No matter what life has thrown at Natascha van Zyl, she has found a way to keep going. In the last 13 years she has lost her mother, was diagnosed with cancer, got divorced, lost her father, lost her brother and then lost her young daughter as well, but she is still moving forward, still running, still climbing, because she made a promise that she would. – by Sean Falconer
When Harriet Kruger was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to fight it with her running shoes firmly laced up, no matter how slowly she was moving. That saw her take on the recent Pondo Coaster Trail Run, and then she did something she wasn’t sure she was actually physically capable of, she ran the Comrades Marathon! This is her inspiring story. – by Sean Falconer
Joburg runner Henry Cock is well on his way to running 133 half marathons on consecutive days in the Mentally Aweh Challenge. He will cover just over 2800km as he makes his way around the South African coastline, from Mozambique to Namibia, and he’s doing this not only to set a new Guinness World Record, but more importantly to raise funds for to promote mental health and ‘aweh-ness.’ – by Sean Falconer
In May, South African mountaineer Remy Kloos was seemingly within touching distance of the summit of Mount Everest, when she was forced to abandon.
Although greatly disappointed, she has moved the end date of her ultimate goal, and in the meantime will be using running and hiking to make sure she is ready to tackle the world’s highest mountains. – By Sean Falconer
There’s no good time to experience a Trail MisAdventure (my speciality), but the one time you really do not want one is when you are running through a ‘Big 5’ nature reserve, and find yourself alone with a hungry lion, or being chased by an angry elephant! – By Carla Farina
These are strange times to be a road runner, and there are some really interesting running challenges being dreamt up, like the recent Cape to Mossel Bay Virtual Challenge. At just under 400km, it was already one of the longest virtual races on the calendar, but when Ismail Isaacs won the event, being the first to ‘run to Mossel Bay,’ he did the natural thing and promptly started ‘running back again!’ – By PJ Moses
You aren’t even hungry, but you just have to munch on something! Mindless eating, some would say. This is one of the most common reasons why people ‘fall off’ their diet… snacking without thinking. – By Jo Hill
On 24 May, the Comrades Marathon Association celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first Comrades Marathon on 24 May 1921, with a
commemorative Centenary Run and gala event at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg. With a veritable who’s who of Comrades history in
attendance, it was a fitting way to celebrate a century of the Ultimate Human Race. – By Sean Falconer
Over a year of planning and dreaming and it came down to this day… The day I went for it! My team of five turned dreams into reality as we completed the 13 Peaks Challenge in 32 hours and 33 minutes, without sleep and with the most incredible team, support and seconders we could ask for. – By Dawn Nunes (with Sean Falconer)
Every runner dreams of having that perfect race, when you feel like you could run all day. For Irvette van Zyl, 23 May was one of those days,
and it brought her an unexpected new IAU 50km World Record. Not just because she was supposed to withdraw after setting the pace for
30km, but because just over a year ago she thought her running career may be over. – By Sean Falconer