Category: Features

As one of South Africa’s leading sport photographers, Roger Sedres was in Rio in August to cover the Olympics, being right there to get photos of Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya as they won gold in spectacular fashion, as well as all our other athletes. Here’s the story behind the pictures. – BY SEAN FALCONER

“In Rio, the heat got to everybody, and the biggest challenge for the media was transport, as we were always at minimum one hour’s drive from everything – and that’s not even counting getting through all the security checks! That meant I usually only got home at 3am after covering a days’ action and getting my pics edited and uploaded, and then I had to be up again at 6am to catch the Uber back to the Olympic Park. Added to that, I got sick while over there, and then my laptop crashed, and the cost of food was incredible! Luckily Pieter Lourens of ASA brought me free Macdonalds from the Athletes’ Village each day!”

That said, Roger is just as quick to point out that that he still really enjoyed his Rio Experience. “On the up side, because of my association with Nikon, having been a former ambassador for the brand, I was asked to test the new D5 camera, so I was given two new cameras to use at the Games. That meant that I had five cameras at my disposal, which allowed me to do more remote set-ups, but it also meant carrying five cameras around, along with all my lenses! But it meant I got even more great shots!”

Early Years

Roger was born in 1969 in Cape Town, attended school in Belhar, and today he lives in Gordon’s Bay with his wife of 15 years, journalist Shireen, and their two kids, Katherine (12) and Benajamin (7). At school he did athletics, specialising in the 100m sprint, and he was good enough to race against future Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks of Namibia in his Matric

year. “However, my best was 11.00, which was not quite good enough, so I switched to the triple jump, until I hung up my spikes in 1992, but I stayed involved in the sport and have never lost my passion for athletics.”

After school, Roger clerked at Old Mutual for a few years, then went to study photography at Peninsula Tech in 1991. “I unfortunately ran out of money after the first year and had to drop out, but ironically, the lecturers told me I didn’t have what it takes to be a photographer. Landscapes and stills were not what I wanted to do anyway, I always wanted to be a newspaper photographer,” says Roger. Dropping out actually proved a blessing in disguise, because in 1992 he saw an advert in the Cape Argus for an advertising photographer at one of the community papers, and he got the post.

The job was mostly taking product shots, but on weekends Roger worked for free, photographing community sports and supplying pics for the Monday newspapers in the group, and that soon brought him recognition for his talent. “In 1992 I won my first competition, The Hunters Gold Photographic Award, for a series of pics taken at a soccer tournament. Then in 1993 I won my first Metropolitan Life Photographer of the Year Award,” says Roger. By early 1995 he was at Die Burger as a news photographer, and over the next 10 years he worked his way up to Chief Photographer, covering events like US President Bill Clinton’s state visit and many jobs with Madiba, but he says the coverage of murders and urban terror began getting to him, so in 2005 he decided to start ImageSA and fly solo.

Sporting Focus

“I covered everything at first, but evolved into focussing on sport as the 2010 World Cup came around. Then in 2012 I was fortunate to cover the World Indoor Champs in Turkey and the World Junior Champs in Spain, which was my first exposure to international athletics. That same year I covered the 2012 London Olympics, and I learnt so much about covering multiple sports, surviving on minimal sleep, and having to plan ahead for booking sites for remote cameras. Those three meets really put me on the map in athletics, allowing me to build a great relationship with the IAAF, and now I specialise in athletics, although I still cover other sports.”

Now you would think that the photographers at the Olympics and other large meets get to meet the stars of the sport, but Roger says it is actually very hard to build a relationship. “We don’t really get to meet the athletes, because we’re not allowed in the mixed zones where they relax or warm-up. Also, it is imperative that we get stock images of all the major stars, while also focusing on the up-and-coming athletes, especially African athletes, so we have to photograph all the heats as well, not just the finals and the winners.” He quotes Wayde van Niekerk as a good example: “When an athlete bursts on to the world stage, publications and websites, even TV, need stock images of the athlete’s developmental years, but in Wayde’s case there are very few pics of him as a young athlete. That’s why it is important to not only go to World Youth Champs and World Junior Champs, but also local athletics meets. But I have no problem with that, thanks to my passion for everything about athletics.”

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in South Africa. Traditionally thought of as more of a male problem, women under the age of 40 now have a one-in-four chance of having a cardiac event, such as a stroke or heart attack. This statistic changes to one-in-three for women over the age of 40, essentially putting women in the same risk category as men. So, what can you as an athlete do to ensure heart health?

Over the past few decades, numerous scientific studies have examined the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and cardiovascular health. These have reinforced scientific evidence that links regular physical activity to various measures of cardiovascular health. The prevailing view in these reports is that more active or fit individuals tend to be less prone to coronary heart disease (CHD) than their sedentary counterparts.

An inactive lifestyle is one of the five major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (along with high blood pressure, abnormal values for cholesterol, smoking and obesity), as outlined by the American Heart Association. If CHD develops in active or fit individuals, it occurs at a later age and tends to be less severe.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR YOUR HEART

• It’s great for stress management. Regular exercise helps prevent excess stress, anxiety and depression, so it’s crucial for mental wellbeing and optimal heart health.
• It reduces your heart rate. As a muscle, your heart gets ’fitter‘ the more you exercise, and it is then better able to pump more blood through your body with each beat. And as less effort is required, your resting heart rate slows down.
• It regulates your blood pressure. Sedentary people are 35% more likely to develop high blood pressure than active people. According to the Heart Foundation, a session of moderate exercise helps to lower your blood pressure for up to three hours afterwards, while a few months of  regular exercise can drop your blood pressure by up to 10%.
• It improves your ratio of good to bad cholesterol. Regular exercise helps to lower bad cholesterol levels. Plus it improves good cholesterol levels, even more so than medication, especially if combined with healthy changes in diet. It helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Exercise helps burn excess calories, boosts metabolism, decreases fat and increases lean muscle mass, which is essential if you’re carrying extra weight – especially abdominal weight, which puts you at even greater risk.
• It reduces your risk of developing diabetes.  People who have type-two diabetes and have a greater risk of developing heart disease as a result. Weight-loss and exercise help to increase insulin sensitivity, which makes you less likely to develop type-two diabetes.

