Category: Features

When I first started out in the workforce many years ago, I got the worst advice ever. I was told that you don’t need to work hard if you can work smart. In other words, find the easiest way to do things. For years I heard that sentiment repeated by various people, but I never really bought into the concept… I just wasn’t brave enough to say what I really thought, because I feared being the one outlier who didn’t fit with the narrative.

Many of the people I meet today, even in the running world, still dish out this pearl of societal wisdom, but they don’t realise that they are just perpetuating the common lie. I’ve seen through the veil, and I’ve decided to call time on this notion. I don’t know which fool first started this idea, but I believe that hard work does indeed pay handsome dividends. I am not saying you should not be smart about how you work, take note, I am saying do not be lazy.

We’ve become lazy in the way we go about things. I see it in people’s everyday lives – and in the way they approach their training – always looking for the most comfortable and convenient solution to their problems. They want a quick fix for this and a pill for that, but they do not want to sweat for it… unless it is in a nice sauna at a luxurious spa, with a masseuse waiting to help relieve them of the knots of daily stress in their bodies. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with spoiling yourself occasionally, but you must admit that we have become soft.

I should have listened to my grandmother instead, because to her generation nothing worthwhile ever came easy. If you wanted something, you needed to put in the hard work to attain it. No shortcuts in their book, the long road was where it was at. You used pain and suffering as your teachers, and learnt from making mistakes, not by avoiding them. So, you want a good mantra? Climb the mountain to appreciate the view, don’t take the cable car unless you absolutely need to.

About the Author: PJ Moses is a former Cape Flats gangster who took up running, and writing about it, when he turned his back on that dangerous lifestyle in order to set a better example for his two young sons.

IMAGES: Courtesy Carbineers WP

With a possible win in the 2018 Spar Women’s Challenge Series Grand Prix on the horizon, Glenrose Xaba has been putting her incredible form of 2018 to good use! – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

While being naturally quiet and often times appearing shy, there is steel in the diminutive figure of Glenrose Xaba, and her racing results in 2018 are evidence of that. On the road, she finished second in the first three Spar Women’s Challenge 10km races in Cape Town, PE and Durban, then won the fourth leg in Pretoria, catapulting her to the top of the leaderboard, with two races remaining. She also won the Totalsports Women’s 10km Durban, and placed second in the Totalsports Women’s 10km Johannesburg.

Unfortunately, she was disqualified along with four other athletes in the Pietermaritzburg leg of the Spar series in August after they mistakenly followed the lead car instead of the lead bicycle around a section where the car could not go, and thus ran the wrong, short course. This has thrown the Grand Prix competition wide open with one race to go in Johannesburg in October, so there will be everything to race for then. Meanwhile, Glenrose is quietly pursuing her goal of dominating the 10km on the road.

“I am only 23 and will not attempt a half marathon until I am 27. I may do the occasional 15km, but my focus is cross country and the 10km,” she says. “I will do the occasional track event, but there are not really many track races I can run. So the goal for this year is winning the Spar Grand Prix Series, and I want to break my PB of 33:21 at the FNB Durban 10km CITYSURFRUN in October. Hopefully there I can get under 33 minutes.”

TALENT SPOTTED
Glenrose has been bubbling just under the proverbial surface for the last few years, and considers 2018 her big breakthrough. “This year has been good. I have been able to run so well because of my foundation of 2017, where I was able to do a good base after coming off an injury. Also joining Michael Seme’s training group in 2016 made a big difference.”

She met Michael while competing in Mpumalanga. “He convinced me to come to Pretoria and join his group after finishing matric in 2015. He said I had potential and would like to coach me, so I moved. I trained with guys most of the time, which made a big difference, and I am now the only woman in the group, which is led by Lesego (Stephen Mokoka). Michael left us in November 2017 to take up a contract in KZN, but he still sends us our programme, and Violet (Raseboya – the wife of Caster Semenya) helps with overseeing the training sessions for me.”

BREAKTHROUGH BEGINS
In February this year, Glenrose really made the middle distance community in South Africa sit up and take notice when she clocked an astonishing 32:59.05 in the 10,000m at the Athletics Gauteng North Championships. She covered the 25 laps at an average pace of 79sec/lap, or 3:30/km, for the further-fastest time by a South African woman – only Elana Meyer (SA Record 30:52.51), Colleen De Reuck (31:56.00) and Dominique Scott (31:51.47) have ever gone faster.

While this performance was run in a mixed race featuring both men and women, this should not detract from the performance itself, but Glenrose herself says she had not expected to break 33 minutes on the track so soon. “I knew I was in shape after some of my time trials, but I didn’t expect such a good time.” The following day, she time-trialed to a win in the 5000m as well, clocking 16:39.44, a mere four seconds off her PB of 16:35.36.

Meanwhile, she was also continuing to do well in cross country. “I did not compete at the SA Track Champs as I was in Algeria competing at the Africa Cross Country Championships. It did not go as well there as I had hoped, though, as I didn’t have the correct shoes.” She finished 20th and second South African, but that may have just been a blip on the radar for her, because she clearly has an affinity for the off road discipline. She won the SA Junior title in 2011 and two years later the SA Senior title. In 2014 Glenrose had to settle for fifth place at the SA’s, but went on to win the trials in 2015, was second again in 2016 and then won another title in 2017.

LOOKING AHEAD
She may be known as a runner, but Glenrose is not just focused on running and is already thinking about long-term planning. “I need something for when my running career is over, so I am studying electrical engineering at Mamelodi Tshwane College. I am in my third and final year, and once I have completed this year, I will look to further my studies.” Meanwhile, all indications are that given the right opportunities and support, Glenrose could still do way better than her current 10,000m and 10km bests. The talent is there to be used.

