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Trail Champ Collects Another Title

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The 2016 South African Ultra Distance Trail Champs race will long be remembered by those who participated as one of those four-seasons-in-one-day experiences. In fact, it was more like four seasons per hour at times, as the weather over Cape Town went a bit crazy, but that couldn’t stop Nicolette Griffioen from retaining her SA Champs title and adding to her already impressive list of trail running honours. – BY SEAN FALCONER

This year’s Hout Bay Trail Challenge at the end of July featured the traditional 40km route as well as an extended 68km ultra route designed specially to host the SA Ultra Trail Champs, and the already tough course was made still more challenging by the weather. “Those were really tough running conditions,” says 23-year-old Nicolette, looking back on the race, which also served as a final Trail SA qualifier for the World Ultra Trail Champs in Portugal on 29 October.

“It was drizzling when we started down in Hout Bay, then stopped and it got hot, so the layers of clothing came off. Then when I was on Table Mountain, heading towards Platteklip Gorge, it started to rain and hail, but I thought I was close enough to Platteklip and the descent, so I didn’t put on my jacket. But it took me another 30 minutes to get there, and by then I was frozen. I wasn’t wearing gloves and my fingers were so cold that I couldn’t tie my shoelaces properly. I also slipped and fell a few times. I actually thought about pulling out of the race, but at the bottom of Platteklip the sun came out and I warmed up again, and it was quite warm going up Kasteelpoort, so I was able to finish strongly.”

Star of SA Trail
Nicolette has built up a terrific list of wins in top level trail races since she took up the sport after school. In 2011 she posted her first big win at the Dryland Traverse three-day stage race and has run the ‘Grail of Trail’ Otter African Marathon five times, with a best position of second. Her first ultra win came in her first ultra outing, at the inaugural 100km Ultra Trail Cape Town in 2014, and the following year saw her win the Num Num Trail and Crazy Store Magalies Challenges, plus finish second women’s team alongside teammate Carla van Huysteen at the AfricanX three-day stage race.

Her latest win in Hout Bay saw Nicolette retain the SA Ultra Trail Champs title that she won in 2015 at the 80km Ultra Trail Mount Moody Run in Mpumalanga, in the same year that she also finished second in the SA Long Distance Champs at the 32km Molweni Trail Run in KwaZulu-Natal. This year has been even more successful, as she also won the 2016 SA Long Distance Champs title earlier this year, at the Drakensberg Northern Trail Skyrunning 40km event in KZN, giving her the SA Champs ‘double’ in 2016 and also making her the first SA woman to win both national titles.

This success on the national stage has seen her selected twice to represent SA on the world stage. In 2015 she went to the ultra-distance IAU Trail World Champs in Annecy, France, where she came home 24th after 85km and was the best-placed South African female finisher. Then in 2016 she came home fifth at the 42km WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Champs in Podbrdo, Slovenia, posting the highest finish ever by an SA athlete in a World Champs event. She was also taken to France last year for the 76km Le Grand Trail Des Templiers race as part of an SA development team, to pick up more experience of trail running on the world stage. “I loved Templiers – I finished sixth and it was probably my best race so far,” she says.

Humble Heroine
With trademark humility, Nicolette says that it is an incredible feeling to win titles, represent her country and do well overseas, but that isn’t what drives her running passion. “I’m not title-driven or orientated, and I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself, so I just go overseas to enjoy the running experience and get the best possible result. But it’s still great to represent your country and know you have so many people back home supporting you.”

Unfortunately, a heavy academic programme in her third-year veterinary studies this year will prevent Nicolette from going to Portugal, as she writes her biggest exam on the day before the World Champs race takes place, and she does not want to move the exam as that will create a high-pressure log-jam in her exam programme. However, she should be back in contention for the three different World Champs events next year, all of which will take place in Italy. When asked which World Champs races she prefers, Nicolette says she is up for any challenge, but does hanker towards the marathon-length races. “I did better at the Long Distance Champs thanks to the experience I picked up in the past year, but I am not sure I can get a similar result in the Ultra Champs – that’s a lot more of a mental race.”

Late Bloomer
It’s strange to think that Nicolette was not very active at school, apart from playing hockey. “I hated athletics! The real change was when I took a gap year after changing my course to veterinary science and I went to gym a lot, became a spinning instructor and did some running on the treadmill.” Then she entered her first race, a 10km trail run, and picked up third place, and that was her hooked. She moved up to 30km races, then ran the Otter Trail Marathon, and that led to an invite to the 100km Cape Town Ultra Trail, which showed her that she has the mental capacity to stick it out in the longer races. “After 50km, you know that you’re actually heading back towards the finish, so there’s no pulling out then, and I’m far too competitive to quit, anyway. Those last 20km were the longest of my life, though!”

Fortunately, Nicolette has no problems with finding motivation for training. She lives on a smallholding next to Oori Nature Reserve in the Rhenosterspruit area near Lanseria, which provides a convenient base for trail training and where she first took up running with the family dogs. And these days, she says it is her four-year-old rescue ‘Trail-dog,’ Dobby, that really gets her moving. “My dog is obsessed with running! From four o’clock, she starts scratching on the door – there’s a hole in the door from her enthusiasm – so it’s always a given that she’s out with me. I love sharing her pure joy at being free!”