GOOD NUTRITION
We all realise the enormous advantages that running or walking can have on heart health, but good nutrition is an essential element to ensuring your heart stays healthy. A well-balanced diet is crucial in preserving heart health and just like exercise, it helps to protect the heart in many different ways:

• It’s fantastic for managing stress. Certain foods and drinks such as alcohol and caffeine act as powerful stimulants to the body and hence, are a direct cause of stress. This stimulation, although quite pleasurable in the short term, may be quite harmful in the long run. Eating an antioxidant-rich diet, full of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, can help to combat the nasty by-products (free radicals) that stress produces in your body. Aim to eat three to five servings of fruit and at least five servings of different-coloured vegetables per day. Also, Omega 3 essential fatty acids from oily fish, such as salmon, fresh tuna and sardines, have anti-inflammatory properties which help to combat the negative effects of stress and should be eaten two to three times a week.
• Your diet affects your blood sugar and insulin levels. Fluctuations of blood sugar levels put serious pressure on your pancreas to produce insulin. This excess insulin can be damaging to the body, especially the heart, as it can increase cholesterol levels, harden blood vessels and damage the pancreas even further, increasing the possibility of diabetes. Be aware of the type and the amount of carbohydrates you eat, especially excess sugar in different forms like white bread,
  sweets and cold drinks. Keep your blood sugar constant. Do not use sugar as a ‘pick me up’.
• What you eat affects your cholesterol levels. The total fat and particularly the type of fat you consume have a direct effect on your cholesterol levels. Avoid consuming foods rich in saturated fat, such as fatty animal products (butter, red meat, chicken skin) and processed trans fats (deep fried foods and some commercially-made confectionaries like biscuits, cakes and crackers). Also eat foods high in fibre (such as high fibre cereals, fruit, vegetables and whole grains). Fibre helps
  ‘trap’ cholesterol, rendering it unavailable for absorption into the body.
• Your diet can influence your blood pressure. Salt, for example, increases the blood pressure, whereas dairy, fruit and vegetables help decrease it. Use salt sparingly; avoid foods high in salt such as bacon, ham, pickles, sausage, etc. Eat at least five to ten servings of fruit and vegetables and two low-fat portions per day.

There are many reasons for taking up running as a sport. For some the simple action of getting out there is sufficient, but for many it’s about testing their ability to see either how far or how fast they can go, and then it’s useful, arguably even essential, to be able to monitor your progression and to know that you are getting the most from the time you invest in training. Races are the most frequently used way of gauging improvement in performance, but the longer the race, the fewer events you can race in a year.

Thankfully, there is a direct correlation between performances at a shorter distance and your potential to perform at a longer distance, which makes the massive increase in weekly 5km parkruns around the country a huge benefit to runners of all abilities. Most runners will complete a 5km in between 13 and 40 minutes and can then use this as both a measure of their current performance level and to predict their times over 15km, 21km, 42km, Two Oceans, Comrades and even 100km.

Quite simply: the faster you are over 5km, the faster you will be at these longer distances, even up to 12-hour events. (Once you exceed that time, your ability to withstand the loss of sleep becomes a factor.) The same predictive quality exists with your time over 1500m or a mile (1609m), and these are convenient distances that you can run on your local track and which are minimally impacted by weather or other external conditions. This means that they can be repeated at regular intervals to measure progression, or in the final two weeks prior to a race, to predict your time at a longer distance. (Anyone who has been in the armed forces will remember the standard Defence Force 2.4km run test, with rifle and pack, which is used in exactly the same way to measure fitness of troops.)

Seeing the Results

This relationship of distance, time and performance allows you to determine the key physiological training paces for your current level. In many cases, it is not that runners aren’t spending enough time training, but rather that they are not training at the correct paces – be that in long running, intervals, repeats or tempo running – to gain the best benefit of that training time. In short, they need to train smarter, not longer.

By keeping a database of these short distance ‘test times’ and your personal best at each distance, it is also possible to gain insight into your balance of quality and endurance in training, or flaws in racing strategy. Clearly then a flat-out 1 mile effort over four laps of a standard 400m track can provide a wealth of feedback information, and it is exceptionally encouraging to see the growth and resurgence of street miles such as those held in Tembisa, Randburg and the recently announced Sun Mile around a course in central Sandton.

I consider this a ‘drop of a hat’ test in as much that you need only have a couple of easy days training prior to the test, and one easy day after the test to ensure recovery. So, the next time you want to know how your training is going, get down to a track and push to your limit over the mile, 1500m or 5km, and then use the following table to see how you have progressed, and what your predicted best 10km or marathon time should be.