IMAGES: Reg Caldecott & Rogan Ward

Young Christopher Greyling made his appearance towards the end of September, entering the world with a certain amount of expectation on his shoulders. After all, his parents, Landie and Christiaan Greyling, are pretty much considered royalty in South African trail running circles. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Having both represented South Africa in World Champs events, and having both won an impressive number of events, including the prestigious Otter Trail Marathon, it comes as no surprise that much is expected of Landie and Christiaan’s child. “Everyone keeps telling us that they expect him to be a real running superstar with our combined genes, but we want him to choose what he likes,” says Christiaan. “He doesn’t need to be a runner, but we will expose him to the mountains and outdoor activities, because we believe that what you’re exposed to when you’re young will affect what you love when you’re older.”

Landie says the pregnancy was not exactly 100% planned, although they had been talking about starting a family sometime in the near future, given that they are now both in their early 30s. “I picked up an injury last year and it was quite funny how many people suddenly started suggesting that it was perfect timing to have a baby, since I wasn’t running anyway. We actually considered it and I went to see the doctor about the steps to take, but in the meantime I had started running again, so we decided to cancel the appointments and first do some projects, like our Lesotho Crossing in March 2018… but then I found out on 14 February that I was already nine weeks pregnant.”

Landie still managed to get some racing in earlier this year, even finishing on the podium a few times as she began to regain fitness, and she continued running throughout her pregnancy, still averaging around 60km a week at seven months. “My running has just been slow and controlled of late, because I listened to my body, and gymming three times a week also helped, but I finally had to revert to women’s push-ups, because the weight was getting too much for my arms!” she laughs.

COACHING CREDENTIALS
Naturally, falling pregnant has forced this elite running couple to change their plans, but Christiaan jokes that it has actually proven a lucrative time for their careers, and for their recently launched coaching business, Alpas* Fit. “More people like our posts on social media now that we’re pregnant, so we see this as a great marketing opportunity!” But jokes aside, he says they are enjoying putting all their experience to use as coaches. “People know our reputation as runners, which helps attract new clients, even though we’re not advertising that much yet.”

The two are actually still getting used to this new coaching role, given that neither of them foresaw a full-time career in running until recently. As Landie explains, “I studied to become a chartered accountant and intended to go into the corporate world, but then I discovered this adventurous world of running. Initially I was working and lecturing on top of running, but now that we’ve started the coaching business, which is quickly expanding into other things, there just isn’t time to get back into full-time work. So that’s on hold for now.”

Similarly, Christiaan studied engineering and until recently was working full-time. Then his running really took off, and he also turned pro. “For years I was always there, taking part and picking up experience, and I always tried to win, but my first year of racing was the year of placing 12 over and over. The second year was about injury, the third year of placing top 10, and the fourth year I always seemed to finish fourth! Then I started training with Landie and I think that helped me improve to earning podium positions, and then I was inspired to start winning races.”

RUNNING MATCH
Training together is actually how these two got to know each other in 2008 while at varsity in Pretoria. They first met, briefly, at an adventure racing event in the Magaliesberg, says Landie. “I was in a team with two friends, while Christiaan was in another team. After the race, we all hung out for a while, but I only spoke to him for about three minutes. A week later I went to a trail race and accidentally drove the wrong way up a one-way road, and suddenly there was a bakkie in front of me, hooting and flashing its lights, so I pulled over to let it go past. When I parked, the same bakkie pulled up next to me, so I pretended to scratch around in my car, because I was so embarrassed, but then there was a knock on my window, and the bakkie driver was Christiaan!”

“After that trail run, he asked me out for an ice-cream, but I said let’s rather go for a run, because I told him I was looking for somebody to train with. The next day he phoned me to invite me to join his training group, but I later found out he actually just got a bunch of friends from his ‘koshuis’ to join him for a few early morning runs. One by one they disappeared until it was just us two!” Christiaan just smiles as he admits that “it was the most running I had ever done in my life.”

They’ve now been together for just over 10 years, and in that time they’ve enjoyed many running highs together, including winning the mixed pairs category at events such as the AfricanX Trailrun, SOX, Dryland Traverse Tankwa Trail and the Riano in Spain. They also finished second in the eight-day TransAlps between Germany and Italy in 2015, and Christiaan says they have unfinished business there. “Finishing second in a very strong field was incredible, but we want to go back after our baby arrives, because the couple that won in 2015 had a one-year-old!”

Another great double act was both being selected for the SA Team to the World Ultra Running Champs in Wales in 2013, where Landie was our first female finisher in ninth place, while Christiaan was our first man home in 32nd position. She had also been to the World Short Distance Champs in Italy the previous year, while he also made the SA Team for the World Long Distance Mountain Champs in Slovenia in 2014, but Landie says it was really special to represent SA together in Wales. “It was a really proud moment for both of us.”

Individually, they’ve also both racked up impressive lists of wins, with both winning at the Skyrun and Ultra Trail Cape Town events in SA, but when asked for their standout run, both choose the Otter Marathon as their highlight. “For me it was because I tried for so many years to get that win under my belt,” says Christiaan, while Landie adds, “I won it in 2014, but my 2013 run was better, even though I finished second. Being the first South African woman to break that magical five-hour barrier was huge, because nobody knew if it could actually be done.”

