Category: Features

Having recently finished her first Ironman 70.3 race in East London, Rogeema Kenny has not just done something she once thought she couldn’t do, she’s done something that many people said she shouldn’t do. Fortunately, she didn’t listen to either opinion! – BY PJ MOSES

Rogeema Kenny does not like to be told that she can’t do something just because she is a woman. “I hate that society has put limits on what is acceptable for women and girls to do, or what to strive for. There should be no limitations for anyone, men or women, we should all be able to do what we feel we are able to, as long as it does not negatively impact anyone else’s life,” she says.

A qualified electrical engineer, she spent 10 years in the energy industry before changing to management consulting, because it felt more in line with her personal ideology about being a game-changer and a societal boundary shifter. And that is what she has become since taking up running, and later triathlon, but it initially just started as a way to stay fit. “Early on in my working life I started running with my sister, Fadeelah, to keep fit. However, I did not feel any love toward running as a hobby. In fact, I found it tough going and extremely uncomfortable, but what kept me going was this incredible sense of achievement after every run. I pushed at the imaginary boundaries that surrounded me. This was the same drive I felt when I achieved my Second Dan black belt in karate years before.”

As is the case with many runners who step up to the longer distances, Rogeema struggled during her first marathon. “At my first marathon, the Peninsula, I wanted to do well, and even though it felt great getting to the finish, I couldn’t break that magical five-hour mark. I made myself a promise that I will train harder and return stronger.” Clearly the promise worked, because later that same year she ran her second marathon and took more than an hour off her previous time!

“With a qualification for the Two Oceans 56km in the bag, I jumped into my next challenge of doing an ultra. I trained hard and successfully completed the Two Oceans, but still I needed something more… and found something that was not expected as the logical next step. My friend Jacques suggested I try my hand at triathlons, and I was intrigued, but also very sceptical. This would be a major stepping stone into the unknown, because I could not swim, and I definitely was not a cyclist!” Nevertheless, in May 2014, four years after starting to run, Rogeema lined up with Jacques at the start of her first triathlon, an off-road event in Durbanville.

DOUBLE CHALLENGE
Being a triathlon newcomer was hard enough, but being a devout Muslim woman made things all the more challenging for Rogeema. “I spent over twenty minutes in transition each time because I had to stay covered the best I could while readying myself for the next stage of the race. I knew after the race that I was going to have to do a lot of research if I wanted to make things easier for myself. There was nobody that I could ask for advice or for guidance, because there were very few Muslim women doing triathlon back then, if any. I especially needed to sort out the clothing, because you need something practical that won’t hinder your progress. You can’t swim in a doekie!”

Rogeema says that event organisers have been very understanding and she’s never had a problem with officials regarding her religion. The tri community has also been wonderfully supportive, and she now sees them as an extension of her family, especially the Atlantic Triathlon Club and the Embark triathlon training group that she is a part of. However, she has received some push-back from members of the Muslim community who feel that triathlons are not a sport Muslim woman should be taking part in…

“It is a question of balance, in my opinion, between my spiritual life and my physical pursuits. I don’t think I could do one without the other. People may judge me, but I am not doing it for them, and I am not harming anyone in any way, but I am building myself into a stronger and healthier human being. I don’t always handle the negativity as well as I should, but I try to steer clear of those who judge without understanding. I want to educate people that sport is important and that it helps you in all aspects of your life. It changes you as a person and helps you to find the courage within yourself that you didn’t even know existed.”

STEPPING IT UP
Just as had happened in her running, Rogeema found that first taste of triathlon just made her want more. “I knew that I would want to step up a level one day and go on to do the Ironman race, but initially I kept putting my Ironman entry off, until last year I eventually decided to just go for it, and I put in the work needed to be successful at it. It took me a while to get to the Half Ironman 70.3 distance, but it was all worth the effort in the end.”

“The feeling of standing on that beach in January, looking out at the ocean, was indescribable, and I felt very excited about the challenge that lay ahead. I think that is one of the reasons I love the structure and intensity of the training programmes that triathletes put themselves through. It takes away most of the butterflies and doubt on race day. It leaves you with an excited anticipation of the adventure that lies ahead of you.”

“Today I look at my medal and I know that I have finished one of the toughest things I could ever try and do. Months of preparation and sacrifice went into that event, and the emotion of those last few kilometres of my run were so heavy that I wanted to choke up with each step that I took closer to the finish line. This achievement, for me, is up there with finishing the Two Oceans Ultra. It is an empowering moment that I savour.”

GIVING BACK
The journey from Karateka to runner to Ironman triathlete has been an eventful one for Rogeema, and at times a lonely one. Today, she sees herself as an example to women, especially young women, who want to follow a more active lifestyle, and thus she has become active in the Dreamgirls mentorship programmes. “Young women need positive role models and people who can identify and nurture their potential. It took me a while to talk about my sport in public, but since I have done so, many girls have come up to me and said that they feel empowered by my story.”

“All women should use their experiences to help other people, especially young girls. They shouldn’t believe that they can’t do things just because other people can’t do it. There must be a first person to do things, and if what I do can benefit somebody else in their lives, then that is a good reason to keep on doing it. I believe that you must know what you want, have a clear idea of what it will take to get there, and be prepared to do whatever it takes, because nothing worth it is easy. At the end of it, when you achieve that goal, all the sacrifice will have been worth it. The person that starts is not the same person that finishes the race. It transforms you and will make you stronger and better than you were before.”

Having won six SA titles, represented her country more than 10 times, and become a regular on podiums throughout the country, Nolene Conrad has established herself as one of SA’s leading female long distance athletes, but running has brought her more than just success, it also saved her life. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Nolene Conrad is the picture of health and fitness as she bounds into the dining hall for our interview at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS), where she works as Athlete Manager for Elana Meyer’s Endurocad and interns on the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon organising team. The 32-year-old recently returned from a month of high altitude training in Kenya to prepare for the World Half Marathon Champs in Valencia, Spain on 24 March, clearly the trip paid off: She clocked a blistering 1:13:05 to finish first woman and ninth overall in the Peninsula Half Marathon in Cape Town on 18 February, just 17 seconds off her PB.