Exams Before Race
Looking ahead, Nicolette says her studies will be her priority for the next three years, while she will just keep doing her best in her running. “I would like to get my degree, then turn pro runner for a few years with the security of knowing I have a job to come back to. Right now, I would prefer to be a pro athlete, but I have to be realistic, I can’t run for the rest of my life, so I need something to fall back on.”

She also intends racing less in the coming years. “Last year I did a lot of racing and got tired of all the time and effort travelling, so going forward I will choose the races that I think I will enjoy, like the Otter and Skyrun, because it’s not just about titles. I love getting over rocks, descending, going through rivers, tackling obstacles, and I have no fear when it comes to running the technical courses, so I will look for courses that offer that. I want to experience new places and routes, while also trying to stay injury-free after being out for three months at the end of last year with ITB.”

“I also like to mix up the distances and the sports, which is why I like doing the XTERRA triathlons at the beginning of each year,” says Nicolette, who finished fourth at the XTERRA SA Champs in Grabouw in 2015 and fifth in 2016. “I would like to qualify for the XTERRA World Champs in Hawaii, but it all comes down to the swim leg, which is my weakest discipline. I do swim a lot, three times a week, and enjoy it as active recovery from running and cycling. so I am hoping that will maintain my swimming fitness, and then in the two months leading up to the XTERRA SA Champs I will do more intensive speed swim training. But trail running will remain my sporting focus.

Taking on the Giants

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Over the next year, professional endurance athlete and Sabrina Love Foundation Ambassador Jamie Marais from Cape Town will be tackling four ‘giants’ as he takes on the Four Giants Challenge extreme endurance quest. And he’s doing it to inspire people to realise that “no giant is too big to face” as well as raise funds for the Sabrina Love Foundation, which cares for children with special needs.
 
24 summits of Table Mountain in 48 hours.
Jamie will run up Table Mountain 24 times, covering approximately 72 kilometres of vertical running and a staggering vertical ascent of over 18 000 meters – more than twice the height of Mount Everest! 
 
Attempt the greatest vertical height on a bicycle on the Du Toits Kloof Pass.
His second challenge will be an official Guinness World Record Attempt for the “Greatest vertical height on a bicycle in 12 hours,” which he will achieve by cycling up and down a mountain pass as many times as possible.
 
Paddling the 676km length of the longest lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika, on a stand up paddle board.
He will then head to Tanzania to become the first person ever to attempt to SUP paddle the storm-driven waters of Lake Tanganyika, filled with large colonies of hippos and some of the biggest recorded crocodiles in the world,
 
A speed ascent/descent of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5890m.
Finally, Jamie will travel to Kenya where he will attempt to get up and back down the highest mountain in Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro, which he hopes to do in under 10 hours!
 
So what makes Jamie want to take on these incredible and dangerous physical challenges? “All of us face giants, but no giant is too big to face,” says the man who has already overcome tremendous personal challenges in his own life, including his own battle against drugs as a teenager. Now 40, married and a father of three, he went looking for four of the biggest, extremely tough physical challenges he could find in South and Central Africa, most of which have never been attempted before. “I wanted to use my physical ability to inspire and help people with a physical disability, those people who could never do the sort of things that many of us do on a day to day basis without evening thinking.”
 
Of course, Jamie’s been hard at work preparing himself physically and mentally for the Four Giants Challenge. In June he made history by becoming the first person to ever run up and down Lions Head Mountain in Cape Town for 12 consecutive hours, summiting 12 times and thus achieving the greatest number of consecutive summits of Lions Head ever recorded. Running up and down the steep, loose, rocky climb, he covered more than 60 kilometres straight up and down, with almost 5000 metres vertical gain. “I was pretty tired afterwards, but very happy”, he says. “This was actually part of my training to test myself and see how my body responds to prolonged extreme physical effort.”
 
And in all of Jamie’s challenges, up to the minute information is of the essence, and that’s why Suunto’s sponsorship of his Four Giants Challenge is so important, providing him with the equipment he needs to be able to track time, mileage, ascent, heart rate and more.
 
For more information, visit Four Giants Challenge on Facebook or his official athlete page, Jamie Marais Extreme Athlete. To donate and show your support, visit www.sabrinalove.co.za and select the ‘Support a Star’ option.

Go Nuts!

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Tasty, convenient and nutritious, nuts and seeds are some of nature's perfect foods, so we’ve broken down the family, and how to bring them into your daily diet! – BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIANS
 
Nuts and seeds are plant-based proteins that contain fibre and a combination of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They are also rich in plant sterols and heart-healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Some of them contain omega-3 fatty acids and can help to improve the balance of cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. However, nuts and seeds are also calorie-dense, so to get their health benefits without breaking the calorie bank, its best to substitute them for other foods in your diet, particularly those high in saturated fat. This can be achieved with one small handful a day.
 
