and accomplished their goal; they were now members of the Seven Continents Club. Not that Charles had any recollection of what he had just achieved. “The next morning Charles was his old self. We joked and said he will have to go back and run it again because he can’t remember the race,” says Dimitri.

EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME
Dimitri describes Antarctica as a desolate place of incredible and strange beauty. “It’s an amazing continent. It feels as if you are on a different planet.” The men stayed for another couple of days, swimming in the icy Antarctic and getting to know the penguins on the different islands a bit better. “We were not allowed to approach the penguins, but if you sit still for long enough, they will approach you and even sit in your lap. It was such an experience.” Every time the men got back onto the boat, they had to put their feet in a trough with antiseptic water. “A big burly Russian grabs your legs and scrubs your shoes to make sure no one brings any germs onto the boat.”

NO STOPPING
For some it might be a once in a lifetime experience, but for 56-year-old Dimitri, the owner of a chain of pizza take-out restaurants, it’s only the start. He plans to run another seven marathons on seven continents. He has already completed a couple of South African marathons. He has run the Lake Tahoe Marathon in North America and will do the Toronto Marathon in Canada in October. “I would like to run some marathons in Nepal or Mongolia as well as in New Zealand.” He plans to be back in Antarctica by 2011, not a bad track record for a man who only started running at the age of 44 after giving up smoking. “The same day I stopped smoking, I started running, mainly because I did not want to gain weight. My first run was horrible, but I persevered and look at me today, I’m still running.”

Running has taught him determination and discipline in all aspects of life. He hardly skips his morning training runs with a group of friends, Elayne Ossip, Josene Groenewald, Linda Potgieter and Dawn Saunders. They run for an hour, increasing distance as they build up to marathons. Dimitri also has his heart set on completing the gruelling Iron Man next year, a race that’s anything but a walk in the park. But if he can finish 42.2km in the coldest, harshest and most remote part of the world, he can do anything.

The Addo Elephant Trail Run just outside Port Elizabeth is a gruelling 100, 50 and 25 mile race run through some of the toughest terrain in off-road running. It’s a race designed to test runners both physically and mentally. A young runner named Hylton Dunn has just conquered the Addo, winning the 50 miler (80km) in a time of 7:53. But running wasn’t always part of Hylton’s life. There was a time when drugs were his only high. Looking at a clean cut and healthy Hylton today, it’s hard to believe this is a man who once slept on the streets, spent time behind bars and stole to feed his addiction.

HYLTON THE ADDICT
It was a time when nothing mattered to him. The only thing on his mind was his next fix, the feeling of euphoria that would make it all go away – the pain, the feeling of emptiness and the burden of life’s responsibilities. Hylton Dunn, a once promising sportsman, was a man possessed by drugs. And it all started so innocently.

Hylton never had any shortcomings growing up in the Dunn family home in Springs on the East Rand. He only knew the best private schools. He went to a good university and had the love of a churchgoing family who adored him. As a schoolboy, he excelled academically and his passion for sports earned him his Free State colours in squash. His father, Grenvil, a chemical engineer and his mother, Jennifer, a stay-at-home mom raised Hylton (29), the second of three boys and his siblings with an abundance of love. Life for Hylton could not have been more perfect. Or so it seemed.

Like most teenagers, Hylton caved in to peer pressure, joining his friends smoking cigarettes behind the pavilion of St. Andrew’s School in Bloemfontein. The ‘wildest’ thing he ever did was having a few drinks too many after the Matric exams. Slowly, Hylton was pulled into a vicious circle of drugs that brought darkness into his life. Friends introduced him to dagga, and by the beginning of his first year as a student at the University of Cape Town (UCT), he was hooked. Dagga became his regular companion. “I started losing interest in my studies and in life. Looking back today, I think it was induced by dagga. It made me feel lazy and lethargic for most parts of the day,” Hylton says.

As a 19-year-old student living in a flat close to UCT, he met a neighbour who introduced him to heroin. Soon, words like ‘scoring some H’ became all too familiar to this private-schooled, once promising young man. He would follow friends into Observatory in Cape Town, where they would snort or smoke heroin. He even started using mandrax, sometimes mixing it with dagga.