In that kind of form, 2018 looks set to be another great year for her after a brilliant 2017 season. That included finishing runner-up in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon, ending third overall on the points table of the Spar Grand Prix Series, and taking 12 minutes off her marathon PB at the Valencia Marathon in November, clocking 2:35:21, the fastest time by a South African woman for the year. She also added still more podium positions and national champs medals to her collection at various SA Track and Field and Road Running Champs, so it’s hard to think that there was a stage when the doctors didn’t think she would make it past the age of 21.

OXYGEN STARVATION
While growing up in Cape Town, Nolene was diagnosed with asthma at age 13, and was constantly in and out of hospital. “My asthma pump became my lifeline, and I slept with one under my pillow, as I often woke up during the night unable to breathe. One night when I was 16 I had a really bad attack, and when I tried my pump, it gave two squirts and ran out. I went to find the spare, and it was also finished, so I woke my parents in a state of panic,” says Nolene. “We didn’t have a car back then, so they called an ambulance, which took some time to get there. I passed out and woke up in the ambulance on a nebuliser, then spent a week in hospital, where the doctor advised me to do some physical activity, like swimming or running, to grow the capacity of my lungs. He said my asthma was getting worse, so I would probably not make it to my 21st birthday if I didn’t start exercising!”

The very next week a determined Nolene went back to school and through a friend joined the Cross Country team, with her first 4km race coming soon after that. “That first season was a struggle, and I needed medical attention after every race. I would collapse and they would need to put me on a nebuliser. The teachers actually suggested I rethink being a runner, but I was adamant I was going to persevere, because of the doctor’s warning, and because I was scared of suffering the same fate as my uncle, who died of asthma.”

By the end of that season she managed to finish a 4km race for the first time, and says that gave her hope that she was on the right track. “I had just been pitching for races, but now I started training regularly and joined the training group at Pen Tech under Tobias Philander. I trained hard for six months, and while I still got attacks, sometimes induced by exercise, they were not as regular. And when the next school cross country season started, I began finishing in the top three regularly. That’s when people started noticing me, and my coach told me I had real talent. I was also part of the MacSteel Micro Development Programme with the Sport Science Institute, which also helped me greatly with my asthma.”

MAKING HER MARK
By the time Nolene finished school, she was receiving offers of scholarships from colleges in the USA, but she made the hard decision to turn them down and stay in SA, because she wanted to run for her country. She took a gap year to focus on her running, before starting her studies in sports management at UWC in 2005. That year she won her first senior SA title in the 3000m steeplechase, breaking the SA Record in the process, even though still a junior, and that paved the way for her selection for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

“I was young and inexperienced, but it went well, and it was a great opportunity to see what it was like on the world stage, so it was great for my running career,” says Nolene, who went on to run in the African Track and Field Champs in 2007, as well as the World Student Games in 2005 and 2009. After completing her studies, with a cum laude pass, Nolene was then recruited by the University of Johannesburg to run for them while doing her Honours degree, which she then followed up with a PGCE in education. While at UJ, she won the SA Cross Country Champs 8km title as well as a second SA 3000m steeplechase title, and represented SA at the World Half Marathon Champs and World Cross Country Champs.

After UJ, she began teaching at Vorentoe High School in 2014, where her then coach, Hans Saestad, was Principal and Head Coach, and she taught and coached there for three years. In those years, she added the SA 10km and 10,000m titles as well as third steeplechase title, and made the SA team for the World Half Marathon, World Cross Country and African Track Champs for the second time each. But even better news was that running in Gauteng really seemed to agree with Nolene. “I was getting less asthma attacks, and I think I finally outgrew it – the last time I had an attack was in 2015, and I no longer even keep a pump for emergencies.”

COMING HOME
In 2016 Nolene returned to the Cape when Elana offered her a job at Endurocad. She says she loves the work, even though it is quite a job to manage 50 athletes, which includes looking after their entries and kit, scheduling camps and travel arrangements, and making sure they are in an academic set-up with skills enhancement, so that they are prepared for life after sport. “Working alongside Elana is a dream come true, because I looked up to her as a junior, and I learn from her every day. She is an awesome boss, because she was an athlete and knows how hard it can be to balance work and training, so she gives me the freedom to do things in my own time, like a gym workout at 10 in the morning.”

She adds that working with young Endurocad athletes has led to her own dream of starting training camps for girls from disadvantaged communities. “I feel there is so much talent in those areas, and I want to show them the benefits of training and sport, and that they too can achieve what I have. We need more girls in the system, and my camps will eventually feed into the Enduroad system, but much as I would like to start this year, I have too much on my plate for now. I’m in the prime of my athletic career, so I want to focus on my own running and chase faster times.”

That’s why Nolene headed to Iten, Kenya in January, taking good friend Caroline Wöstmann along to continue her return from a long injury lay-off. “Training there is so amazing, because there are so many routes, including gravel surfaces that are easier on your legs, and it’s very safe, with lots of friendly faces. I felt like I needed to get away from work to focus on training and prepare properly for this season, and I did 160 to 170km in mileage for three weeks. I feel that I am in great shape now, and I’m really looking forward to the World Half Marathon Champs.”

“We’ll be running on part of the same route as the Valencia Marathon, where I ran my PB in November, so I already know the course, and now that I know from previous experience what to expect at the Champs, I am going into these Champs better prepared. I consider my previous two World Half Champs outings as highlights of my running career, first in Bulgaria in 2012 and then Wales in 2016. I finished 34th in Cardiff, and this year I’m not just going to make up the numbers, my aim is to at least make the top 20.”

COUNTING BLESSINGS
With a packed calendar ahead for 2018, including another big city marathon and an attempt to run a 2:30, Nolene says she never takes her success, or her health, for granted. “My career has paid off to the extent that I was able to buy my first car, and later I was able to build my parents a new house, and I have been lucky to have people who believed in my talent, like my parents and siblings, as well as friends like Vonney Dreyer who are like family, and of course my various clubs and sponsors,” she says.

“You can’t always change your circumstances, but you can change your attitude and how you approach life. If I had given up in those first cross country races, I don’t think I would be here today, and even if I had survived the asthma, I wouldn’t have received a free education, or travelled the world and seen incredible places. I genuinely believe I would not have made it to 21 without running.”