BABYSITTING DUTY
Looking ahead, the couple are already thinking about how to plan racing around the new arrival, but Landie says they will simply take turns with babysitting when necessary. “Luckily our families have been very supportive through the years, attending many of our races, so we should have somebody available to look after the little one to allow us to keep racing.” At that comment, Christiaan breaks out laughing, then says, “Perhaps we should place an ad in Modern Athlete for a babysitter at races. Ideally that person can do sports massage as well… Not too much to ask!”

* Alpas is a Filipino word that means ‘to break free from the old into the new.’ You can find out more at www.alpasfit.com.

IMAGES: Alfred Thorpe, Sportograf, DrozPhoto & courtesy Landie Greyling

You’ll find Madumetja Donald Mathipa behind the microphone at many races in the Gauteng area, greeting you the minute he sees you, whether you are a supporter or a runner, with something unique to say about each person, but while he loves doing race commentary, his real passion lies in his hometown race in Tembisa. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

Donald is no slouch when it comes to running. He boasts a 10km PB of 30:38, has clocked 1:05:11 for the half marathon, and ran a 2:21:23 marathon. He has also earned silver medals in both his Old Mutual Two Oceans runs, with a best of 3:30:08 for 44th place in 2011, and earned a Comrades silver in 2015 for his 6:46:08 finish for 89th position. But it is as an announcer that many Gauteng runners know him.

He started his announcing ‘career’ in 2008 when he ran for the Powerade team managed by the late George Koertzen, who at the time was the foremost race announcer in Gauteng. “I was doing a course in communication science at UNISA and approached him, because I wanted to add to my skills. He asked when I was available and that was it,” recalls Donald. “I did my first stint at the start of the Vodacom Country Challenge and then he used me at more races. He also sent me to Swaziland so I can say I am an international race commentator!”

However, while Donald can be seen on the mic most weekends, this is not what he considers a career. “I love talking at races and have fun with the runners, but for me this is a sideline. I really want to see races in the townships grow and uplift the communities, in particular in Tembisa, where I have lived since 2009.”

The Dream
Donald originally hails from Limpopo, where he honed his early running career. “I was good over the shorter distances, up to the half marathon, but I did the longer stuff because that was the only way I could run full time. But my heart and my body are in the shorter distances.” He moved to the Kempton Park area to be able train at Esselen Park with the Nedbank Soweto team, including future Comrades winner Modibe Ludwick Mamabolo, but like so many promising athletes, Donald had to work to live and thus could not focus solely on running.

He also found that the mileage required to run Comrades as a contender did not agree with his body, and since he couldn’t earn a living just racing the shorter distances, he had to shelve his dream of being a professional athlete. Instead he ploughed all his energy into what was to eventually become the Tembisa Mile. “We do not have many well organised and supported races in the townships, but it is important that we do have events here, for a number of reasons. It brings the community together and they take ownership and take pride in it. It also opens up opportunities to the community either to run, or to get into organising events.”

The Mission
So Donald embarked on a journey in 2010 that changed his life, when he and a few others in Tembisa decided to put on a road race. “We started with an 8km and 3km race. We wanted a competitive race with medals and prize money in a township, but it wasn’t easy, we really struggled in the beginning, and so decided to change the 8km to a 5km in 2011. We had some leftover T-shirts from other races and used them as incentives, and some of the better runners came, but the masses didn’t get T-shirts, because we just did not have enough. So we thought, let’s do something unique, and in 2012 we introduced the mile, taking place after the 5km, because we want the runners to see our best athletes competing in the streets of Soweto.”

Over the years Donald has attracted the who’s who of South African middle distance running to his event. The first winner of the mile in 2012 was Dumisane Hlaselo, who has represented South Africa on numerous occasions, and a big breakthrough came in 2013. “Johan Cronje had just won the bronze medal in the 1500m at the World Championships in Moscow that year, and we got him to come and run in Tembisa. All of a sudden the media were interested and the other top runners wanted to race in our mile. Since then the mile has become a big event for us, and gives us good coverage.”

The mile was initially just run as a mass event; now there are categories for both senior and junior men and women, and a big coup was having Caster Semenya win in 2016. Meanwhile, the original 8km is now a 10km race and has seen the likes of multiple SA Champions Stephen Mokoka and Elroy Gelant race through the streets of Tembisa. It has been suggested to Donald that he add a half marathon, to further grow numbers, but he is loath to do this. “Since anyone can do the 10km race, that’s where we believe we can attract numbers. Also, we simply do not have the logistics for a 21km, and a 10km means we do not need to use the Metro for a longer period of time, nor inconvenience the Tembisa residents’ daily routine.”

He explains that the 10km starts at 7am and the first mile starting straight after the 8:45 cut-off, so they are finished by 10am. “The mile doesn’t impede traffic, so we are in no way disrupting the day to day ‘running’ of Tembisa. We do not want to be a nuisance to them, we want their support. The taxi associations also help us and do not interfere. Yes, there is always that one driver, but that happens everywhere. Local business helps with small things and the community love the race, so it has been good for us.”

The Challenge
However, it is not all plain sailing. Race organising costs big money. Metro services alone set the club back a whopping R45,000, and of course there is prize money, too. Then there are those who volunteer their time and need to be looked after. “Our volunteers are part of the community and we need to put something back into the community, so we need to find a way to show our appreciation. That can be money, T-shirts, food, or all of the above.” The race has come with other challenges too… Donald laughingly recollects how a resident forgot to close his gate on race day in 2013. “His dog came out and chased the runners. Maybe that is why Johan Cronje set a course record!”

Overall though, Donald says it is more than just about having a top notch event in the township. Currently, the Tembisa Athletics Club members do their track work on the clay track of the Tembisa High School. “One day we want to host an athletics meeting there, but we need to upgrade a few things, like toilets, parking, seating. We try set aside some of the money we raise from the race, but we also need money to help our runners get to races, so if we can turn this race into something bigger, then maybe we can achieve those objectives.”