Drugs ruled Hylton’s life for nearly five years. “I would use drugs everyday and everywhere, sometimes in between classes and sometimes even in the toilets of shopping malls. That’s all I wanted to do,” says Hylton. Nothing mattered to him, not the way he looked, not the way he dressed and not the people who were close to him, the people he was hurting. After his brother, Kevin, walked in on him and a friend high on drugs, the Dunn family learned the awful truth of their son’s abuse. By the middle of his second year, Hylton decided to save himself the embarrassment of failing, and dropped out of varsity.

His father, who owned his own chemical engineering company, offered him a job in 1999 and he stayed in a cottage at his parents’ home. It was a period of lies, deceit and manipulation. Hylton would regularly take the train from Springs to Pretoria, where he met up with drug dealers. By then, he was so used to mandrax that he barely felt its effects and he moved on to cocaine. “Sometimes, I went to Pretoria twice a day, just to get more drugs. It was a mad lifestyle. I didn’t care about anything. All I wanted was to be high and forget about life.” There were torturous days when he couldn’t get hold of heroin. On these days, he couldn’t sleep or think properly, he felt weak and suffered from body cramps.

Hylton’s entire salary was wasted on drugs. On a quiet day, he would spend no less than R500 and on other days up to R2 000. “I kept missing work and my dad eventually threw me out of the house a couple of times.” He would sleep on the streets, in public toilets or in the flats of drug dealers and pimps. He started stealing from his parents, who had to change the locks on their doors. His dad eventually laid a theft charge against him in a desperate attempt to teach his son a lesson and Hylton spent a couple of days in jail. He got out but was soon back on his path of self destruction. His parents kept on taking him back, hoping their son would turn his life around. “I would promise not to do it again, but I knew I would. I lived for drugs.”

His drug abuse eventually culminated in his arrest in 2001. He would make his way into a block of offices pretending to look for work, but would steal everything he could, from cell phones to money. He got away with it a few times, but was eventually caught and landed up in jail. He got out on a condition – he had to undergo rehabilitation at the Noupoort Christian Rehabilitation Centre in the Northern Cape. Hylton agreed, but knew deep down that he wasn’t finished with drugs. He stayed at Noupoort for eleven months and although he didn’t touch drugs, he longed for them. His relapse came in December 2002, when he went on holiday. Hylton thought he could handle a few drinks over the festive season, but one thing lead to another. By February 2003, he was back on drugs, stealing and sleeping on the streets. Eventually, he was caught stealing a second time. Hylton was back in jail.

“I remember sitting in that prison cell just looking at the four walls and the bars. It was dirty and overcrowded and I was amongst criminals, being attacked and enduring threats of rape. That was a wake up call for me. I realised if I didn’t change my lifestyle, that was how it was going to end for me; locked up in a prison cell, on the streets or even dead.”

Hylton agreed to go back to Noupoort in February 2003, this time determined to change his life forever. One of the driving forces behind this decision was his love for running, an earlier passion that had faded as the drugs began to control his life. He knew he had the ability to run well, but realised if he wanted to make that dream happen, it would have to be without drugs and cigarettes.

HYLTON THE RUNNER
Hylton has always been passionate about sport. He enjoyed running at school and as a 17-year-old, completed the Two Oceans Half Marathon in a time of 1:32. He also excelled at squash, something that fell by the wayside in his first year as the drugs took hold of him. During his first stay at Noupoort, he started running to get fit, remembering how good it made him feel in earlier years. At first, he wasn’t allowed to run alone and had to run with a staff member. “I remember my first run. It was going to be 6km, but after 2km I packed up and couldn’t run one single step further. I had to walk back. I realised then how damaged my body was from the drugs. That was the drive for me to keep going. I wanted to feel good.”