HEALTHIEST NUTS
•   Almonds have as much calcium as milk, and contain magnesium, vitamin E, selenium and lots of fibre. They can lower cholesterol and help prevent cancer.
•   Walnuts are extremely good for your heart and brain, and contain ellagic acid, a cancer-fighting antioxidant. They are also a good source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-based form of omega-3.
•   Pecans are rich in antioxidants and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
•   Brazil nuts not only contain poly- and monounsaturated fats, but also contain more than 100 percent of your daily recommended value for the antioxidant selenium.
•   Pine nuts have vitamins A, B, D and E, and contain 70% of your body’s daily required amino acids.
•   Cashews are rich in minerals like copper, magnesium, zinc, iron and biotin. They are actually a low-fat nut, and like olive oil, have a high concentration of oleic acid, which is good for your heart. (Note: Cashews are not recommended for cancer patients due to potential levels of fungus.)
 
HEALTHIEST SEEDS
•   Flaxseeds are the best source of omega-3s and the phytochemical Lignan, a super antioxidant that helps fight cancer. They also contain a lot of fibre and can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
•   Sunflower seeds also help prevent heart disease and cancer with phytochemicals, folate, vitamin E, selenium and copper.
•   Chia seeds are incredibly healthy, rich in omega-3 oils, protein, antioxidants, calcium and fibre.
•   Pumpkin seeds are great for your immune system, with lots of antioxidants (carotenoids), omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.
•   Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium, magnesium, zinc, fibre, iron, vitamin B1 and phosphorus. They can lower blood pressure and protect against liver damage, and have also been linked to prevention of many diseases like arthritis, asthma, migraine headaches, menopause and osteoporosis.
 
GET YOUR DAILY FIX
To incorporate them in your daily diet, simply grab a handful of raw, unsalted nuts or seeds for an extremely satisfying and healthy snack, or make your own small bags of trail mix for a quick pick-me-up any time of the day. If you can’t eat nuts and seeds without salt, buy them raw, roast them and sprinkle on a pinch of sea salt. Other great ways to eat them include:
•   Add nuts or seeds, especially chopped almonds and ground flaxseeds, to your salads, cereals, yoghurt, smoothies or muffins. Remember that flaxseed has to be ground to receive its full benefits.
•   Grind nuts up super fine to take the place of flour or breadcrumbs in recipes, or incorporate with breadcrumbs.
•   Toast unsalted nuts like walnuts or pine nuts in a hot skillet and add to pasta, stir-fries, rice or vegetable dishes.
•   Nut and seed butters are always so delicious, but stick to no more than one teaspoon a day.
•   Try cooking with macadamia, peanut, sesame or grape seed oil, but it’s best not to cook with flaxseed, hemp or walnut oil, all of which are much better for salad dressings.
 
STORAGE TIP: The healthy fats in nuts and seeds can oxidise, destroying their nutritional value and their taste, so buy them in small quantities and store in a cool, dry place. You can also store any shelled nuts or seeds in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer.

Sun-Chasing in Chamonix

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The Asics Beat The Sun international relay event not only brings a select group of runners from all over the world to run in the magical French Alps, but is also followed by thousands upon thousands more runners around the world via social media. Modern Athlete Editor Sean Falconer was fortunate to be along for the run this year, and says he has left part of his heart in the Alps.
 
It’s a magical place to be in the French Alps on the 21st of June, specifically in the little town of Chamonix, nestling right under Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe at 4810m, in a stunningly picturesque corner of France bordering on Switzerland and Italy. You see, this date marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, when the sun rises before 6am and only sets around after 9pm, presenting a glorious day of nearly 16 hours to go playing in the mountains. So, no surprise then that somebody dreamt up the idea to try run 150-odd kilometres round the mountain between sunrise and sunset in an effort to beat the sun!
 
I can just image that brainstorming session over a couple of local brews one balmy summer’s evening in the Alps… “Wait, let’s make it a relay so more people can be part of it… we can call it ‘Nature’s Toughest Relay’… and invite international teams to bring runners from all around the world to Beat The Sun, like an inter-continental competition… and we can mix professional and amateur runners in each team, to spice things up, and run competitions to find the amateurs for each team… and we can dress them up in cool colour-coded gear from Asics, so each team has its own identity… and we can go crazy on social media around this whole thing… #beatthesun… and then we can really go have some fun in the mountains!”
 
Even if that isn’t exactly how it went down, in 2014 the first event was run with four teams taking part, growing to six teams in 2015, including an African team for the first time, which finished fourth. A year later, I found myself at the third Asics Beat The Sun event, courtesy of an all-expenses paid media invite from Asics South Africa, because Modern Athlete had been brought on board as a media partner and we had run a competition in the mag to help find a winner for the slot in the team reserved for an SA amateur runner. And in return, I got to spend a few days chasing Team Africa around the Alps. Tough job, but somebody has to do it!
 
Bit of Local Flavour
Team Africa was one of the eight teams this year, alongside three teams from Europe (North, Central and South), two from the Americas, as well as East Asia and Oceania Pacific. The African team actually had a distinctly South African feel to it, with the team captained by pro triathlete and adventure racer Carla van Huysteen, and also featuring amateurs Tumi Matlou of Johannesburg and Corli Leonard of Stellenbosch, both of whom won their spots on the team through the Modern Athlete competition. The rest of Team Africa consisted of talented pro runners, Givemore Mudzinganyama of Zimbabwe, who lives and races in SA, and Duncan Kiptanui, a French-based Kenyan runner with a 1:04 half marathon PB returning for a second stab at Beat The Sun. The final amateur slot went to Hadi Selmouni of Algeria.
 