About the Author

Norrie is a civil engineer and originally from Scotland. He represented Scotland and Great Britain in numerous ultra-distance events, then emigrated and represented South Africa in triathlon. He is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer and is the official Old Mutual Virtual Coach. He coached or managed various Scottish, British and South African teams to World Championships in running and triathlon, has authored two books (Everyman’s Guide to Distance Running and Every Beginner’s Guide to Walking & Running), and counts 20 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultra-marathon medals. More info at www.coachnorrie.co.za

In October I was privileged to be part of the South African team for the trip to Blue Mountain in Canada for the 2016 Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Champs. What a surreal experience: Not only did the South Africans once again clean up on the medal front, but I had a great couple of races, and such a ‘jol’ with the SA squad. – BY SABRINA DAOLIO

Soon as we arrived in Canada, I fell in love with the country. No fences, clean streets, mountains, colourful trees, squirrels, maple syrup and pumpkin pie… what’s not to love! The country is beyond beautiful, and being able to run in the mountains, soaking up nature, was indescribable. Added to that, we were apparently really lucky with the weather: The locals said that this time of year the temperature can go five degrees below, so 10 degrees Celsius was like a heat wave for them!

However, the best part was definitely the World Champs. I was very under-prepared, because on 10 September I got a bad foot injury during a race and had not been able to run for the majority of the time leading up to Worlds, but things worked out incredibly well for me! My first race was the individual women’s 20-24 age category event, and with only racing at 1pm, it gave me time to support my fellow SA athletes… and get nervous! After the 100th pee and watching everyone finish their race panting, drenched in sweat, but smiling with relief to have finished, I knew it was going to be tough, but I could not wait to get to that start line.

Gunning for the Podium
The start of the race led us up a gradual slope and I was able to keep up with the leading ladies. After the hurdles and only 600m into the race we hit our first serious climb up to the quarter pipe and six-foot wall. So serious that I had to walk a third of the way up in order to let my heart return to a semi-normal rate! I was in fifth place next to SA teammate Michelle Meyer, but after the inverted wall (obstacle #8) came a technical descent of the ski slope and I was able to move into third place.

At the bottom of the ski slope was ‘Toughest’s Dragons Back’ (#14), then it was back up the mountain to the pass through walls before heading back down towards the platinum rig (#17)… and then back up the ski slope, for what felt like the 50th time, but this time we had to carry a wreck bag halfway up, over the steps and back down. I have never had butt cheek cramps like I had there!

With no time to let the cramps subside, it was back up the mountain, and I moved between second and third spot as we each took a few steps to walk. Towards the top of the ski slope we had a barbed wire crawl and net crawl up to the top, leaving us with breathtaking views… literally huffing and puffing! Skull Valley (#27) and a second platinum rig were the start of the harder obstacles. With a gradual climb we had the warped wall, another quarter pipe and then the Ninja warrior style Stairway to Heaven. I loved this obstacle, where you had to climb up the stairway with only your hands, cross over to the other side, and come back down.

Making our way back down the mountain, we did the hoist and traverse walls (#39) before turning back up to the rope climb, where second place had just rung her bell as I got there and first was out of site. Then I heard the encouraging spectators and marshals say, “Good Job! It’s downhill from here and then you are done!” Oh the relief! Putting pedal to the metal, I motored my way down through the zig-zag forest trail and over the technical bike ramps and bridges, heading for the last few grip obstacles.

Sweeping through the Urban sky rig and over the finishing wall ramp (#47), I was blessed to cross the finish line third in the world in my age category in 2 hours 20 minutes, three minutes behind second and four minutes in front of Michelle. (Well done, Tjom!) I had done 15km with about 1000m of elevation gain, on cramping legs, but I had the biggest smile on my face. My time would have put me in 14th place in the pro female elite category, which is the perfect benchmark for next year!

With the Help of Friends
For the team event the next day, I was in the SA female pro team with Hanneké Dannhauser and Carina Marx. The team race is divided into speed, strength, technical and teamwork legs, and with the rain and mud, this race reached a whole new league of tough and fun! With Hanneke having trained speed for her 3km race, where she finished third in the pro division, and having had a day’s break, she took on the speed segment, which included looping up the mountain and back down with obstacles. Being as strong as she is, Carina took on the strength leg, which included the dreaded wreck bag carry up and down the ski slope, while I took on the technical section, which involved a shorter 2km piece with many grip obstacles.

Hanneke set us off at a fast pace. This section was extremely slippery and included obstacles such as dragons back, a wall and pipe shimmy. On the way down to the first exchange, fighting for fourth position, she was running so fast she took a bum ski as she slid her way over the mud. I was up next, to complete a rig which took me a bit longer as I struggled to move from the muddy rope to the moving pipe. This put us in fifth, with a slight gap to fourth.

Carina made good ground and managed to retake fourth on the way up the slope, but with it being so wet and muddy, most of the athletes took a few tumbles, and after our third exchange, it was my turn to do the next few kilometres of obstacles. Fourth place was once again right ahead, with third still in sight as I sprinted to the wall and ran down towards the monkeybars-to-pole shimmy, took a not so graceful fall in the thick mud turning the corner, but managed to finish the Irish table right behind fourth. Next was the rock climbing suspended walls – definitely my cup of tea – where I was able to overtake the fourth team, but slipping off the next obstacle, Hanneke and Carina were encouraging me to make sure of my grip to keep our short lead.

The fourth and final exchange involved all three of us working together to get up a big, slippery, muddy wall, and once over we were able to claim fourth place, just behind the third place podium finishers. All in all, we were happy with the result and I love these team events, as it gives us a chance to compete together for a change. Overall, I am so grateful to have been able to represent SA in the biggest OCR event of the year, and want to thank everyone for all the messages, calls and support – it means more than I can say!

In a running career spanning 30 years, 51-year-old Peter Jaehne can look back on eight silver medals in the Comrades Marathon, six silvers in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, and a marathon personal best of 2:42:27, but even more impressive is his streak of 799 consecutive sub-90-minute half marathon finishes… and counting! Here is his story.

Running is an adventure that has produced beautiful lessons, truths involving friendships and an incredible amount of dedication and courage. Although I also run marathons and ultra-marathons, the one distance that I have come to love is the half marathon, simply because I can cover the right amount of ground to feel a sense of challenge and accomplishment. It also does not require the same relentless level of physical and mental training as marathons and ultra-marathons.