True to his humble nature, Donald does not like the term Race Director. “No, no, I am the team leader, not a race director.” But he deserves huge credit for growing the race from a 400-entry fun run to a 2000-entry 10km race in seven years. Entries are now open for the 2018 race on 28 October, and it is sure to be another classic.

IMAGES: Jetline Action Photo, Manfred Seidler & courtesy Tembisa Mile

It takes a special type of athlete to race flat-out in five separate endurance sports events in seven days, but that’s what the annual Momentum BIG5 Challenge demands, and former pro triathlete Vicky van der Merwe is a master at it. – BY SEAN FALCONER

The Momentum BIG5 Challenge forms part of the annual Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival in the first week of July, and athletes must complete the Knysna Cycle Tour 80km MTB, the Knysna Lagoon Mile Swim, the Featherbed 15km Trail Run, the MTBX Cyclo-Cross, and the Knysna Half Marathon, with the smallest accumulated time determining the winners. It’s a grueling multisport event that only a few hundred athletes are able to take on, and one of the best is 28-year-old Stellenbosch-based Vicky van der Merwe. Having won the title in 2017, she retained the title by coming home in an accumulated time of 8:20:54, ahead of second-placed Fienie Barnard (8:34:23).

In the first event, the MTB, strong rider Fienie established a significant lead as Vicky finished 10th overall and second of the Big5 entrants, but Vicky then made up time by winning the trail run overall and finishing second overall in the swim and MTBX (again behind Fienie). “The 80km MTB is always the toughest for me, as there are other girls who are much stronger on the bike, so I was pleased to finish 10 minutes faster than last year. My MTBX race was also faster,” says Vicky.

That saw her line up for the final event, the half marathon, with a seven-minute lead, and she could therefore run a fairly relaxed race, in stark contrast to 2017. “Last year I was only lying fourth going into the run, with a massive deficit of nearly 20 minutes to first place in the Big5, so I had to run really hard to win the title.” Nevertheless, she still won the half marathon overall and took the BIG5 by nearly 14 minutes. “Overall, it was an awesome, challenging week, and topping it off with a win in the half marathon was great. The thing about the BIG5 is that you are never certain of a win until the last day, as anything can go wrong, and you have to pace yourself.”

Tri Success
Vicky was a strong swimmer in primary school, then took up running when she began high school in Stellenbosch. Soon she was talked into giving triathlon a try, and success followed. “I won the Western Province Champs when I was 15, then went to the SA Champs and came out of the water second, but finished the bike leg stone last. I ran like crazy and caught them all again to finish second in the under-23 category.” That saw her selected for the SA team for the World Champs in Japan, where she finished 60th. “I had a good swim and run, but again got dropped on the bike, and I realised I needed to work on my bike. After working with a cycling coach in Germany, I finished 14th at the next World Champs, in Switzerland.”

After claiming three junior World Titles in biathle, qualifying for five consecutive World Triathlon Championships as well as racing on the international pro circuit, Vicky’s tri career was unfortunately disrupted for several frustrating years by stress fractures in the shin and the hip as well as glandular fever. In spite of successful hip surgery in 2014, she is no longer racing professionally, but hasn’t lost her competitive nature. “Triathlon is still my focus, but I select my races carefully, and the professional racing phase of my career is now behind me. I run half as much as I used to, doing more quality than quantity, and more gym work, and I believe I have now found what works for me, because I am actually racing better now!”

Coach Vicky
These days Vicky is perhaps better known as a coach, thanks to the work she is doing with her Stellenbosch Triathlon Squad. “When I came home after competing on the world circuit, I had to decide between going into law, which I had studied, or continuing in triathlon. I had such a great support structure here in Stellenbosch when I began my tri career, so I decided to create a structure to help others to achieve their goals, and in November 2014 I began with just 15 athletes, but it quickly grew. I’d done a few coaching courses, but had also learnt a lot from my high performance background, and could apply that knowledge and experience.”

“We are now about 200 athletes, ranging from World Champions Flora Duffy and Brad Weiss to complete beginners, with 17 training sessions a week, including lunchtime swim and run groups, and a junior group just starting up. I now have Cobus Fourie working with me, and another coach coming on board soon, and the focus is on group work, but athletes can ask for personalised programmes. Stellenbosch provides such a great training environment, and I have received great support from the sporting community, so this is a very rewarding job, and I love what I do!”

To Find out more about Vicky's tri squad, go to https://triathlonsquad.co.za

IMAGES: Matthew Du Toit & David Papenfus

His Comrades record lists nine successful finishes, and nearly as many DNFs, but Eugene Lekay says that he will keep going back until he gets his Green Number. In the meantime, he just wants to enjoy his running as much as he always has. – BY PJ MOSES

When Eugene earned his ninth Comrades medal in 2012, he thought his permanent number was surely in the bag, but six years later that 10th medal is still eluding him. “I thought when I got my first medal that I would just do Comrades eleven times and then move on to something else, but it seems that fate has other ideas,” he says ruefully. “I’ve now had 16 Comrades starts, but still only nine finishes – it is frustrating, but I won’t quit until I achieve my goal.”

Eugene’s long fascination with Comrades was born from watching it on his neighbour’s TV when he was young. “We had to pay fifty cents to watch it because they were the only ones with a television in our street. I was enthralled by the idea of the race and the way it played out.” Thus the Comrades seed was planted, but it would take years to grow, and in between Eugene finished school and then studied teaching, while also being very involved with struggle politics and anti-apartheid activism. Running very much took a backseat.