Images: Roger Sedres/ImageSA, Jetline Action Photo

The race slogan for the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run in Europe sounded stunning: “Three countries, two runners, one week – the dream.” And for two obsessive runners, a seven-day trail run in a team with your spouse, from one Alpine town to the next, sounded as close to a romantic getaway as it gets! – BY BEN SAMWELL

Amanda and I got into the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run in much the same way as many other races, including the Comrades, 4 Peaks and Hobbit: Totally naïve and ill-informed. I thus had my doubts whether we would be able to complete this 265km race with more than 15,000m of vertical ascent as a team – although we had completed a significant amount of road running events together, we had a less than convincing trail running history as a team.

However, we did train hard, completing many on-road hill repeats of up to 120 metres in the dark of the Gauteng winter, with some more technical training through Kloofendal Nature Reserve, and we also tried and tested new winter gear through the cold months. In June we went for a recce to Switzerland to get a feel for the Alpine trails and in a week completed the 100km Eiger Trail over three days, with Grindelwald as a base, as well as a couple of day trails with Zermatt as a base. Trails to Gornergrat and Hornli Hut on the Matterhorn were true highlights, and we got the first sense of what an Alpine climb of 1 500m over 10km was all about – maybe not as technical as we are used to in South Africa, but much steeper and more relentless than what we could imagine.

We decided to name our team Attitude at Altitude, to remind us to keep going when the going gets tough. Back in South Africa we managed to increase our mileage to 100km per week, which included around 3500m of climbing per week for a four-week period in July, our best effort given our long working hours. Then in August we rounded our training off with the SOX Trail Run in Wilderness and the 35km Magaliesberg Challenge. We were not fast, and knew we were up against the odds to finish, but decided to fall back on our biggest strength, our ability to pace ourselves cautiously and maintain our pace for as long as possible.

Nervous, but Excited
The event started with registration and a pasta party in Fischen, a small town in Germany where the residents entertained us with a traditional street festival including a bierfest and a flag parade for all 40-odd countries represented in the event. Things got a bit more serious during the race briefing, which included a warning that every water table over the next seven days would also be a checkpoint, and in true German style, if you were even one second late in arriving at a checkpoint, you would be disqualified as an official finisher.

We started stage one in a light drizzle, nervous but excited, knowing the first day should be manageable, as we were well rested and the 42km route only had a total ascent of 2200m – just 250m more than the Comrades marathon. The first half was on good paths and we could manage our time well within the time limits, despite some nervous stomach issues. We crossed the border to Austria on a beautiful climb via a narrow ridgeline that left us breathless and in awe, especially when we saw two mountain bikers carrying their bikes down the same path! We finished stage one in Lech, a beautiful town nestled in the Alps, very relieved that the first leg was done and we were still in reasonable shape.

Stage two seemed to be a bit easier, just 24km with a total ascent of 2000m, but it proved one of our toughest days to manage within the time limit. The first climb of more than 1000m started after only a small trot through town, and soon became a tough, technical single path through the forest, with the last couple of kilometres through snow to the top of the mountain. I realised that we were in some trouble, with no experience of snow, and for the first time really having to get to grips with running poles. The views were spectacular, but the pressure high on the difficult terrain. We managed to make the first water table with around five minutes to spare, but made up time on a pleasant snow-covered downhill. After a spectacular traverse, we climbed another tough hill to reach the last water table surrounded by snow-covered peaks, and then a gentle downhill brought us to the end of a longer-than-expected day in St Anton.

Stage three to Landeck (40km with 2000m of climbing) was a muddy affair through misty mountains, with the previous week’s rain making the steep single tracks quite slippery. It was another tough day of climbing and our bodies started to take strain, and knowing that stage four was the longest stage was a taxing thought even as we celebrated the completion of stage three.

The Longest Day
Stage four took us across the border to Samnaun in Switzerland, with 47km of running and nearly 3000m of ascent. I could sense the strain of the previous three days as it took more effort to get out of bed, and sensed the doubt in my wife’s face as we waited for the start. This was really going to be a deciding day, given that we constantly ended close to the back of the field, and the risk of this being our last official stage was high. We decided to approach it the same as all the other stages: Start conservatively, take each section on its merit, and run where possible to reduce our average time.

The day started with a pleasant run along a river for a few kilometres. A 1600m climb followed, initially meandering through a forest and then ending with a monster of a climb up a ski slope to the first water table. Following a well-deserved downhill, another long, steep 1000m climb followed, which took us to an 8km pass at the top of snow-covered mountains with beautiful lakes. Again, our lack of experience on snow was evident, but the scenery was so spectacular that we enjoyed every moment.

The last climb over a snow-covered mountain top with icy winds, wet clothes and short pants made us realise the need for really specialised gear when it really counts. Needless to say, we expanded our frame of reference of cold weather and inadequate clothing, but enjoyed the run downhill to a warmer finish area in the valley, delighted to have completed this brutal stage.

Hanging Tough
Having survived stage four, we did not expect the fifth stage of 37km with 2100m of ascent to Scuol in Italy to be that difficult. We were wrong! The first climb reminded us of Sani pass, while the second was another typical Alpine snow-covered mountain top, and the third was a killer of a climb – like The Wall at Sky Marathon – on a moon landscape that ended with teammates pushing their partners to the top. Following a long and knee-breaking downhill, we finished in the most beautiful Alpine town on a pedestrian bridge over a large river in Scuol. Having survived another day that was longer and tougher than expected, we were finally thinking it may just be possible for us to complete this race, and we were determined to survive the last two days.

We studied stage six of 44km and total ascent of 1700m well, and realised there was a nice gentle downhill over the first 7km that we could make up a lot of time in. The route then turned up an impressive mountain pass that is very popular among mountain biking enthusiasts, carved out of the cliffs with sheer drops into the valley. This was a spectacular run that took us to Prad in Italy, probably our most enjoyable stage, and we celebrated the fact that we were actually going to start the last stage.

We were determined to give everything on the last day to make sure we finished. After all, it was only 31km, with 2700m of climbing. The first technical climb of just over 1300m took us through a misty forest, and

after a pleasant downhill, the second climb started. This was a massive climb of 1400m over 6.5km that climbed through the forest to reach an impressive moon landscape on the higher slopes of Ortler Mountain. We traversed the top of one of the peaks on a short trail, assisted by chains, to reach the final downhill that zig-zagged down the mountain, surrounded by very high cliffs. It was as exhilarating as it was frightening!