My journey with the half marathon began in 1986. I was about 12kg heavier and hadn’t done any training as I was roped into the race by a friend who was a trained athlete. So, there I was, literally going from zero training to 21km in a single day, and it was an absolutely awful experience for me! I just remember chaffing everywhere… under my arms, between my legs, practically everywhere it is humanly possible to chafe! I thought I would never actually go back to running, but there was something within me, perhaps a strong sense of determination that somehow prompted me to continue on the path of running.

It was probably around my fifth or sixth half marathon that I managed to run my first sub-90, and from that day on I set out to achieve that target in all my races. Notwithstanding having completed five consecutive silver medals in the 56km Two Oceans Ultra, and eight silver medals at Comrades, the satisfaction and pure delight from being able to run sub-90 minutes is the most rewarding aspect for me. It puts me on an unbelievable high! Not even six consecutive sub-3:00 marathons in the Masters category in 2015 comes close to my joy in achieving those sub-90s. And over the last 30 years, 24 with RAC and the last six years with Outeniqua Harriers, this goal has inspired me to push myself beyond my perceived limits, often in spite of things I had to face in life, as I found out in 2011…

WAKE-UP CALL
I had been living in Johannesburg, figuratively burning the candle at both ends with regards to my job, my family and my sport. I would typically get around five hours of sleep after a really tough day at work and then wake up at 4am to run and start my next day. Then I was diagnosed with advanced cancer, and this was a huge wake-up call for me. I quit my job and moved the family down to George.

While undergoing treatment between November 2011 and March 2012, I decided that I wanted to run the 2012 Comrades Marathon with my friends – to do it one last time and get my Green Number. Even though I was battling cancer, I had never lost my will to live or my desire and my passion for running. In fact, I think having cancer at the time and going through the whole experience enhanced the purpose, and the luxury, of being able to do something like a run. So I kept my running going, I never slowed it down.

After my treatment ended, I didn’t run any marathons for a while, but I did train for Comrades by doing 25 days of consecutive running in which I ran slow 25km runs to prepare myself physically and mentally. Just being able to run that Comrades was an incredible experience, and to my surprise, I finished it in a time of 7:15:29, my second-fastest run, and obtained an eighth silver medal. To me, this was a clear case of mind over matter, good over bad, and courage over fear.

PUSHING THE LIMITS
Fortunately, I have not had any bad race experiences over the years, but there have been quite a number of tough races! I remember running, a marathon about 10, maybe 12 years ago, with some friends from Johannesburg who said they wanted to try and run it under three hours. During the race I experienced a lot of discomfort, but I pressed on and still managed to cross the finish line in a time of 2:59:59… and then I passed out and needed to be airlifted to hospital! For about 10 hours following the race I was completely paralysed – I couldn’t move a toe or finger – but looking back on the race I am extremely proud of finishing in the time that my friends and I had set, even though it was by the skin of my teeth.

When I was younger, I would often test my limits, so while living in Johannesburg, I loved to run a sub-90 half marathon in Pretoria on Saturday and then another sub-90 on Sunday in Johannesburg. It taught me to push on through the tiredness and keep my eyes on the goal. All in all, I have very seldom had ‘easy’ races, because I just put my head down and work on achieving what I set out to achieve.

These days I compete in the 50 to 59 Masters age category, sometimes obtaining a podium place, and some highlights of this year include running a 1:28 at the Germiston Half Marathon in September, then a 2:54 in the Cape Town Marathon a week later, followed by a 1:24 at the Petro SA 21km in Mossel Bay and a 1:24 in Laingsburg. Then on 15 October I ran one of my career highlights at the Meiringspoort Half Marathon. I was running against the SA National Defence Force running club champion in our age group, and on the last uphill I managed to pass him, finishing first master and 24th overall in 1:20.

800 AND COUNTING…
It was never my goal to run 799 consecutive sub-90 half marathons. In fact, I only discovered my streak about 18 months ago while going through all my medals and certificates, but since then I have found that running sub-90s has given me something to work towards, and a sense of both determination and achievement, reminding me that I can do anything I set my mind to. By the time you read this I should have run my 800th sub-90, and I can tell you that I cannot wait to line up for that race, excitedly bouncing on my toes at the start, passing the first 500m with sweaty hands and burning lungs, and finally crossing the finish line with a huge feeling of accomplishment.

And once I have my 800th sub-90 in the bag, I want to round off this incredible journey by hosting a party, where I will open every single envelope of race prize money that I’ve collected, because I have never opened any envelopes over all these years. With a glass of beer or wine in one hand, I will toast to the success of the past as well as the gift of the future… which will include me setting out to get to 1000 consecutive sub-90s in the next six or seven years, and many more sub-three-hour marathons!

Salads are part of our South African culture, and can be an easy go-to meal for those of us trying to watch our weight, as well as those trying to try prevent their weight from dropping too low. The secret is in making you make your salad the right way. – BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIAN

Most athletes tend to be fairly health-conscious and thus eat quite healthily, including salads in their weekly meal plans, but how do we make them suitable to our own nutritional requirements as athletes while also meeting our taste requirements? To make a meal balanced, we should take the following into consideration:
• It should contain all three macronutrients: Carbohydrates to provide energy and fibre, protein to provide building blocks for tissue maintenance and repair, and fat to provide essential fatty acids.
• It must contain vegetables and fruit to ensure variety of vitamins and minerals and fibre.
• It should be low in salt.
• It should contain some dairy for healthy bones.