“By the time I started teaching in 1987, the only involvement I had in sport was as a technical official for the school athletics. I only started running eleven years later in 1998, when I helped to get Bonteheuwel Athletic Club off the ground.” He explains that one of the main reasons they started the club was to keep the kids in their community active after school, and throughout the year. “It is very important, especially in the poorer communities, to encourage individual sport, which gives the kids a sense of self-worth and improves their quality of life with every step they take. Unfortunately, it is hard to keep the kids interested in running, because team sports like soccer and rugby often take precedence in terms of opportunities that can in turn open doors for them to study further, or even follow a career in those fields.”

Bitten Again by the Bug
Even though he joined the club with the main goal of encouraging others to run, Eugene soon found himself drawn to the sport. Within the first two weeks of starting to run, he had completed a 5km, a 30km and a marathon… The bug had bitten him hard! “After qualifying successfully for the Two Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons, I added the Hewat 100 Mile race to that potent mix. My second year of running in 1999 was even busier, and the longer the distance, the more it pulled me toward doing it.”

He was not only the first runner to represent Bonteheuwel AC at Comrades in 1999, he was the only member in the race. “It became very lonely without any support from clubmates, so I decided to change clubs and joined Easterns AC in 2003. After a few years there I drifted a bit, but then I joined Brackenfell AC and stayed with them for a good 10 years from 2007 to 2017. Recently I decided it was time for a new home, and I moved over to the Carbineers, where I found a home filled with likeminded individuals who are encouraging and supportive of this next phase in my running journey.”

He admits he has never been the most disciplined when it comes to following a training programme, and thus depends heavily on his ability to not let the pain or discomfort of the long run get to him. “My mental strength is what has kept me going through many ultras when other faster athletes had long given up and called it quits. Running long distances is therapy for me. It makes me forget about the everyday worries and is a great way to relieve stress.”

On a related note, Eugene thinks that newbie runners often make things too complicated and should rather focus on a more simplistic approach to the sport. “To run, you just need a proper pair of shoes and the right mindset to get you through races. Clubs need to teach their newer members that running alone is to your benefit as a runner, and builds the character that is needed when things are not going your way. Also, running must not become an obligation, but instead you have to love it, because if you don’t then you’ll lose your passion for it. Try to always keep a healthy balance between running and your life outside of running.”

Interesting Adventures
Eugene’s 20-year running career has included quite a few adventures along the way, from sleeping in a police station with a giant teddy bear as a pillow the night before a race, to boarding a bus to Durban for the Comrades without a place to stay once there, but finding a spot as the bus pulled out of Cape Town. “I don’t believe that anything should stand in your way when you want to do something, there is always a way to achieve your goals. Just like running, you need to keep going and never quit.”

“I remember in 2007 I ran the Two Oceans Ultra with no sleep, because I was busy laying a floor in my house, and in the wrong shoes. Instead of road shoes I had a pair of trail shoes on, and they were very hard on your feet when you ran on the road. By the halfway mark I was close to quitting, but a lovely lady at the side of the road offered me some Coca Cola and salt to keep me going. I finished off her whole 1.5-litre right then and there, and chucking the salt in the drink gave me all the energy I needed to get myself to the finish. I made it across the line with ten minutes left on the clock.”

Beside his goal for a tenth Comrades medal, Eugene also wants to run a marathon in every province of South Africa, even if he can only do one province a year. “I started this year by doing the Meerkat Marathon in the Northern Cape. I love the idea of travelling for more races, and this is a perfect reason to do so. Other than the marathons, there is also the Washie 100 Miler in the Eastern Cape that is on my bucket list. I have heard only good things about this tough race, and would love to complete it at least once.”

However, more important than medals or ticking off races for this veteran of the road is the bond that he has built with many running friends through decades of sharing the roads. “We encourage each other and always look forward to spotting familiar faces at various events. It feels like we are the last of a vanishing breed and the sense of loss is felt harder every time that I hear somebody has passed on to the big ultra in the sky. At 54, I still feel that I have a few good years of adventure left, and having retired from full time teaching gives my wife Rozetta and I the freedom to plan our travels better. As long as I can run, I will keep entering and keep doing what I love.” And chasing that elusive Green Number, no doubt.

IMAGES: Bridget Linderoth, Jetline Action Photo, Moegsien Ebrahim & Mogamat Shamieg Allie

With two age group World Championship titles to her name, young hurdler Zeney van der Walt has already started making her presence felt in the senior ranks. – BY SEAN FALCONER

In any hurdles event, it pays to have a never-say-die attitude, because the technical nature of hurdling can throw up some unexpected results. For example, last July at the 2017 World Under-18 Champs in Nairobi, Kenya, Jamaica’s Sanique Walker entered the home straight with a massive lead in the final of the Girls 400m hurdles and looked to have the World Title sown up… until she hit the last hurdle and stumbled. That allowed second-placed Zeney van der Walt of South Africa to close the gap and sneak the win by just 0.04 seconds in 58.23. “I didn’t expect to win, I just kept on pushing till the end because I still had the energy,” she says.

Almost exactly a year later, having recently turned 18 in May, Zeney lined up at the World Under-20 Champs in Tampere, Finland, winning her qualifying heat comfortably in 57.78, the only athlete to dip under 58 seconds in the heats as she held back and just made sure of automatic qualification for the final. Two days later in the final, in spite of wet conditions and even though she was the youngest in the race, she showed her true speed as she came home in 55.34, finishing well clear of another Jamaican, Shiann Salmon, who clocked 56.11.