The thought of finishing kept us going and we completed the last stage filled with awe and gratitude. Of the 281 teams that started, only 189 finished, and given that we ended in the last 10% of the field on stage one, we were very thankful to have made it! I recall one tough stretch, where a fellow struggling runner told us, “You only have one chance!” This race once again made me realise how spectacular trail running is, and how awesome the people from around the world are that share our passion. So, what lessons can I share after this incredible experience? Don’t let past performance limit your future potential, and never underestimate your spouse!

For more information on the race, go to www.transalpine-run.com/en.

Images: Courtesy Ben Samwell

Since breaking the magical 10-second barrier in the 100m for the first time on 1 July 2015, Akani Simbine has dipped under 10 seconds on a further 14 occasions. No other athlete in the history of South African sprinting can lay claim to that, and this year the 24-year-old sprint sensation is looking to add some titles to his name. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

Akani Simbini has one thing on the mind: He just wants to race. “That’s what we are here for. I don’t want to see a situation where the top athletes avoid each other until a big championship. I remember the days of Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson and Linford Christie. Those guys raced each other time and again, and people came out to watch and were excited about the sport then,” he says. “We must do the same now, and I want to line up with Trayvon Brommel, Christian Coleman and Julian Forte as well as our own sprinters.”

Disappointing Year
When you meet Akani, you are immediately impressed with his quiet, yet confident demeanour. At 174cm, he cuts a figure that you immediately notice, whether he has just stepped off the track or is relaxing in casual clothes. There is an aura around him, and he oozes confidence, knowing full well that he is one of the best sprinters in the world… and that’s why 2017 was a bit of a disappointment, in his books. “After 2016, when I got to the final of the Olympic 100m and finished fifth, for me 2017 was about the start of my medal and title campaign.”

The year definitely started with a statement of note as Akani clocked 9.93 in his opening race in Pretoria in March, something the South African public was not used to seeing. Traditionally, sprinters open a season with a low 10 and then try and bring that time down as the season progresses, but not Akani – he believed he could go under 10 from race one. However, shortly after that race he picked up a niggle in his hip flexor that would just not go away.

“At World Champs in August it was really bad. I would take my second step out of the blocks and I would feel intense pain, and for the rest of the race in round one I was thinking about the pain. Normally we don’t think about anything in a 100m race. We execute. So for me to be thinking about the pain, that was bad.” Akani clocked 10.15, his worst race of the season, but still progressed to the semi-finals. “Even in the semi I felt that pain, but was able to control it better.” He duly ran 10.05 in lane one to secure a berth in the 100m final, where he again finished fifth. “That final was so weird. Bolt getting beaten, Gatlin getting booed, and none of us seeing Gatlin come flying through on the outside… That was not how I saw my World’s going down.”

Long Season Ahead
As a result, 2017 was a bit of a letdown for Akani, but he feels that it has prepared him well for 2018. “It would have been nice if the hip flexor had given me grief in a Diamond League instead of at World’s, because I am convinced I would have come back with a medal, but the experience has made me so much stronger, and now I just want to race.” That said, he admits 2018 is going to be a long campaign, but he says he’s ready. “I start in March and race all the way through to September, and this year I want titles. The first is the Commonwealth 100m Gold in Australia, then I want the African title in August. I am the fastest man in Africa, but want the title to go with it, then a few Diamond Leagues, but the big focus at the end of the year is the Continental Cup in Ostrava. I want those titles.”

The Continental Cup is the old World Cup, a competition held over two days that sees continent take on continent, which means that Simbine will need to win the African title, as the continental champion will represent at the meet. In the meantime, he will race on the 8th and 22nd of March in Pretoria and Paarl at the new Athletix Grand Prix meets, and defend his title at Nationals in Pilditch on the weekend of 15-17 March. He adds that we can expect a replication of 2017’s ‘FillUpPotch’ campaign for the Nationals in Pretoria. “Most definitely! It worked. I have never raced in front of such a big crowd in South Africa, and we want to do it again. We want South Africans to see we have world class athletes competing here at home.”

Akani Fact File
• 100m PB – 9.89sec
• 200m PB – 19.95sec
• 15 sub-10sec in the 100m – most by any South African
• Only South African to go sub-10 (100m) and sub-20 (200m) on the same day
• First South African since readmission to reach both the Olympic and World Championship 100m finals

Images: Roger Sedres/ImageSA

Here are a few things I would highly recommend if you would like to make a substantial improvement to your running in the quickest possible time, whether you’re a newbie or have been running for a few years. – BY TRAD CRUIKSHANK

I’ve been running for seven years. I started running because I wanted to run the Comrades Marathon, a bucket list thing, but then the proverbial bug bit and after a few months of building a basic fitness, running became more enjoyable. From that point there were small personal bests here or there, but after four years I realised I had reached a plateau. My times were not improving, I didn’t feel any fitter, and my body composition was kind of fit but flabby. So what do I think were the main changes that helped me break that plateau and get to the “next level?” I’m no super-athlete, but considering my first marathon time was 4:45 and my most recent time was 2:43, I think I can make a few suggestions.

1. Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity, both with exercise and diet.
It’s what you do most of the time that is important and not what you do some of the time. Consistency is doing what we set out to accomplish long after the mood has left and staying committed to build ourselves over a long-term period. This theory applies to long-term training, over years, just as much as it does to our day-to-day training. The correct training needs to be applied consistently and evenly. The alternative is the weekend warrior who doesn’t train for five days and on the weekend tries to make up for it by running too many kilometres, a prime example of how to get injured and never improve your running times.

2. Run solo to improve or social to enjoy.
The South African race calendar is set up for athletes to fail, with races every Saturday and Sunday in many areas. Going to a race implies that there is an expectation of a time, or challenge to beat someone, but consistently running harder that ideal means you never give your body a chance to peak for a performance. You may gradually improve your results using this method, but in reality there are much faster and better training methods to achieve your goals.

The same goes for running too easy. Big social morning runs are great for a chat and coffee, but often these groups accommodate all types of runners and incorporate more walks and water breaks than may be necessary for you. There is, of course, a place for social running groups with motivation and structure, but if you really want to improve, the best thing you can do is run to your own effort and requirements every run.