When designing your own salad for a main meal, think of the traditional Food Plate Model to achieve a balance in nutrients. Half your plate should always be vegetables, or one quarter vegetables and one quarter fruit. Another quarter of your plate should be carbohydrates and the remaining quarter should be protein. A small dairy portion should be made part of the meal, either as part of the protein portion (e.g. cheese) or as a salad dressing (using low-fat plain yoghurt).

Now that summer has arrived, fresh salads can be a cool, light, refreshing meal that can energise your day but still leave you feeling light before a run, and you could start with this delicious, recommended salad recipe (right), which is perfect to fuel your running.

HAM, CHEESE AND POTATO SALAD WITH HONEY-MUSTARD DRESSING
Serves: 4 Time to make: 45 minutes

Main Ingredients:
500g baby/sweet potatoes, boiled, drained and halved
400g can artichokes in brine, boiled, drained and halved
1 yellow or red capsicum, diced
3 green onions, sliced
150g snow peas, trimmed and shredded
2 eggs, hard boiled, quartered
200g shaved ham, cut into bite-size pieces
100g low-fat cheese, grated or cubed

Dressing Ingredients:
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Step 1 Combine all salad ingredients in a large serving bowl.
Step 2 Make dressing by whisking together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over salad.
Step 3: Place this delicious salad on a bed of mixed lettuce leaves instead of adding a fruit, to increase the nutritional value.

Having shown his running prowess on both road and off-road, David Manja has the running world at his feet and is looking to do great things in the years to come as he forges a career as an athlete. – BY KYLE DEELEY.

It’s been quite some year for David Manja, the 25-year-old long distance speedster from the North West Province. Amongst his 2016 titles are the SA Cross Country senior men’s 10km title as well as solid wins in the OUTsurance KFM 94.5 Gun Run Half Marathon in Cape Town and the Old Mutual Soweto Half Marathon in Johannesburg, showing just how versatile he is, as well as his ability to perform at both sea level and altitude. And having represented his country a number of times already, he says he is looking forward to more as he pursues running as a career.

David started his primary school career at Upper Setlagole Primary School before moving to Onkabetse Thuto Secondary School until grade 10. “I do not have a Matric certificate, as I dropped out in grade 10. Now running is my life and it is what I do for a living – running is my only source of income,” explains David, adding, “I am married to a beautiful lady who I am humbled to call my wife, and we are blessed with a beautiful son who is now six years old.”

Talent Spotted
It was while he was still in school that David’s ability to compete at a higher running level became apparent, when he took part in the 2010 North West Province schools track and field championships. “I ran in the under-19 5000m race where I placed second behind my current running partner, Joel Mmone,” says David. “I saw the potential I had, so when Joel came to shake my hand after the race, I decided to approach his coach, Pio Mpolokeng, to ask for help.” David duly joined Pio’s training group and says he is still grateful for the opportunity he was given to take his running still higher.

The success soon followed, with his breakout performance being at the 2012 South African Cross Country Trials, which he says is still his favourite memory of his career thus far. “This was my first time running with the top athletes from South Africa, competing against Elroy Gelant, Stephen Mokoka, Lungisa Mdedelwa and Boy Soke. I managed to beat them all and finished in a very comfortable second position.” That prompted a first national call-up to run for South Africa, which David feels is his greatest achievement thus far.

“Every time I represent my country it is a success to me. Starting in 2012, I ran in the Southern Region Cross Country Champs in Mauritius and I finished fifth, and then in the same year I went to the African Cross Country Champs in Cape Town,” says David. The following year saw David compete at the World Cross Country Champs in Poland, and in 2014 he again represented his country, at the Southern Region Half Marathon Champs in Namibia, where he finished second behind Joel. More success followed in 2016 when David was once again selected for the African Cross Country Champs in Cameroon, followed by another Southern Region Half Marathon Champs outing in Madagascar. “That race in Madagascar was a great experience, and when I crossed the line in first place I was just overwhelmed with pride and happiness,” says David.

Give me the Tar
Even though much of his success has come on the cross country circuit, David says he prefers road running, because he feels he can win good money on the tar with which to support his family. He currently runs in the colours of Nedbank Running Club and is sponsored by Nike South Africa, Biogen and FutureLife, and says he is looking to make his sponsors proud in the future. Speaking of which, he has a number of goals for the coming year or two, ranging from track to road to the marathon.

“I want to win the 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon, because winning that is any athlete’s dream, and later in the year I want to run another marathon and improve on my 2:28:07 at the 2014 Cape Town Marathon, but my focus next year is the World Champs. If I can run a 27-minute race in the 10,000m race and qualify for the World Champs, then I won’t compete in the marathon distance. My long-term goal is to compete at the Olympic Games,” says David. “Athletics is my main source of income, and I need to train hard and succeed in everything I do. It is my family that motivates me and as long as they are happy, I am happy.”

In an incredibly successful career spanning 15 years, Sunette Viljoen has competed in four Olympic Games, as well as the Commonwealth Games, World Champs, African Champs, World Universiade and many major world meets, bringing a veritable treasure trove of medals back to South Africa, including a silver medal from the recent Rio Olympics, and making her one of the country’s all-time greatest athletes. We caught up with her for a Q&A. – BY SEAN FALCONER

MA: Tell us about your younger years and when you started with athletics.
SV: I grew up in Klerksdorp in the North West Province, then we moved to Rustenburg. At school I did all the different sports, from athletics and cross country to tennis, netball and cricket, and if I could have played rugby, I probably would have! After matriculating in 2001, I got a bursary from North West University in Potchefstroom and started specialising in javelin with coach Terseus Liebenberg, who is still my coach 14 years later.