Tumi is a PR specialist, speaks five languages and has an infectious extroverted personality, while Corli is an industrial engineer with a slightly more introverted but equally inviting personality, and the two had actually competed for the same spot on the team. They were two of the three finalists chosen from all the entries and then had to mobilise their friends to vote for them in an online campaign, but when plans fell through to include an amateur runner from north Africa, it made sense to send both the SA girls, as they had both embraced the competition wholeheartedly and gotten over 20,000 votes each in an enthralling online ‘race.’ Best of all, they became instant friends soon as they met, as well as both being hugely popular with the other international teams.
 
The Mountains are Calling
A trip like this presents an incredible opportunity to see a part of the world one might not otherwise get to, and I always make the most of the time available to explore, especially if that means heading out for a run. Fortunately, the good folk at Asics had laid on plenty of great new shoes and gear for us to try out, and some planned runs in the mountains, so logistics were taken care of. All I had to do was catch the bus in my running kit. While the relay runners were taken up the mountain in a blizzard the day before most of the media arrived, and shown how to use crampons and ice picks – just in case – the first media run was a much more sedate trundle in good weather around the snow field at 2000m above sea level at the top of the Planpraz Cableway overlooking Chamonix 1000m below. Absolutely stunning, and the view of Mont Blanc was mindblowing.
 
The following day was race day, and after watching the start at 5:44am, and seeing the teams off, the media contingent was bussed to the first handover point to watch the early action. Next we drove through the incredible Tunnel du Mont Blanc, emerging on the other side of the mountain in Italy and heading to the town of Courmayeur to continue supporting the runners – after taking a ride up the Courmayeur Skyway cableway to experience some more rarified mountain air.
 
We were also invited to go for a run on part of the eighth leg of the relay, so we could see what the runners were experiencing. As luck would have it, when we got to our starting point it was raining and the wind was icy – the weather in the mountains is always unpredictable – but our Asics gear conquered the conditions admirably, even if the same could not be said for my legs. Apparently my calves don’t function nearly as well at 1700m, while running up a glacier, as they do at sea level. Go figure!
 
Excitement Building
Meanwhile, Team Africa was holding its own in the main event. The three European teams were dominating – I suspect they could just handle the cold better than the other teams – but the Africans were always round about fourth or fifth position. Until the third-last leg, when most of the teams were told by the organisers that for safety, they would have to be short-cutted to the finish, so as to make sure no runners were still out in the mountains when it became dark.
 
And so, after watching Team Europe North come home first and beat the sun comfortably, followed a short while later by Europe Central, we then watched as Europe South came home just after official sunset at 9:25pm, even though it was still quite light in Chamonix. At the finish line, none of us knew about the drama out on the route, with the second-last leg runner of most of the other teams, including Corli, not being able to run due to the falling light, and thus the final leg runners were told to head for the finish. That saw Duncan the flying Kenyan come blitzing in the finish to claim an unofficial fourth place for Team Africa. Cue team pics at the finish, hugs all-round, and then the party started, with some of the athletes and media keeping the dance floor rocking till well after 3am. (Good news is that now my legs were functioning without complaint again, so the dancing went much better than the glacier running!)
 
Huge thanks to Asics South Africa, especially Team Africa’s ‘Team Dad’ Dawid Visser, for taking Modern Athlete along for the run in Chamonix. Rumour has it that the next Asics Beat The Sun event will be in Japan, and Sean says he is more than happy to start brushing up on his Japanese. Konnichiwa!
 

Celebratory Run in Mauritius

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When the winner of our awesome Modern Athlete competition to win a trip for two to Mauritius, Althea Purnell, jetted off for her sunny island getaway, she went not only to claim her prize and do some incredible running, but also to celebrate a very special anniversary!
 
W
hen we called Althea to tell her she had won an all-expenses paid trip for two to Mauritius, including entries for the LUX*Sports Mauritius Marathon, we were met with complete disbelief. In fact, she thought she had been pranked… until we called her back to ask her for her passport details. “I honestly thought I was being pranked, I couldn’t believe it was real,” says Althea.
 
Having finally gotten her to believe us, we asked who she would be taking with her on the trip, and she replied happily that she would of course be taking her husband, David. “We spent our honeymoon at the Royal Palm Hotel in Mauritius and now 30 years later we will celebrate our wedding anniversary where it all began.”
 
Modern Athlete was thrilled to be able to make this wonderful prize available such deserving winners, thanks to Air Mauritius, LUX* Resorts & Hotels, TomTom and GO SPORTS Travel – and being a running publication, we just had to make sure the trip included a running-related activity. And what better way to see the island than by taking part in the LUX* Sports Mauritius Marathon?
 
So Althea and David departed on their Air Mauritius flight for their second honeymoon, as excited as two children the night before Christmas, and they were warmly welcomed to Tamassa, Bel Ombre LUX* Resort & Hotel, where they were immediately whisked into a world of luxury as they got in some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
 
Reliving the early years of their relationship, Althea and David say they had a special start to their relationship. Having met through work, David quickly realised the way to her heart was to support her in what she loved to do, and with that in mind, “he bought me my first pair of running shoes, so I had to marry him,” laughs Althea. And 30 years later, taking this trip down memory lane must have really inspired Althea, because she finished on the podium in the the LUX*Sports Mauritius Marathon, coming home second in the women’s 60-plus age category!
 