3. Listen to those with experience.
If they look like a runner, talk like a runner and smell like a runner, they may still know nothing about running… Many runners share advice and what works for them, but you should look for runners in your club or running circles who have improved over a period of time, or have consistently great results, and ask them what they’ve been doing. These runners are not always naturally talented, but most have just worked out the system, worked hard and are a great wealth of knowledge.

For example, I had maxed out on my marathon PB at 3:25 before I asked a good friend with over 20 years’ running experience, Drew Fisher, to help me out. It took some time, but at a target race a few months later I ran a 2:56 just doing the ‘right things.’ Find a mentor or coach to assist you and your improvements will far outpace your expectations.

4. Do you run to eat or eat to run?
Everyone running a marathon burns between 2000 and 3500 calories, which is about the average recommended daily intake, so why is it that some people never seem able to lose weight. The answer is partially due to understanding diet properly, which I believe a sports-specific dietician could assist with, or a mental misperception that “because I run so much, I can afford to eat more.” For weight-loss, or running that personal best, diet is simply as important as training. You cannot afford to have a burger, chips and milkshake after every run. Your body requires protein, and glucose for muscles to recover, but pure sugar and oily fatty food will just clog your system while providing no benefit for the body to recuperate from the hard effort of running. In other words, your diet is the most important factor for recovery.

Final Word
Some people assume they are born fast, or that running is easy for them, but in reality they have to work hard all the time to maintain that level. I truly believe everyone can run well, but if you want to be the best runner you can be, it takes the effort to understand and work at it.

Regularly eating fish as part of your diet can benefit your running, because it’s great for your heart and can improve your physical performance. – BY ESMÉ MARÉ, REGISTERED DIETICIAN

You may already know this, but it’s worth repeating that fish is high in protein, low in fat and offers a wide range of health benefits. White-fleshed fish are generally lower in fat, while oily fish such as salmon, pilchards, sardines, mackerel, herring, trout and fresh tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are considered essential, as the human body cannot make significant amounts of these nutrients, and they can also provide a variety of performance-enhancing effects for athletes of all levels.

1 Great for heart and lungs
Fish is low in saturated fat and high in omega-3, which can lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood and protect against heart disease. Eating fish regularly could also make the lungs stronger and healthier with age, while omega-3 can relieve asthma-related symptoms and improve lung functioning during and following exercise, by reducing various inflammatory mediators.

2 Clearing blood vessels
Eating fish can significantly lower blood pressure through the vasodilation of blood vessels, improving blood circulation and preventing blood clots. This will ensure that hard working muscles have a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood and nutrients needed for performance and recovery.

3 Improves protein synthesis
Omega-3 fatty acids combined with an anabolic stimulus such as running can improve protein synthesis and lean body mass function and quality.

4 Contains essential nutrients
Fish provide us with iodine needed for optimal thyroid functioning, selenium that aids in the production of enzymes to prevent cancer, plus zinc, potassium and vitamins A and D.

5 Increases muscle strength and performance
Omega-3 fatty acids help to improve muscular strength, physical performance and functional capacity.

6 Reduces muscle damage and soreness
Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage, delayed-onset muscle soreness and loss of physical function, which otherwise can have a significant effect on adaptation to training.

7 Strengthens the immune system
Moderate exercise boosts the immune system, but excessive exercise may place stress on the body and weaken the immune system. Omega-3 fatty acids help improve the body’s reaction to exercise-induced stress, with potential benefits for the immune system.

8 Strengthens bones and joint functioning
Research reveals that omega-3 fatty acids and exercise may work synergistically to improve bone health, reduce the risk of hip fractures and promote a higher bone mineral density. A regular intake of fish can relieve the symptoms experienced with rheumatoid arthritis and could also prevent osteoarthritis.

EXPERT TIP
It’s important to obtain omega-3 fatty acids from natural food such as oily fish. Dietary supplements such as fish oil capsules might be an option if your diet is low in food sources containing omega-3 fatty acids, but should not replace a healthy diet. If you eat fish to gain the heart-healthy benefits of its omega-3 fatty acids, baked or boiled fish is better than fried, salted or dried.

Image: Fotolia

Born near Berlin in then East Germany, Katrina Muller escaped an oppressive communist regime and eventually ended up in South Africa, where she later took up running. Today, she is often seen at races in the Cape wearing her distinctive Running for Luca kit, named in honour of her daughter, and several running friends also race regularly in the distinctive shirts, to raise awareness of Children with Down Syndrome. – BY PJ MOSES

Born into a loving family home near Berlin, life was fairly good for Katrina until she got to high school and started to see the oppression that she and her fellow East Germans were living under. “The eighties were a turbulent time and I was becoming more and more active in showing dissent, along with many young East Germans. We were tired of being oppressed. Because of my activism, by the time I was 22 years old, when I was a young mother and my son Ivo was three, I knew I had to get out of the country, because they had threatened to take my son away if I tried to defect,” she says.

“In 1989, just a few months before the Wall came down, I took Ivo and escaped, with nothing to my name and only the clothes we had on. We travelled via Hungary to Hamburg, where we lived for 10 years, and then I decided to see what the rest of the world had to offer. We visited South Africa and I fell in love with this amazing country, and two years later in 2001, I returned to SA, over the Easter weekend, and I have stayed here since.”

BLESSED CHALLENGE
Katrina later married a South African and in 2008 her daughter Luca was born. As she says, life blessed her with a beautiful child, but also the tough challenge of raising a child with Down syndrome. “I was chosen to have Luca as my daughter. I think it has helped me become a better person, because I am more understanding, more compassionate, and just a little more patient than I used to be. She has been my blessing, and I appreciate what she has given me. I asked Luca one day what she wants to be when she grows up, and without hesitation she replied, ‘I want to be Luca.’ That melted my heart, because that is exactly what I want for her, as well as her younger sister Charly and my eldest Ivo. I want them to be the best version of themselves that they can be.”

Katrina says that taking up running was one of the things that helped her with the worries she had over Luca’s future, as well as helping her get into better physical shape to care properly for little Luca. It started in 2014, when she was helping the Down Syndrome Association of South Africa raise funds at the Cape Town Cycle Tour, and decided to enter the Spar Women’s 10km Challenge to raise further awareness of Down syndrome.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into, because I had never run longer than 3km before, and back then even that felt like I was running a marathon! At the Spar race, I started right in front, where the elites are, which was a terrible mistake, because by the time we got to 500 metres I was already exhausted. It was tough, but I finished in one hour 14 minutes and was captivated by the whole vibe and the amazing feeling running gave me.”