That made Zeney a double World Champion, something she still finds hard to believe. “It was incredible to win in Finland, but I think it still has not really sunk in that I won two World Champs. Last year’s win was a bit of surprise, but this year it was a totally different race. I had the fastest time in the field this year, so I knew I had a chance to win. Due to being Under-18 World Champ, I did feel a bit of pressure, but I didn’t let it get to me. When I went down in my blocks, I wanted to go for the win!”

STEADY RISE
Zeney says she fell in love with the sport in primary school, where she ran the hurdles for the first time in grade four, while also competing in the short hurdles and the 400m straight, but the single-lap hurdles became her focus – and success has followed. In Grade 9 she won the SA Sub-youth Title for the 300m hurdles, followed a year later by the SA Youth Title for 400m hurdles. In Grade 11 she ‘doubled’ by winning the SA Youth Titles for both the 400m hurdles and 400m straight, clocking 57.94 in the hurdles final to narrowly miss 2014 Olympic Youth Games Champion Gezelle Magerman’s SA Youth Record by just 0.03 seconds, and then she followed that up with the Under-18 World Title.

This year has been even better! She won the SA Under-20 title and then followed that up with a second place at the SA Senior Champs, only just losing out to Olympian Wenda Nel in the final. Wenda clocked 55:01 to Zeney’s 55:05, with the youngster only losing out after a slight stumble at the final hurdle, but her time was good enough to move her up to fourth place on the South African senior all-time list, and to finally beat Myrtle Bothma’s 35-year-old SA Junior Record (55.74). Afterwards, Wenda admitted that Zeney had really pushed her to the limit: “This was one of my toughest races, but also one of the most exciting. To be challenged the way Zeney did forced me out of my comfort zone.”

In turn, Zeney gave credit to Wenda for helping her to run so well. “Last year I took on the seniors at SA Champs for the first time and finished third, so second this year was still better, and to hear Wenda say it was one of her hardest SA Champs wins was a real compliment. Wenda helped me run that time, and then after the race, when she was supposed to get the attention of the crowd, she asked them to give me round of applause instead. That was an unbelievable privilege.”

TAKING ON THE WORLD
That performance set the scene for Zeney’s dominant World Champs run in Finland, and now the youngster is looking forward to representing her country again in the future. Currently in her Matric year at Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool in Pretoria, she is planning to study at the University of Pretoria next year, while focusing on qualifying for the 2019 World Champs in Doha, followed by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. “I don’t focus that much on the times I run, and while I have a specific target time in the back of my head, I just try to do my best at the moment.”

Fortunately, her high school coach, Maritza Coetzee, will also be moving to Tuks next year, so their successful relationship is set to continue, and overall, Zeney says she is just enjoying her athletics. “We have a great SA team at the moment, all supporting each other, and it’s wonderful to have the country behind us as well. It’s also great to see our juniors achieving as much as the seniors, and it’s just a great time for South African athletics.”

IMAGES: Roger Sedres/IMAGE SA

They come running into the finish line, chanting, dancing, big smiles on faces, obviously having a whale of a time even though they’re tired, sweaty and sore. On the one hand, they’re relieved to be finishing, and ecstatic to have hit their target time, but on the other hand they don’t want the race to end, because they’re having so much fun! These are the passengers of Madoko’s Bus, driven by legendary pacesetter and coach Madoko Ndhlovu. – BY SEAN FALCONER

With his distinctive singing, chanting and even some dancing, well known pacesetter Madoko Ndhlovu has his bus passengers hanging on his every word as they follow him home in races. “At the beginning I tell them, I am Coach Madoko, I am your driver today, and I am going to change the way you run, talk and smile. I want them to know what to expect from their driver, right from the first kilometre, and then it’s tuck in your stomach and heel to toe!” says Madoko. He also teaches his passengers a few songs and chants, including what has become known as Madoko’s Anthem, Morena re hauhele (a Sotho hymn, which translates to Lord have mercy on me). “When it is tough out there on the road, I start humming the song, and the people just hum along. But when it’s going good, we sing and chant, and people like the vibey atmosphere.”

Unsurprisingly, Madoko’s buses attract a lot of passengers, but he says, “I’m not worried about the size of the bus, I’m worried about how people will finish the race, so I make sure that even the person right at the back of the bus gets the info. That’s also why I ask everybody to pick a partner and work together – they must know each other’s names, and motivate each other to keep going, like brothers in arms. I’ve seen people exchange telephone numbers after the race because they want to stay in touch after the incredible brotherhood of the bus. I also get people who have run Comrades for 20 years saying they have never enjoyed it more than when running with my bus, and that makes it all worthwhile.”

Leading the Way
Madoko (50) runs his own building construction company in Pretoria, having previously worked for Telkom for 20 years, and he is married, with two sons aged 26 and 19, both very talented soccer players. As a youngster, Madoko played volleyball, softball and soccer, but he started running in 2000 with his brother, who was working and running for Transnet, and that’s where he heard the guys talking about Comrades and decided to run it in 2001. “That was fun, something out of this world. I ran one of my best times that year, 8:40, but I also saw people were suffering due to inexperience, so the following year, by which time I had become chairman of the Telkom running club, I started training the members. That’s where my coaching and mentoring started,” he says.

Soon he was pacing clubmates in races to achieve target times or qualifiers, and in 2004 he unveiled his now famous Madoko Bus flag, so that any runners who wanted to stick with him could find him at races, and his buses became hugely popular. “I ran sub-4:00 buses at most of the marathons I was doing and delivered them all on time, but I realised the faster runners can often do it by themselves, whereas the slower runners need more help, so I moved to sub-5:00 to help others qualify for the big ultras.”