All in all, an anniversary to remember, and the Modern Athlete team is glad that we could add a bit more magic to the lives of these two running lovebirds.

DIY Diet Improvements

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If you’re looking for a set of easy ‘home remedy’ changes to make in your nutritional plan that will compliment your training as well as weight-management, look no further than these healthy tips. – BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIAN
 
There are bad habits when it comes to nutrition, and there are good habits. Unfortunately, the bad habits tend to be easier to develop, and the good habits tend to require us giving up something we love, or decreasing the amount of ‘prohibited substances’ or treats that we consume, or when we consume them. And finding the good habits that compliment our endurance sports activities best is another challenge… but there are some simple yet effective changes you can make to your diet that will get you where you want to be.
 
1 Eat regular meals: Never skip meals, because this slows down the metabolic rate and contributes to bad blood sugar control, both of which promote weight-gain. Regular meals also help to make sure your body does not miss out on key nutrients, especially breakfast, because a large portion of your daily fibre comes from that first meal.
 
2 Skip the bad fats: Don’t overindulge, especially in bad fat, i.e. Trans fat. Fat is much more energy-dense than protein or carbohydrate (9 calories per gram versus 4cal/g). Fat sources may be visible (oil, margarine) or invisible (fried foods, processed meats, baked goods like pies and pastries, gravies, dressings, etc).
 
3 Choose healthier fats: Look for oily fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil, pure nut butter, humus, avocado and Carotino oil. These fats are rich in essential fatty acids and/or mono-unsaturated fats, and are linked to important health benefits such as protection against heart disease, hyperactivity, depression, etc.
 
4 Legumes are great: Substitute protein foods with beans, split peas, lentils and chickpeas one to three times a week. Legumes are a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and are an excellent source of soluble fibre.
 
5 Get more fibre: Increase your intake of fibre, a type of carbohydrate, by including wholegrain breads, wholegrain cereals, fresh fruit, vegetables and legumes in your diet. Also, always give preference to unrefined foods, e.g. brown rice instead of white rice. Fibre regulates digestion, helps control blood sugar levels and promotes the feeling of fullness.
 
6 Less drinks: Remember that alcohol does contain calories (7cal/g) and promotes bad blood sugar control, and therefore should be used only in moderation.
 
7 Control your sweet tooth: Avoid too much sugar and sweetened foods, as these provide ‘empty calories’ devoid in essential vitamins and minerals. Remember, 5g of sugar equals one teaspoon of sugar. Limit daily intake to 6 teaspoons per day, if any! 
 
8 Drink more water: Drink six to eight glasses of water or pure herbal tea per day. Start with a glass of water on waking to help encourage thirst throughout day. Drink the majority of water before 4pm, in order to avoid over-drinking later in the day, because a large amount of fluid in the evening promotes urination during the night and sleep disturbance.
 
9 Grill, steam or bake food rather than frying: Judicious use of herbs and spices is encouraged, instead of using too much sugar or fat for flavour. Vegetables should be steamed or boiled, with no added sugar or margarine.
 
10 Fry healthily: Use non-stick frying pans with little oil or fat, or cook with a little wine, rather than large amounts of oil or fat. Avoid margarine, and avoid deep frying and re-frying oil!
 
11 Take note: Read food labels and compare the sugar and nutritional content of different products.
 
12 No big dinners: Avoid large meals at night by eating smaller portions, waiting 20 minutes and then going for more vegetables or salad if still hungry.
 
13 Most importantly, exercise regularly! New guidelines recommend 50 minutes of exercise, five times a week, including weekends, so plan your week’s training and map out time to fit it into your schedule and commitments.

Romancing the Road

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I think this happens only once in a lifetime… You find someone, a best friend and there is this special connection. And right from the beginning you just know that it’s not the norm. It isn’t just ‘click,’ or that you really like that person, it’s much deeper than that. This is an epic story of two runners. – BY HANETTE STRYDOM
 
I met Shaun Naidoo at a 25km race in Pretoria. It was around the 15km mark when this humble Nedbank runner came past me, and due to the fact that I am also a Nedbank runner, he introduced himself to me. We started talking and before I could wipe out my eyes, we were at the 21km mark. We had been talking and laughing non-stop, but then I started struggling a bit.
 
Actually, “a bit” is an understatement… more like “a lot,” as this was only my second 25km race. That was when I experienced his encouragement and caring nature for the first time. He had a lot more in him, but he chose to stay by my side and help me through this.
 
I finished that 25km race with a big smile on my face… and a new friend by my side. What I didn’t realise at the time was that Shaun was a well-known runner, known by almost every road runner in Gauteng. I was still a newbie, but one thing I could tell: I was touched by his presence and the way he encouraged and inspired his co-runners. It was only much later that I realised that ‘Horsepower’ (his nickname) was a legend on the road.
 