BITTEN BY THE RUNNING BUG
She followed that up with her first 21km at the Slave Route Half Marathon, and did her first 42km at the 2015 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. That race is her favourite running memory, because Luca and Charly were in the crowd next to the finishing straight. “When I saw them, I got very emotional. I took them from their Dad and held their hands as they joined me on the run to the finish. The crowd cheered loudly for them and I felt so proud! They both received medals, too, and it is a cherished memory for me. Marathon running is never easy, but these moments make it all worth it.”

Katrina’s goal now is to run more marathons, including the Berlin Marathon, which is obviously close to her heart because that’s where her roots are. “I want to run through the Brandenburg Gate on race day, with crowds cheering my every step, because in the years before I escaped East Germany, armed soldiers would have shot you down if you even tried running there. Just imagining it now gives me goosebumps.”

Images: Jetline Action Photo & Courtesy Katrina Muller

The 2018 Track and Field Season is going to be a busy one for South African athletes, and one in which there is plenty of opportunity for both established athletes to further their reputations and for those who have not yet quite hit “the big time” to do so. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

If you’re a track and field fan, there is so much to look forward to in 2018, including the Commonwealth Games, World Indoor Championships, World Junior Championships, African Championships, SA Senior and Junior Championships, the recently announced Athletix Grand Prix Series, and of course the Diamond League Season, which stretches from May to end August. It looks set to be an exciting season, all the more so because there is a renewed appetite for the sport amongst fans thanks to the incredible performances of our athletes on the world stage in recent years, as evidenced by the #FillUpPotch Campaign driven by the athletes on social media ahead of the 2017 National Senior Championships. Already some of the athletes are calling to #FillUpPretoria, the venue for the 2018 Senior Championships.

Traditionally, the track and field season culminates with a global event in the second half of the year, be it an Olympics or a World Championships, but the 2018 season will be very different due to the fact that the 2018 Commonwealth Games will be taking place on the Gold Coast in Australia this year, and as with South Africa, the summer sports take place in the first four months of the year. The athletics component of the Games take place from 8 to 15 April, and Team South Africa will once again be looking to track and field to pick up the bulk of its medals.

That said, even with the stars that Team South Africa has at its disposal now, it will be a challenge to equal the 14 medals from 2006 or nine from 2014. Still, medals are expected to come from the likes of Akani Simbine and Anaso Jobodwane (sprints), Luvo Manyonga and Ruswahl Samaai (long jump), Caster Semenya (800m – it is not yet clear if she will be competing in the 1500m as well), and Sunette Viljoen in the javelin. Those are considered “banked medals” by many, and one would hope that a men’s 4x100m relay team will be included in the squad, as many believe this is another virtually guaranteed medal. Another athlete with high expectations will be the evergreen LJ van Zyl, who will be chasing yet another accolade in the 400m hurdles in what is probably his final Commonwealth Games.

ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
The first big event for SA athletics in 2018 will be the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham from 2-4 March. This could be quite a successful outing for Team South Africa, with the provisional team listing such superstars as Luvo (he has to be the favourite to win) and Ruswahl (5th at the 2016 World Indoors), as well as Dominique Scott-Efurd (1500m/3000m), Carina Horn (60m), Henricho Bruintjies, Emile Erasmus (both 60m sprints), Zarck Visser (long jump) and Orazio Cremona (shot put).

Should these athletes make the final team, they could potentially have a very busy March. The 1st sees the first of three Athletix Grand Prix Meets in Roodeport, with the second meet in Pretoria at Tuks (8 March) with the final on 22 March in Paarl at the renovated Dal Josefat Stadium, and nestled in between the second and third GP Meets are the Senior National Championships from 15-17 March at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria. March will therefore be a particularly big month for those athletes going to the Commonwealth Games in April, to sharpen up and be in top shape for Australia, but you probably won’t see our best athletes competing at all of these events, as that would simply be an overload.

Still, you can expect some brilliant performances at the National Champs, where South Africa’s best will want to put on a good show in front of their home crowd, as they did in 2017. For starters, Folavio Sehole and Jerry Motsau are calling each other out on social media as they both chase the 1500m crown. Both have incorporated the date of the 1500m final in their Twitter handles – that’s how important this title is to them! Meanwhile, the likes of Akani, Anaso and Henricho will be lighting up the track in the sprints and sub-10-second times should be expected again in the 100m, and possibly sub-20 in the 200m. Sadly, there will be some athletes missing. Wayde van Niekerk will still be undergoing rehabilitation after knee surgery, while Thando Roto, who clocked 9.95 in 2017 to become the second-fastest South African of all time, is at the time of writing nursing an injury, as is junior sprint sensation Tlotliso Gift Leotlela.

THE NEXT GENERATION
While the focus will naturally be on the seniors this year, especially around the Commonwealth Games, keep in mind that South Africa finished top of the medal table at the World Under-18 (Youth) Championships in 2017, and it’s certainly an exciting time for the younger generation. Inspired by the seniors, we saw some scintillating performances last year, with the standouts being hurdler Zazini ‘Soks’ Sokwakhana and high jumper Breyton Poole. Soks clocked 48.84 seconds for a World Under-18 Record in the 400m hurdles, and then went on to win the World Under-18 Championships title in Nairobi, while Breyton also won gold with a 2.24m. In November he cleared 2.25m to top the under-18 world rankings for the year, a height that already placed him joint fifth in the under-20 world rankings of 2017.

Our youngsters will be competing at schools’ events as well, to hone the skills and chase their selection first for the SA U18 and U20 Championships, in the Boland from 5-7 April, and then the World Under-20 Championships in Finland from 10-15 July. Athletics South Africa has been setting high qualification standards and criteria for international selection on the basis that they want the country to be placed close to the top of the medal table at global competitions, and while the merits of this policy have been hotly debated, one cannot deny that the under-18s were top of the medal table in Nairobi in 2017 at the World Youth Championships. Therefore, the standards to be included in the team to the World Under-20 Championships will likely not be easy to meet either.

Another fantastic opportunity for the youngsters is the expanded Puma School of Speed Series that take place throughout the country from January to March. While the focus is squarely on the sprints – hence the name School of Speed – there are also opportunities in events on the track up to 1500m, and as of 2018 in the long and high jumps as well.