MA: Looking back on all your achievements, what are the major highlights that stand out?
SV: Each medal and title had its own unique meaning, but my Olympic silver medal that I just won in Rio is definitely the highlight, followed by my two Commonwealth titles in 2006 and 2010. That said, my World Champs bronze in Daegu came in one of the best javelin meets ever, with the top two women throwing over 70 metres, while I threw 68m to win bronze and set a new African and SA record. Also, I think I am the only athlete with five African Champs titles.

MA: Do you still feel pressure to do well after such a successful career?
SV: I think I have set a high standard for myself and for the people of SA, so every time I step onto the field they expect me to win a medal. But I think I have grown as an athlete, and at this stage of my career I compete for the love of it. I just want to keep winning medals, because I see how much that Olympic medal means to people at home. Being a sportsperson lets you bring joy to the country, and they unite as a nation in getting behind you.

MA: What keeps you motivated to compete at the top level?
SV: You have to have passion and a love for what you do, and you also need goals. I still have dreams that I want to fulfil in the next few years, like winning the 2017 World Champs, and winning back my Commonwealth title in 2018.

MA: How did you feel going into the Rio Olympics?
SV: I was a totally different athlete than in London in 2012. There I went in as world number one, with a lot more pressure on me, and I wanted that gold too much. Going into Rio I was not number one, so there was less pressure. Also, the Olympic javelin final takes over two hours and you have to stay mentally sharp for much longer, and keep your emotions intact. That is something I taught myself between London and Rio.

MA: What was the Rio experience like for you?
SV: The big difference between London and Rio was the atmosphere in the stadium. In London, there were 110,000 people in the stadium, sitting right up close to the athletes, which created an electric atmosphere. In Rio, it felt more like a local athletics meet, because tickets were expensive and the people of Rio did not fill the stadium. But Rio is a vibrant city with friendly people, and I would love to go back for a vacation, since I didn’t get to see much of it during the Olympics. Overall Rio did a good job, and it was a brilliant Olympics for me.

MA: What do you think winning Olympic medals means for young South Africans interested in getting into the sport?
SV: It’s wonderful to see how much our Rio medals inspire youngsters, but I think they must also know that it is not easy to win an Olympic medal, that the road is tough. We may have wonderful facilities in SA, but other sports offer more money, so many talented youngsters leave athletics, or give up when the going gets tough. If you have a dream, you must pursue it.

MA: You have been very outspoken about athletics administration in this country. What do you hope will change?
SV: We have to look after our talent from a young age. In other countries they have structures in place to do that, and ideally I would like to see our federation being able to pay its athletes. Then we would have a lot more athletes staying in the sport. I am fortunate that I now get invited to compete in Diamond League meets overseas, but others don’t have that, and they need funding to help them get to that level. We also need sponsors in the sport. When I started my career, we had the ABSA Series, and the Engen Series, then the Yellow Pages Series, but all of these sponsors have withdrawn. The bottom line is that our athletics federation is not in a financial position to help its athletes, and companies don’t seem to want to invest in athletics… and yet we are still winning medals, because we have the talent!

MA: What are your goals in athletics going forward, and will you compete again in four years time?
SV: I am nowhere near retiring! Next year’s World Champs in London is a big goal, because I specifically want to win there after my big disappointment in 2012. Then it’s the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, where I want to win my title back. After that I will reassess, and if I have the strength, motivation and passion to carry on for two more years, I will push for the Tokyo Olympics. If I get there, I think I will be the only South African ever to compete in five Olympics.

MA: Any plans for your son Henre to follow in your footsteps?
SV: You won’t believe it, but he recently threw 35 metres, aged just 11! He is such a lovely kid, with a lot of natural sporting talent, so he plays rugby, hockey, cricket, and throws javelin, but I don’t put any pressure on him whatsoever. It is his journey.

MA: When you do eventually retire, will you focus on coaching?
SV: Yes, I really want to build a school of champions, to give young athletes a platform to develop. I already coach kids in my off-season, and enjoy giving back and making a difference. Also, one of my three degrees is a teaching diploma, so I may go into that as well.

MA: What do you do to unwind outside of athletics?
SV: I love fly-fishing! I love going to the Vaal River and catching fish in the rapids. The line just lands in the water and you start reeling them in! I also enjoy quad biking, stand up paddling, going to the movies and nice restaurants, but best is any time spent with my loved ones, LiMari and Henre. LiMari and I have been together for four years, and she was the driving force behind me coming back so strongly from my London disappointment.

MA: What is the legacy you want to leave in SA athletics?
SV: The first day I stepped onto the track at Potch, my coach said to me I will be the best javelin thrower this world has ever seen, and that still motivates me to this day, but I just want to be remembered as someone who never gave up, who kept fighting and throwing through good or bad times. And I want to be known as SA’s best athlete ever.

He has 20 Comrades medals and represented Great Britain, Scotland and South Africa in running and triathlon, he travels the world regularly to coach or measure courses (including three Olympic Marathons), does media work for print, radio and television, has written books on running, is one of the most respected athletics people in SA, and did his first bungee and parachute jumps at age 59. It is impossible to tell you the entire Norrie Williamson story in the space available here, but we’ll give it a try anyway… – BY SEAN FALCONER

Stop by the Old Mutual stand at one of the big race Expo’s and chances are good you’ll see 61-year-old Norrie Williamson manning the Virtual Coach desk, dishing out pacing charts and chatting up a storm in his still distinct Scottish accent. Norrie has helped many a runner earn a coveted medal, and his expert knowledge sees him flying all over the world to measure event routes or share his vast coaching knowledge. In fact, he is away from home more than he is home. “This year I have been in Zambia twice, India three times, Dubai six times, and of course Rio, amongst other places. I think I’ve only been at home in Durban a total of 70 days all year, usually only two to three nights at a time,” says Norrie. “I could earn a lot more using my training as an engineer, but I get far more reward flying around the world for athletics.”