BEST RUNNING MATES
We became good friends and saw each other at every race that I ran – definitely not every race that he ran, because that would be impossible for me. I mean, Shaun ran every race in Gauteng, and more outside the province as well! I just wouldn’t be able to keep up. Meanwhile, it had always been my dream to run a marathon, but it just didn’t feel possible, because I had suffered from a lot of injuries – an old knee injury from school, an Achilles tendon, to a long-term hamstring injury.
 
I had lost my dream… but then Shaun ignited it again. He lived legendary Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens’ saying, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” And he added his own flavour to it: “Be patient, believe in yourself… and never lose your dream.”
 
Later that year I became part of the Green Machine, a Nedbank social running group of which Shaun was a founding member. I entered the Kaapsehoop marathon and on the 1st of November 2014, I completed my first marathon, qualifying for the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons in the process. Shaun and members of the Green machine were waiting for me at the finish line and made it a very special moment in my life. That was the last race we ran apart… from then on we ran every race (that I ran) together, and we became best friends.
 
We fell in love, and shared wonderful memories on the road as soul mates, but everything wasn’t a bed of roses. We had to face certain challenges in our relationship. Like most people, we had a history, with baggage, and it wasn’t easy. Although my first marriage was long over, I was not legally divorced yet, and I was criticised a lot (the hardest by myself). So I broke up with Shaun – I wanted to do the ‘right thing,’ but that was the hardest time of our lives… and in the process I lost my best friend.
 
TOUGH TIMES…
We spent a month apart and it was during that time that we both realised what we really wanted. For me it was a huge growing process – I realised I should worry less about what people say or think, because judgement is not for us. Each one of us is on a journey and we are living our life stories every day. As Edmund Lee wrote: “Surround yourself with the dreamers or the doers, the believers or the thinkers…
 
But most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even if you don’t see it yourself.” I realised that Shaun and I truly see the greatness in each other, but more than that, we share a love for people and it is important for us to be “that person that sees the greatness and beauty in the people around us.”
 
During these difficult times we stuck to our Comrades training programmes and that was our therapy… As a mom, training wasn’t easy – I had to fit my training in around my other schedules, and sometimes it was 4:30 in the mornings and sometimes it was five in the afternoons – but whenever I got an opportunity, I laced up my running shoes to experience the joy and freedom of being on the road.
 
We found long-distance running to be just like our life journeys – along the way you encounter many obstacles, and it takes patience, commitment and courage to overcome them, but in the process you learn not to give up, to see these obstacles as stepping stones to work towards a reward that is priceless. Our outlook on life was always positive and all the obstacles brought us closer together.
 
LINING UP TOGETHER
In April last year we ran the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon together, and on the morning of the 31st of May 2015, we lined up together at the start of the 90th special edition Comrades Marathon. Shaun had prepared me well for this, my tenth marathon in a period of seven months, but more than that, for both of us it was symbolic of “new beginnings” in our lives.
 
It was my first Comrades Marathon, Shaun’s fourth, and we knew it was going to be hard. The day before Comrades some fellow runners were jokingly saying, “If your relationship survives this, you’ll survive anything… because after the 70km mark nothing is beautiful anymore.”
 
Well, it was hard, it was painful, it was everything that everybody said it would be, and more, but it was the most amazing journey that I could ever ask for. Shaun was by my side the whole way except for the five minutes that I continued on my own because he wandered off to buy us ice creams in Pinetown!
 
At 70km we were tired, and our friends were right – things weren’t rosy anymore – but Shaun was still there, holding my hand through all the up-hills, tying my shoe laces when I couldn’t bend down anymore, encouraging me every step of the way. And on 31 May 2015, we finished the Comrades marathon… together.
 
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
After Comrades, as a ‘recovery run,’ we hiked the route of the Mont Aux Sources 50km Mountain Challenge in the Drakensberg. We had to carry all our food, bedding and a tent up the mountain, and Shaun took his Go-Pro to capture some of the memorable moments of our three-day hike. Now I have a fear of heights and this hike challenged every bit of that as we camped on top of Mount Aux Sources, right next to the Tugela waterfall, the second-highest waterfall in the world… in the middle of Winter.
 
But we had the most amazing time together, and this is where Shaun proposed to me – literally on top of the world – and so was I… It was an overwhelming “Yes!” When we arrived back at civilisation, I watched some of the footage that Shaun took, and what struck me once again were his encouraging words to me from beginning to end. He knew my fears and shortcomings, and he inspired me all the way. That is Shaun…
 
Soon after our Drakensberg adventure we got the most amazing news that we were expecting a baby girl. For Shaun it has always been a dream to have a child of his own, but after numerous fertility treatments and disappointments in his previous marriage, he had given up on that dream. Meanwhile, I was 41 and could not possibly imagine that we could have a child of our own. The news to him was almost surreal and we knew from the beginning that she was a precious gift from God.
 
We continued training at a much slower pace, under the supervision of our gynaecologist and with the commitment that I would listen to my body, and Shaun committed to do every bit of this with me while I ensured that he did his personal worst race times ever! However, during these slower training sessions and races, our family fell in love with the road in a completely different way… the bonding time, and enjoying every moment of this pregnancy.
 
Our life story continues. We share an incredible love and passion for family, running and the people that cross our road. We are definitely not the fastest runners, but we love the journey. “Whether it’s a 7-minute mile or a 20-minute mile, it’s still a mile.” Life is short, but running makes it seem longer, and our dream is to do what we love, to live in the moment and to touch people in a positive way along the journey. We want to run every race with a big heart, including our marathon of marriage, family and life.
 