LONG SEASON AHEAD
After the Commonwealth Games, there will be time for the seniors to take a short break before getting ready for the second half of the year, including the Diamond Leagues and the Africa Championships. Akani, Luvo, Ruswahl and Caster are expected to continue to set the bar throughout 2018, and Wayde will hopefully be back in action in the second half of the year at a few Diamond League events. Anaso and Henricho are also due for another big year – both are former national record holders, but have not been at their best in the last two seasons, for various reasons. Cornel Fredericks has also been dogged by bad luck in the last two seasons, and we can expect something big from him as well this year.

With all of that said, a cautionary note nevertheless needs to be thrown in. While there is a buzz around the sport of athletics in South Africa at present, the country still struggles to unearth and develop female athletes of world class standard. Evidence of that is the fact that only two women are in the squad for the World Indoors, and just five in the squad (at the time of writing) for the Commonwealth Games. Another area of ongoing concern is that we seem to have pockets of excellence, in particular in the men’s sprints and jumps, but do not seem to have the same depth across the sport that the talent of this country says we should have. Hopefully the results of the current crop of seniors as well as the youngsters coming through the ranks will continue to inspire, and will spark a resurgence of the sport in all areas of the country.

2018 Track & Field Dates to Diarise
20 January – Puma School of Speed #1, Potchefstroom
31 January – Puma School of Speed #2, Johannesburg
3 February – Puma School of Speed #3, Durban
26 February – Puma School of Speed #4, Paarl
1 March – Athletix Grand Prix #1, Roodepoort
3 March – Puma School of Speed #5, Pretoria
2-4 March – World Indoor Championships, Birmingham, UK
8 March – Athletix Grand Prix #2, Pretoria
15-17 March – National Senior Championships, Pretoria
22 March – Athletix Grand Prix #3, Paarl
5-7 April – SA U18/20 Championships, Paarl
8-15 April – Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia
4 May – IAAF Diamond League Doha, Qatar
12 May – IAAF Diamond League Shanghai, China
26 May – IAAF Diamond League Eugene, USA
31 May – IAAF Diamond League Golden Gala, Rome, Italy
7 June – IAAF Diamond League Bislet Games, Oslo, Norway
10 June – IAAF Diamond League Bauhaus Galan, Stockholm, Sweden
30 June – IAAF Diamond League Paris, France
5 July – IAAF Diamond League Athletissma, Lausanne, Switzerland
13 July – IAAF Diamond League Rabat, Morocco
10-15 July – World U20 Championships, Tampere, Finland
20 July – IAAF Diamond League Herculis Zepter, Monaco
1-5 August – Africa Championships, Asaba, Nigeria
18 August – IAAF Diamond League Birmingham, UK
30 August – IAAF Diamond League Weltklasse, Zurich, Switzerland
31 August – IAAF Diamond League Memorial van Damme, Brussels, Belgium

Images: Roger Sedres/ImageSA

In October SA’s Bradley Weiss earned the title of Off Road Triathlon World Champ after winning the XTERRA World Championship final in Kapalua, Maui, in Hawaii. We caught up with him to ask him about his big win as well as his plans for 2018.

MA: Congrats on the win in Maui! After a hugely successful year on the XTERRA circuit, were you confident that you would claim the title?
BW: It is difficult to go into a World Championship event feeling 100% confident that you are going to win, but my preparation was perfect, and after a very successful season, I believed I could win if I executed to my ability. Most importantly, I didn’t lose any time on the swim, which was unbelievable! My swim has been letting me down all these years, and last year I came out the water more than two minutes behind the leaders, so when I stood up out of the water and saw the leaders right there, I thought, “Game on!” I think mentally I won the race there. I was just so confident.

MA: You still had to race hard for the win, though…
BW: Definitely. I got on the bike and I knew Ruben Ruzafa and Josiah Middaugh would be coming, and I knew I had to put a gap on Mauricio Mendez, because he’s proven time and again that he can put in the fastest run splits. I lost the lead to Ruben on the bike leg, but I put in a charge early in the run to take back the lead. The guys brought out the best in me and I had to dig deep, but the Maui gods definitely looked after me.

MA: You seem to be enjoying the pro life?
BW: I competed in 13 XTERRA Championship races across Asia, Europe and America in 2017, and the opportunity to travel and experience cultures all around the world is incredibly appealing and fulfilling. Living my 20s while travelling to remote corners of the world to compete in a sport I love, has been a blessing, a privilege, and one I never take for granted.

MA: So what’s on the cards for the coming year?
BW: 2017 was an emotional rollercoaster and left me a little spent – and craving home – so I took the time to not only thank but also celebrate alongside all those who played their part in my fairytale. Luckily my home town Stellenbosch provided plenty of fine wine to keep us going late into the night! I just wanted to get lost in the moment, because these moments of elation are rare in sport, and only a lucky few get to experience them.

Looking ahead, the new season is here and I’m up for it. I’m still young and enjoying what I do, but I don’t see myself beating up a tired body in my late 30s. Once my passion begins to shift, new and exciting opportunities will present themselves. I am just looking forward to making a living some time in the future without my heart rate at 200 beats per minute!

MA: You currently divide your time between SA and the USA? What are the benefits of the mix?
BW: For the majority of the year I am based in Stellenbosch, which is pretty much the perfect location. I am able to train with the strong swimming squad at Stellenbosch University, my running squad is also based there, and it’s important to have access to good trails to keep refining technical off-road skills on both the mountain bike and run, so having the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve so close to home is a massive asset.

However, all the travelling really broke me last year, so in 2017 I chose to base myself closer to the international races, and chose Boulder in Colorado. Altitude is incredibly beneficial to improving aerobic athletic ability, and Boulder not only sits at 1600m above sea level, on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, but many quality athletes train there, and having World Champions and Olympians as training partners was a massive part of my success.

MA: You’re sponsored by PUMA, amongst others. How has your partnership with PUMA benefited you?
BW: I started with PUMA as an enthusiastic youngster with a dream back in 2012. I was already running in the brand as it worked so well with my biomechanics, but PUMA clearly saw potential and I couldn’t be more thankful to the crew for always having my back. The people who have made this happen will never understand the impact they have made on my life.