After he brought a huge unofficial sub-10:00 bus home at the 2005 Comrades, he was invited to become an official Comrades Pacesetter for the first time in 2006, and for the next few years he was a regular sub-10:00 Pacer. In 2011, however, he ran his 11th Comrades and it would be his last for five years, partly due to injury, but mostly due to the tragic death of his sister Abigail in a motorbike accident that December, which Madoko says hit him very hard. “She always supported me in my running, and she and my wife were my number one supporters. Coping with her loss, that took me three to four years. Fortunately, I was eventually motivated to come back to running by my wife and kids, and all my running friends who wanted me back on the road, so in 2015 I started running seriously again. People kept asking me when I will be back at Comrades, and in 2016 I ran it again.”

Back on Pace
Madoko went straight back to pacing at Comrades 2016 and brought his unofficial sub-11:00 bus home in 10:54:21, and that saw him brought back into the official Modern Athlete Comrades Pacesetter Programme in 2017. Now specialising in a sub-11:00 finish, he led his passengers over the line in 10:58:29, and this year repeated the feat with a 10:57:21 finish. He says that 2017 run really stands out as a highlight, not just for the incredible spirit in the group, but also thanks to one specific passenger in the bus.

“I was standing at the start of the 2017 race when a runner called Johan came up to me and said, ‘Madoko, you helped me run my first sub-nine in the 2008 Up Run, and now you are doing the sub-11:00 bus. Well, this is my wife Martie, and I want you to please assist her now, because she is doing her fifth Comrades and couldn’t finish either of her two previous Up Runs. I told her she must run with you and she will make it.’ Well, Martie then stuck right next to me the whole way!” says Madoko.

“We reached halfway in 5:30 and she turned to me and said, ‘Are you for real? I’ve never made the halfway cut-off before!’ Then as we reached the bottom of Polly Shortts, she asked me if I was going to keep my promise to get her up that hill. Well, when we reached the top, Martie was so overjoyed she stopped at the SABC TV camera for a quick interview. Then her phone rang, and it was her husband, telling her that he had just watched her on the big screen at the finish. She put the phone on speaker mode and we all heard her husband cheering her on while she just cried with joy and emotion.”

“I lost her in the crowd at the finish, but two months later I received a call from her. She said that she had been trying to track me down, so that she could thank me. She was so incredibly happy about finishing, and now every time I am asked for a motivational story about Comrades, I tell the Martie story. It proves that everybody can finish it! She had been unable to finish the Up Run, and then she ran a sub-11. It’s a mind game, that’s why I work with the runners’ minds right from the start.”

Coach and Mentor
Pacing is just one way Madoko is helping his fellow runners. Over the last few years he has also developed training camps to help novices get to the Comrades, and thus far he has a 98% finish rate amongst his trainees. “I just love to help others by sharing a winning formula, and it is all done from the heart, because I don’t ask people to pay me. I now have people coming from all over the country for my training camps, and I focus on the core, not only on running, because running is easier if you have a strong core. I was very pleased when a lady from Gugulethu in the Cape ran in my bus this year at Comrades and told me she got my training programme from my Coach Madoko Training Camp Facebook page –and that it really works! Again, that makes it all worthwhile.”

With his customary “Hello, Hello,” followed by whistling, click sounds and shaking knees as he ‘calls the route’ for the day, Dean Wight begins the briefing for another Beloved Long Run. It’s just part of the popular weekly training runs taking place all over the KwaZulu-Natal province. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Our Beloved Chairman… that’s what the members of Queensburgh Harriers nicknamed Dean Wight when he served as Club Chair from 2006 to 2017, and when it came to choosing a name for the long training runs he has been organising each weekend since 2008, it just seemed right to go for Beloved Long Runs. “I would get up at 2am or 3am and go hide drinks and sweets in the bushes along the route, then go meet up for the run,” recalls Dean. Now, 11 years later, those Queensburgh club runs have grown into multi-club runs that attract from 60 to 250 runners each Saturday morning, who turn out to run up to 32km together, with water tables every three to four kays serving water, cold drinks and snacks. Oh, and lots of crème soda… because Dean really loves his crème soda!

Dean (50) works as a rep for Asics in the KZN and Eastern Cape areas. He was introduced to running at the tender of age of 11, when he did a 5km fun run in La Lucia in December 1979. “I was initially reluctant to participate, but instantly fell head over heels in love with the sport. After that I continued running every fun run I could find until I was finally old enough to join Queensburgh Harriers in 1984. I ran my first marathon in 1986, and my first Comrades in 1988, and I’ve now done 27. My target is 40.”

Going the DIstance
In 2014, Dean and wife Des – “My biggest long run supporter and go-to girl,” says Dean – moved to Gillits, but as a life member he stayed with Queensburgh and carried on organising the training runs. He started charging R10 per run to cover the costs of the drinks and snacks, and says he had a contact list of 20 to 30 guys in a database that he would mail the weekend’s plans to, and they would then send-on to their friends. By the time Dean organised a big Hillcrest to Beachfront training run in January 2016, he was being asked to organise more runs, “So I decided to start organising runs all over the province, find volunteers for seconding tables, and create a webpage and Facebook page to promote the runs, while also upping the fee to R20 to cover the additional costs.”

When he was approached later in 2016 by several running clubs that wanted to be part of the runs, he grabbed the opportunity. “We were taking up too much parking at shopping centres and garages, so in 2017 we started partnering with various clubs and running from their clubhouses. The clubs could then make their showers, clubhouse and bar available, which could bring in some money while also offering runners a safer running environment. A large percentage of our runners are women, who are attracted by the increased safety of our group runs.”