Healthy Options for Winter Comforts

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When winter hits, many of us change the way we eat. Instead of salads and light dishes, we want warm, comforting food, such as soups, hearty casseroles and creamy mash. And then we add our winter kilos. Sound familiar? The good news is that there are tricks to have our comfort food and stay lean and mean.
 
When it’s cold outside and you just want to fill up on something that warms you up, and also cheers up your blue mood, you may feel a twinge of guilt or remorse about your choice, but the good news is that you don't have to substitute the foods you love when the cold season rolls around.
 
1. Pack in the protein
• Eggs are satisfying at any time of the day, whether they're poached at breakfast, scrambled at lunch or an omelette for dinner.
• Canned fish is an easy way to include a satisfying protein at lunch, and boost your omega-3 at the same time.
• Low-fat milk or low-fat yoghurt with your cereal or smoothie at breakfast will keep you going.
 
2. Find your fibre
High-fibre meals don't necessarily affect how much we eat straight away, but do reduce how much we eat at the next meal, because we're not as hungry.
• Add a high-fibre cereal to your breakfast regime.
• Use whole grain breads, rice and pasta.
• Add chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, cannellini beans or other legumes to salads and stews.
• Use hummus on bread or crackers.
 
3. Get your veg on
Bulk up meals and snacks with low-energy vegetables, because they help us stop eating thanks to the weight of food influencing how much we eat and how full we feel. The water and fibre in these vegetables add weight, so we fill up with fewer kilojoules.
• Snack on baby carrots, sliced capsicum, cherry tomatoes and other small or sliced vegetables.
• Other low-energy veggies include broccoli, beans, beetroot, rhubarb and turnips.
 
4. Grab the good fat
Unsaturated fats stimulate a hormone which helps us feel fuller for longer. You don't need to go overboard though – it's the same hormone (cholecystokinin) which fibre stimulates.
• Add small amounts of seeds and nuts to snacks.
• Drizzle a little canola, olive, or rice bran oil over salads or vegetables.
 
And enjoy! There is room to eat healthily even when the temperatures are low. Plus, you don't have to minimise taste!
 
 
Recommended Recipe
 
Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 6 hours
Perks: Dairy-free, low fat, low kilojoule, vegetarian
 
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 fat cloves garlic
2 tablespoons oil
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped in chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut in chunks
4 generous cups pumpkin, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 pinch ground chilli
2½ teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups vegetable stock
pepper (a good grind)
1 additional cup water
Handful fresh mint, chopped
 
Instructions
Step 1: In a large pan, heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the prepared vegetables and the flour and mix, allowing the flour to absorb the oil.
Step 2: Put the mixture into the slow cooker. Add the spices, salt, pepper, stock and water and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Step 3: When the vegetables are tender, purée or process the soup until smooth and return to the slow cooker to keep warm.
Step 4: Adjust the consistency to suit your personal taste – I like it thick with a little sour cream and some chopped mint. It’s also good thinned with a little coconut cream and garnished with coriander.

Tribute to a Fallen Comrade

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It was a real shock to his family and friends when Sihle Mlaba passed away on 3 June, due to stomach complications, five days after finishing his sixth Comrades marathon in 10:10:04 and seemingly good health. He was a passionate runner who loved the Comrades, and he will be sorely missed by his Midrand Striders clubmates. 
 
There are two dates that both involve tragedy for Sihle Mlaba and the Midrand Striders club: 22 October 2011 and 3 June 2016. The first date was when five runners from the club were killed by a drunk driver while out on a training run in Midrand. It was so nearly seven runners killed… Sihle and his close friend Vusumuzi Madonsela survived because they were late that morning for the regular group run, and having nearly caught up to their friends just before the accident, they were the first people on the scene. As Vusumuzi says, “We could have also died there, but I guess God still wanted us to spend more time together.”
 
According to Duane Newman, who was Chairman of Midrand Striders at the time, “It was a really traumatic time for Sihle, but he showed his strength of character, and even though he was hurting, he gave of his time to ensure his friends would be remembered. The driver was eventually convicted and sentenced to 12 years in jail – some closure for a tragic event – but Midrand Striders promised Sihle that we would continue to remember and honour his friends. We now have an annual memorial run on that day from Vodaworld to the place of the accident, and at this sad time of Sihle’s death, we also need to remember Moroese, Reneilwe, Given, Isaac and Nomvula.”
 
Recovery Time
Given his horrific experience, Sihle could easily have packed up his running shoes, and though he shared with Duane that at times it was tough to cope, he showed resilience to actually come back even stronger. That saw him run his best Comrades in 2012, clocking 9:56:24. “He was a man of strength,” says Duane. “Looking at all the races he ran, it is clear that he picked the tough races: The Tough One, Sunrise Monster, Om die Dam, Soweto, Slowmag, City to City, Jackie Gibson… and of course, the Comrades Marathon.”
 