Getting fit was a slow process, but Hylton managed to run every day and completed his first marathon in May 2002. He ran with his dad, who has conquered the Comrades Marathon 17 times. Father and son finished the marathon in a time of 3:45. Hylton was so inspired, he started training for the Laingsburg Karoo Ultra Marathon in September of that year. He completed this 80km race in a time of 7:30, but not without some strong emotions. “I broke down around the 50km mark, thinking of what I was accomplishing after all the abuse I had put my body through.”

Unfortunately, Hylton relapsed three months later and was sent back to Noupoort. Only then did he truly commit to a clean life, in which running was to play a major role. On the undulating terrain surrounding Noupoort, Hylton found solitude and peace within himself. He rediscovered his passion for running and in 2004, completed his first Two Oceans Marathon in a time of 4:19 and his first Comrades Marathon in a time of 8:14. He became so hooked on distance running, he tackled the Addo Elephant 50 miler in 2005. It is run mostly on tracks within the Addo Elephant National Park and is known for its incredible scenic beauty, but also for its unforgiving terrain. “It was a beautiful race, but I didn’t expect it to be so intense. I finished in about 13 hours and was cursing out of anger for not being fit enough.”

Hylton went on to do a second Comrades in 2005, finishing in a time of 10:10, a run he describes as ‘a bit of a disaster’. His fighting spirit kept him going and he persevered. In 2006, he just missed a silver Comrades medal, finishing in a time of 7:38. “I was going up Polly’s and I remember the guys saying I shouldn’t walk, but I did. I missed my silver, but that just gave me stronger motivation and ambition to carry on.” That was Hylton’s last Comrades, as he is against the race being run on a Sunday, but he has put his heart and soul into other long distance runs.

He completed his second Addo in 2006, taking fourth place in a time of 9:30. In 2007, the route was changed and Hylton secured another fourth position in a time of 7:22. This year, the race, which was held on 2 May, was changed back to the original route. In the 50 miler race, 74 competitors entered, three did not start and eight withdrew. In the 100 miler race, 21 competitors started, 12 finished and the rest withdrew. The 25 miler had 48 competitors completing the race. “I set out to win and I believed in myself,” says Hylton. It was only after the 50km mark that he overtook fellow competitors Chris Antonie and Michael Hendricks, both previous winners. “When I passed them, I still felt good and said to them, ‘keep on going, you are going to do a good time.”’ Hylton reached the finish line in a time of 7:53, a course record. “When I crossed the line, I expected to feel emotional, but I was too tired and sore to think of anything.” Michael finished second in 9:13 and Chris took third in 9:53.

Sadly, Hylton is not the only athlete caught in the web of drug use. These five famous drug busts have been burned into the memory of sports enthusiasts.

Name                     Sport designation         Drug used             Date caught

Jennifer Capriati       Tennis player                  Marijuana               1993
Tim Montgomery     Olympic sprinter             Heroin                    2000
Wendell Sailor         Waratahs rugby player    Cocaine                  2006
Tom Booner            Cyclist                            Cocaine                  2008
Michael Phelps        Olympic swimmer           Marijuana                2008

THE WAY FORWARD
Hylton believes running and his faith are what keep him going and free of drugs. “I’m doing it not only for myself, but also to show others there is a way out.” His biggest regrets are making the wrong choices, not finishing his varsity degree and not being the perfect son. However, he is not embarrassed about his past. He prefers to be open about it, hoping that other people can learn from it.

Hylton has set his eye on the Karoo Ultra Marathon in September and would love to win it. When he trains for big races, he does between 160km and 200km a week, including speed work and hill training. After big races,
he cuts down to 10km a day. The highlight of his day includes his two runs, one in the morning and one at night. Hylton, now a restaurant and kitchen manager at Noupoort, says it’s running that ultimately brings him happiness. “If I miss a run, I start feeling grumpy, as if I have missed out on something.”

His parents have been his greatest supporters and through running, he knows he makes his family proud. “The level at which I am competing now is enough to realise that with one small slip, all will be lost.” He sums up his outlook on life: “I have realised that nothing is impossible. Running keeps me motivated, confident and focused. Today, I am stronger because of my past.”