The Beloved Long Runs are mostly on out-and-back routes, so runners can turn wherever they want to, and all take place on Saturday mornings. “I never clash with races on Sundays, because these runs rely on the clubs for support, and even on those weekends with really big races, I still still get a good turn-out.” Added to the weekly runs, Dean organises the ‘Comrades in Three Days’ on Easter Weekend, and helps organise the 56km Comrades Route Tester in early May, in conjunction with the long-standing Collegians and Hillcrest route tester runs. “We’ve brought 14 more clubs on board to help with the water tables, and it has really grown in popularity.”

Running for a Cause
One of the most commendable aspects of Dean’s runs is that once he has covered his costs for catering and logistics from the ‘entry fee,’ the rest goes to charity. He also puts out a donations box for any runners that may want to give more, and in 2016-2017 they raised R70,000 for various charities. However, much more was to follow this year. “The Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust was nominated as an official Comrades charity and early in 2018 they approached me to become a running ambassador for the Centre, but I said I wanted to do more by partnering the Beloved Long Runs to their charity.”

“I set an initial target of raising R10,000 for them, but then said, hold on, we’ve got over 3000 Facebook members and can aim higher, so I increased that to R100,000. An old school friend of mine then said that he would double the money if we reached that target, which we did in the first week of May. With R200,000 raised, I upped the target to R250,000, then R300,000, and eventually a few weeks after this year’s Comrades we finished on R327,000! It really is terrific to see how much the runners are willing to give back.”

To find the next Beloved Long Run, go to www.belovedlongruns.co.za or www.facebook.com/groups/belovedlongruns.

IMAGES: Jetline Action Photo & courtesy Dean Wight

Ultra-distance triathlete Jade Nicole is not just making a name for herself in the sport, she is ready to take on the world’s best in the hopes of pursuing a pro career in triathlon. – BY SEAN FALCONER

The right mindset. That’s what Jade Nicole (28) says was missing when she went to Europe aged 18 to become a pro cyclist. “Cycling started out as a hobby during school in Cape Town, but soon I was racing the top girls and signed by the Konica-Minolta team, riding the big races like the Cycle Tour and 947. Then I went to Europe, and honestly, I really missed my family and friends, and the comforts of home. I was living in a team house with 10 other riders and it was a lot more difficult to get into the pro team, and after three years I realised I wouldn’t make it.”

Fast-forward a few years and Jade is once again making a name for herself on the sporting front. Now living in Johannesburg, she won the recent MiWayLife Sun City Ultra triathlon (1.9km/90km/21km), having finished first in her age group and eighth overall at the Standard Bank Ironman SA 70.3 in East London earlier this year, as well as well as first in her age group and second overall at the MiWayLife Durban Ultra. Those great results followed overall wins in 2017 at the Durban 70.3 and Indian Ocean Triathlon in Mauritius, and a first in age group and seventh overall in the 2017 Ironman SA 70.3. And she says it is largely thanks to her coach, Lucie Zelenkova.

“Sun City was not my best race, but I pulled a rabbit out of the hat after being two minutes down on Magda Nieuwoudt at T2. Somehow I passed her on the second lap of the run and ended up beating her by nearly seven minutes. I had been sick the week before the race and still wasn’t feeling great, but I had one of my best runs that day – and I must give credit to Lucie for helping me develop the mindset that now allows me to race so successfully. I wish I had this mindset eight years ago in Europe – I could have achieved so much more, but I didn’t believe in myself as much.”

A Second Chance
Jade had actually done a few triathlons while in school, but says she struggled with the swimming. With her cycling days behind her, and having initially trained as a chef upon her return to SA and worked in that field for four years before training to become a personal trainer, she decided to give triathlon a go again in 2015 when a client invited her to a tri event. Her initial results were competitive but not top level, so in 2016 she decided to take things more seriously and signed up with Lucie’s Trifactri squad. “I’ve always been inspired by her, having watched her race and win in East London when I was young,” says Jade.

“I now have a coach who has raced all around the world, who’s been there and done it, and I love that she is very hands-on and supportive. We have regular meetings to ensure I am focused, while avoiding over-training, and I trust the process, and that Lucie will get me there. She is always open and honest with me, and she has said a lot of things that make me confident about the future, including possibly turning pro. Still, we’re both being realistic, and I first need to see how I do against the world’s best before I can even start thinking about trying to make a living from triathlon.”

Bring on the Best
Of course, the chance to test herself against the world’s best triathletes is just around the corner. Having won her age group in East London earlier this year, Jade qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs, which will take place in Port Elizabeth on 1 September. “My goal is to win my age group at World Champs, and then, if things go well, to turn professional and represent my country at an international level. The World’s best are coming to SA and it will be my first international race, so a good indication to see where I stand on the world stage. I need to be able to make money if I turn pro, so I’ll be comparing times when they are here.”

Happily for Jade, her motivation to succeed is strong enough to overcome any doubts, especially when she thinks bout her decision to cut back on her work hours in the Virgin Active Classic Collection gymnasium at Alice Lane in Sandton, in order to train for World Champs. “I am currently only working half-day, and have sacrificed my morning working hours – and pay – to fit in training from 4:30am to 12, before I see clients in the afternoon and evening. But I am motivated and looking forward to the challenge.”

STOP PRESS: Since this article was written, Jade went on to win her age category at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs in PE… which means chances are good she will be turning pro in the near future!

IMAGES: Jethro Snyders and courtesy Asics & Jade Nicole