MA: You’re also quite active on socials media…
BW: I like to share my life experiences, both good and bad, with a little humour for good measure, because I try not to take life too seriously. I love the opportunity to connect with so many people globally – from updating my Gran back home, to a fan in the Philippines, it can all be done in a simple Tweet or Instagram update.

Images: Jesse Peters/XTERRA Planet & courtesy PUMA

Known for always running races with a big smile, and still often finishing on the podium, Candyce Hall is also a driving force behind the fast-growing Carbineers Running Club of Cape Town, and recently took over running Western Province Cross Country as well… but it all started in Pietermaritzburg. – BY SEAN FALCONER

It’s no real surprise that Candyce (33) took up running. After all, her grandfather Ray Karg ran the Comrades Marathon 15 times, and both her parents not only ran it, but continue to serve as CMA volunteers. “I grew up in Pietermaritzburg, where running the Comrades is just the thing to do,” says Candyce. “My grandfather only ran his first Comrades at 45, in 1968, and he even ran in 1976, after being diagnosed with cancer the previous year. Funny story, that was when my dad jokingly said ‘Old Fart, the next time you run Comrades, I’ll run it with you.’ Well, the next year he had to line up with my grandfather!”

Candyce’s dad John went on to run the race 12 times, while her mom Eileen ran 10 to earn her permanent number, using her father’s same race number 388. Candyce continued that family tradition by taking over her father’s number 2247 and she now has 14 medals to her name. John, meanwhile, turned his focus to race organising, and today the Maritzburg City Marathon and Capitol Classic are his “babies,” as Candyce puts it, and her parents help organise a host of other events as well.

SIMPLE BEGINNINGS
Given her family’s running history, Candyce ran her first 10km race aged eight, but says she was very slow. “Later, I ran my first half marathon at 16, and finished stone last in 2:32, with the ambulance driving just behind me!” She only started running seriously while studying BA Human Kinetics and Ergonomics in Grahamanstown, but she says she came to love running far more than her academics. “Admittedly, I was not a great student… I would run in the early mornings, fall asleep in lectures, and then run in the afternoons again. It turns out you can absorb quite a lot when asleep, because somehow I still passed.”

She says her running was very simple back then. “I had one pair of shoes per year that my parents bought for me, and I used Sole-Saver to rebuild them regularly, so that they would last. We didn’t have physios or foam rollers for injuries, no Facebook for advice or info, and no GPS watches or cell phones. I just had an old analogue watch my grandfather gave me, and I would use the hands on the watch to work out the time of my runs, then use a ruler and a map that I bought for 50 cents at the Grahamstown City Hall to work out my running routes and distance. But I still won the 2005 KZN Marathon Champs back home in Maritzburg, with those worn out shoes and that old watch!”

From Grahamstown Candyce moved to Cape Town to do an Honours in Exercise Science and Biokinetics at UCT, driven in part by her chequered history of running injuries. “When I started running in 2003 I picked up a knee injury and no-one knew what to do about it, so I ended up studying that. Today I can fix that kind of problem in one treatment session!” In fact, her reputation for being good with injuries has seen Candyce establish a thriving biokinetics and personal training business, based in Hout Bay.

FAMILY VIBE
In 2008 she married Martin Bongers, who has turned into quite a runner thanks to the relationship. “He actually started running so I would go out with him, and for our first race together, he gave me a lift to the Transnet 10km in Bellville. I told him not to try chase me, as I was going to race, but he still tried. I finished in 42 minutes, he finished about 10 minutes later, and he said he now understood. He ran the Comrades in 2009 and had a shocker, then ran again in 2013, because he thought it was going to be my last one, and said never again. But I found out recently that he secretly entered for 2018, because a friend from Australia is running, so he’s in training again.”

These days, Candyce still regularly podiums in races, but she says she actually rarely races hard any more. “I did about 1500 to 1600km in races last year, but of that, the only one that was actually racing hard was the Cape Town Marathon – and even there I actually only raced to 30km, because there were no toilets along the N1 stretch for a much-needed ‘Candyce Stop.’ My body decrees how well I will run on the day, and nowadays I prefer to just run with friends and for the club vibe. That’s why running my last four Comrades slowly and socially are amongst my running highlights. I got to spend time with running friends, while running the whole day!”

This is where the vibrant Carbineers Western Province club comes into the picture. Candyce and her clubmates are often seen running together, even stopping mid-race for a one-footed Carbs pose pic. That entails everybody standing on one leg, with the other leg slightly lifted and knee bent at 90 degrees. “It’s just incredible that we can still balance on one leg after a big climb,” jokes Candyce. “It originally started with the Red Sock Community, and we just carried on doing it at Carbs. It’s become our thing, and all part of the incredible family vibe of our club, where everybody knows if a Carb at the back ran a PB, and that’s as valuable as the guy up front winning a race. That’s how it should be.”

FOR CLUB AND PROVINCE
There is also an interesting story behind the Carbs WP club, given that it shares a name with the Natal Carbineers club of Pietermaritzburg. Candyce explains that in 2013 the guys doing the Unogwaja ride from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg wanted to then run the Comrades in Carbs colours, because the original Unogwaja, Phil Masterton-Smith, had run in Carbs colours in 1931 when he won the race, before moving to the Cape and cycling to the race in 1933.

“You’d think it would be possible, as the Unogwajas were going to be running for 12 hours and doing it for a good cause, but Comrades and the provincial bodies said the domicile rule meant they had to run in the colours of a Western Province club, so my Dad said, fine, let’s create a Carbs club in Western Province! We only had 13 members at the end of that first year, but year on year we’ve been the fastest-growing club in the province, relatively speaking, and at the end of 2017 we were 220-strong, and could soon reach 350 judging by the enquiries I have received this year!”

Meanwhile, Candyce was recently voted in as new Chair of the Western Province Cross Country Committee, and has been tasked with rejuvenating the discipline. “The people running it did a solid job, but I think it can be transformed into something even bigger and better. For starters, we’ve moved a lot of the league meets to Sunday afternoons, as Saturdays clashed with both road races and school sports. There was some push-back, but we argued that Sunday is a family day, so why not bring the whole family to cross country, as we’ll even have a food truck there. I realise you don’t change these things overnight, but it’s about being proactive to change things for the better, and I’m very excited to see what we can achieve.”

Images: Jetline Action Photo & Courtesy Candyce Hall