FROM RUGBY TO RUNNING
Norrie can look back on an illustrious running career, filled with race wins and international accolades, but it is hard to think that he actually began his sporting life in school as a front row forward in rugby back in Scotland. “I was the slowest, heaviest guy in my class, hence I played hooker, and I wasn’t really that talented, but I did a lot of analysis of the game and preparation. That saw me eventually play premier league rugby and turn out for my provincial and district teams at senior level, and I was even on the bench against the All Blacks in 1980. Then I headed out to South Africa in February 1981 to work in Durban, and on the flight I read an article in the British Jogger magazine about the Two Oceans and Comrades, and that made me change to running. Back then the forwards were binding much lower in Scotland and we actually hooked the ball with our heads. I got into running instead, because I would have broken my neck playing here!”

That saw Norrie run his first marathon in March 1981 at the Savages Marathon, then he finished 11th in the Arthur Newton 56km between Pietermaritzburg and Hillcrest, and followed that with a 7:09 Comrades debut. The following year he ran his first 100-miler as well as the first of his 10 Two Oceans ultras, all of which produced sub-4:00 silver medals. In 1983, Norrie won the Star Mazda Johannesburg to Durban 1000km race. “We started in Joburg, ran out and back in various directions for five days, and then ran down to Durban. I won it, and Kenny Craig and Dave Park were the only two others who made it to the end!” Another notable achievement in 1983 saw Norrie run a 2:42 in the London Marathon and then post a 2:45 the very next day in the Boston Marathon. “I had to finish London in sub-three to make my flight to New York to get to Boston!”

TRI-ING TIMES
Around that same time triathlon was becoming popular in South Africa, and Norrie finished 11th in the Durban Ultra. “I did the marathon in just over three hours, but if that 5km swim had been 5.1km, I think I would have drowned! I was so cold that I got onto my bike in my tracksuit, after taking more than 20 minutes to change! The next year went much better and I finished second, and that got me to Kona for the Ironman, where I finished in about 10:40, which was good enough for seventh place in my 30 to 34 age category. We also had the Leppan Ironman canoe tri here in SA, and I finished 13th in 1983, then top five in 1984, and that helped secure our team sponsorship for the London-Paris Triathlon.”

So Norrie joined Mike Hogg, Dave McCarney and Philip Kuhn in the UK for the ultra tri relay event, with Bruce Fordyce and Tim Noakes as support crew, and as the strongest runner in the team he did the largest share of the run from London to the coast. “On the other hand, I did the least amount of swimming in the Channel, just 15 minutes at a time, because I was seasick! We won the event, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and it was all over the newspapers, which led to us starting the SA Triathlon Federation when we got back home.”

MULTI-TASKING MAYHEM

In 1985 Norrie became an accredited IAAF course measurer, went to the USA to try make the top five at the Western States 100 Miler (an allergic reaction to a bee sting put paid to that), and ran a 2:35 marathon PB in Edinburgh. In 1986 he started writing columns for the newspapers and doing TV work, set a 24-hour and 100km World Record for running on a treadmill, completed his third Dusi Canoe Marathon, and was part of founding the International Association of Ultra-runners (IAU). In 1989 he was supposed to run across South Africa, but the project fell through, so instead he finished 26th in the Comrades with a time of 6:07:59 – well, 27th, to be exact, because that was the year that Frith van der Merwe finished 15th overall.

In 1992 Norrie finished sixth in the 250km Spartathlon in Greece, which saw him selected to run for Britain in the European 24-hour Champs and World 100km Champs, and for Scotland in the Commonwealth 100km, all while he was heavily involved in the unification of sporting codes back in South Africa as the country finally abandoned its Apartheid policies, and he played a leading role in the founding of Athletics South Africa (ASA) in 1994. “That went on into 1995, when I was offered a three-year contract doing athletics development work in Scotland, but as soon I got ‘home’ I realised it was a mistake, as South Africa had become home. But those three years taught me to see things from a different angle.”

“I’ve been back in South Africa since 1998, and I have no regrets about coming here. I would never have achieved what I have if I had stayed in the UK. In fact, I probably would only have left Scotland for an annual holiday. Instead, I have had an amazing life, have travelled widely, and been incredibly lucky in having such a supportive wife in Karen. Although we are now divorced, we’re still incredibly good friends. I think my Scottish beliefs of 25 years, then 35 years in SA, have shaped me into something different. I am very outspoken, and that sometimes makes me very unpopular, but I believe that my passion for the sport is what is important.”

Perhaps known better for her canoeing feats, including five wins in the Unlimited Dusi Canoe Marathon, Robyn Owen (neé Kime) can also claim an impressive record in trail running, having represented South Africa at the 2013 World Trail Champs, and now adding a win in the prestigious Otter Trail Marathon. – BY SEAN FALCONER

The Otter Marathon is known as the Grail of Trail because it is not only a stunningly scenic trail to run, but because for 363 days a year it is strictly off-limits to runners, with only hiking allowed. On those other two days in mid-October, it is reserved for a 42km trail run that brings runners from all over the world to the Southern Cape for the annual run between Storms River and Natures Valley. The race is run in the reverse direction in alternate years, known as the Retto, while the original direction is known as the Classic, and winning it is a real feather in the cap for any trail runner. Which is what makes Robyn Owen’s win in this year’s Retto all the more special, because it was the first trail run she had ever won… and boy did she do it in style!

Robyn ran nearly the entire race neck-and-neck with Stevie Kremer of the USA, but then used her technical running skills to full impact as she streaked clear in the last three rocky kays to win the race and set a massive new women’s course record for either direction. She clocked in at 4 hours 49 minutes 45 seconds, whereas the previous Retto record was 5:11:46, run by Landie Greyling in 2014, while the Classic record stands at 2013’s 4:55:48, by Ruby Muir of New Zealand.

Duel To The End

“It’s definitely my biggest win. In fact, I don’t think I have ever won a trail race before, and I’ve never beaten any of the serious, professional runners before, so this win means a lot to me,” says Robyn. “The first three kilometres were flat and chilled, but then we got onto the technical trail and Stevie really went for it. I just tried to stick with her, but I was battling to keep up with her on the ups, so I had to go hard on the downs, which meant we were constantly swapping the lead. We were back together at 5km to go, and then at 3km to go it gets very technical on rocks and I pulled ahead.”

Robyn is too modest to say it, but she actually streaked clear in those last three kays, opening a gap of about three minutes, and she says the final rocky section gave her the edge. “I prefer the Retto, because I think I’m not as good at running, whereas I like the technical stuff and am perhaps better at skipping over rocks. Therefore, finishing on a rocky section was good for me – I don’t think I would have been on the podium if we had run in the other direction.” (In her only previous run on this trail, Robyn finished fifth in the Classic in 2013, with a time around 5:30.)

Also typically modest about her new record, Robyn says it was more down to the ideal conditions that made it possible for both the men’s and women’s records to fall. “We had very good conditions this year, so everybody went faster, because the trails were dry, the rivers low, and it wasn’t too hot. Those were record-breaking conditions. Still, last year they said it was impossible for the men to break four hours on this trail, and they put up an incentive of R100,000, but Marc Lauenstein of Switzerland came out and broke the barrier with about 30 seconds to spare, and this year he went quite well under, posting 3:54:52. I was just focused on beating the pro runners, so it is even more special that I beat a record set by a pro!”

Multi-Talented Sportswoman

Robyn (27) grew up in Pietermaritzburg, where her father worked in forestry and her mother gave swimming lessons. The family was always active, going on mountain bike rides and hikes, and Robyn did various sports at high school, including hockey, waterpolo and cross-country, as well as canoeing. “The school would take a bus down to the Fish River race in the Eastern Cape, so that’s how I got started in canoeing, and I went on to win a few races as a junior. I love being on rivers – the rapids are exciting and the places we paddle through are beautiful.”

She went on to dominate the Dusi, winning it five times from 2010 to 2014 – three times in a K2 boat with a partner, and twice in a solo K1, as the race alternates the class each year. Robyn’s younger brother Lance is also a great canoeist, and they are the only brother-sister combination to both win the K1 class at the Dusi in the same year. “The Dusi is special for me because it’s a big thing in Pietermaritzburg. I also really enjoy the extra dynamic that the long portages introduce, where my running strength helps a lot.”

Even so, she surprised herself when she finished on the podium at the 2013 Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge in Stellenbosch. The race doubled as the SA Long Distance Mountain Champs, and that saw her selected for the SA Team for the World Long Distance Mountain Running Champs in Poland later that year. “World Champs was a good experience and I had a good run. I came 24th and was the highest SA finisher, but I was still ridiculously far out of contention, about 45 minutes behind the winners,” says Robyn.

Time for Travelling

For the next few months Robyn focused on finishing her degree in civil engineering at Stellenbosch University, graduating in March 2014, and then she went travelling for just over a year with then fiancé, now husband Mike, visiting Nepal, the UK, Morocco, Spain, France, Switzerland, and working for a while on a ski resort in the French Alps. Returning in mid-2015, she took up adventure racing, joining Team Merrell Adventure Addicts, for races in Swaziland, Australia and Brazil, and then they headed to Chile in February for the 612km Patagonian Expedition Race. “The weather in Patagonia was extreme – rain, cold, four seasons in one day, very dramatic – but our team came third out of the only four teams that finished, out of 26 that started! It was extremely tough, and wild… sometimes we got the feeling that we were the first people to ever go there!”

After that Robyn decided to take a break from adventure racing, but then Jeannie Dreyer of Team Sanlam Painted Wolf got injured and the guys in the team, Andre Gie and the Collins brothers, John and Mark, needed a replacement for the Expedition Africa event, since AR teams must have one woman in the foursome. They went on to win the race, which in turn meant they qualified for the AR World Champs in Australia at the beginning of November, along with the Merrell Addicts. And after 300km of mountain biking, 130km on foot, 120km of paddling and mystery disciplines, the Painted Wolves finished fourth out of 99 teams at World Champs, thanks to an incredible sprint finish to pass an Australian team just before the finish line!

Planning for the Future

Now that Robyn is back from Australia, she plans to put more time into the new business she and Mike have launched, For the Love of Adventure, offering guided hikes or trail runs around the Stellenbosch area, but also as far afield as the Cederberg. “We can also do overseas trips on request, going to places we discovered on our travels. My civil engineering degree is the back-up plan, and I might go back into that field later, but for now that’s not where my passion lies. Mike is still working as a lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University, but ideally we’d like the business to take off in the future so we can both go full-time with guiding.”

Looking ahead, Robyn has her sights set on the Coast to Coast Challenge in New Zealand in February, a gruelling solo multi-sport event that includes trail running, mountain biking and paddling, but she is also thinking about running competitively. “I already have my 2017 Otter entry thanks to winning this year, and there’s a big incentive to go under 4:30, just as the men were challenged to go sub-4:00. There may be R200,000 up for grabs for the two records! It’s not about the money, but it is nice to have a target to aim for, and beating the record this year has got me thinking about taking trail running more seriously. I have never thought of myself as a good runner – I rather saw myself as a good runner, for a paddler – but I am keen to try a few more big events and let’s see what happens.”