“I think Sihle suffered from a common runners’ ailment called ‘ranmesia’ – a runner’s ability to forget, often just seconds after crossing the finish line, all the pain, blisters, aches, muscle cramps, chaffing, lost toenails, blood, sweat and tears,” jokes Duane. “Personally, I will remember Sihle as soft-spoken, polite, and always with a smile. As a fellow runner, I will mourn his loss, but celebrate his achievements.”
 
Big C Exponent
Sihle was known as a ‘Comrades evangelist,’ because he talked about the race all the time. It was even jokingly suggested that he should have been paid by the Comrades Marathon Association! As close friend and fellow Midrander Monde Matyesha says, “Sihle would take us through the Comrades route during our morning runs, giving us every detail along the route. These narrations were what novices in our morning runs used to enjoy, and it would equip them with a clear visual picture of what they will encounter. This Sihle did without struggle, because to him Comrades was the culmination of all that we would put together in our training sessions.”
 
Monde continues, “Before this year’s Down run I shared my race strategy with him and when he saw me flying past him, he reminded me, ‘Mfundisi, remember what you said,’ and I immediately pulled back – and after three attempts, I finally landed my first Bill Rowan. It was thanks to him… and it is a bitter pill to swallow that I can’t celebrate it because he is gone. One thing that soothes the pain of the loss, though, is knowing that we had a few days after the race to celebrate our achievements together.”
 
Another training partner, Collin Mothlabi, says, “Sihle taught me so much about running. I’m struggling to understand or accept his departure and that I will never see him again. I feel robbed…” These words are echoed by Tim Walwyn current chairman of Midrand Striders: “We at Midrand Striders will miss Sihle, as he made a huge difference to our running community.”
 
Last Word…
As one of Sihle’s best friends, it is fitting to allow Vusumuzi the last word: “I thank God for having afforded me a once in a lifetime opportunity of having a brother like Sihle. He was always there when I shared my struggles about my calling, and not once did he turn his back on me. As his friends, we surely can never take his place, but we would like to let his family know that we are also their sons and daughters – we truly thank them for having changed our lives for the better through Sihle, and we will always be there for them. Sihle, you will forever be part of me, my friend, brother, running partner and confidante.”

My Secret Training Weapons

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Fresh from completing my third Comrades – well, as fresh as one can be after running 89.2km – like many of the thousands of men and women who took part in the Ultimate Human Race, I am thinking about how I got to this point, and the future. Will I be running on 4 June 2017? – BY CAREL NOLTE
 
One of the reasons the Comrades is so special – and there are many – is the fascinating story around each entrant. I don’t think anyone just gets up and decides to do this race, it takes some planning and commitment. So, my Comrades story started in March 2012 when I ran my first race, the Nike 10km night run. I had weighed over 120kg just a short while before – I still weigh around 95kg, so I am no fitness mag front page model – and running 10km was very daunting! Fast-forward to 2016 and I have four Comrades medals, including my Back to Back. How did that happen?
 
Much has been written about training for the Comrades, and there are many, many resources. I devour magazines like Modern Athlete, read blogs by Sean Falconer, listen to podcasts by OldMutualLive and @bigbradbrown, and make use of the resources offered by my running club, Born2Run. (PS: So proud of my club: We won the women’s team award at this year’s Comrades with three runners in the top 10 plus lucky number 13!). Anyway, getting back to resources… these are tools that all aspiring Comrades runners should make use of, but I also think I have a few secret weapons that have enabled me to enjoy and successfully complete the journey between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Here are a few of them:
 
1 Contribute
As the top fundraiser in both 2015 and 2016 for Comrades Charities (this year I raised R175 000), the privilege of being able to raise money and to contribute has meant that I have gotten far more in return. Not only does my chosen charity PinkDrive provide goody bags and support pre-race day, on the day they have a magnificent water point which is pure pink energy vibe – last year it carried me up Pollyshorts and this year it welcomed me home with 7km to go and I need a last push with only 35 minutes left on the clock! 
 
As a charity fundraiser you book a spot in the C seeding – meaning you are right by the action on the town hall balcony when it all starts and you gain a few minutes since you can start running immediately (the elites, A and B batch speed off!) Plus your queue at pickup is very short as you have a dedicated area. All in all, a no brainer to contribute!
 
2 Have fun!
I remind myself often that I choose to do this race, something many people can’t do because of illness or circumstance, and so I must enjoy it. I stay relaxed – getting stressed uses energy I need for the hills! And I laugh, a lot! My running partner Allan and seconder Kurt provide great humour, and on the day I try and smile at people along the road, sing when I hear lekker music, and soak up the glorious celebration of something so uniquely South African. Life has many ups and downs – like the Comrades – and it is during the tough times that one must remind oneself that there is a lot to be grateful for and to enjoy. So laugh, especially at yourself, have fun, and expect the best from others!
 
3 Mix up training and have it fit your lifestyle
Clearly one must put in some running pre race day. Apart from running a qualifying marathon in under five hours, additional, constant running is needed. This year I ran very little, around 500km, and most of that was in the gym in 5km to 10km sessions. I did one marathon and a couple of halves. I definitely had a base from the previous two years, where I ran around 1100km and 850km respectively in the year preceding Comrades, but in 2016 I had very limited time and many other commitments. Of course, I could have used that as an excuse and not entered, but I stuck to my gym short runs and used my lifestyle to train. One example was an overseas ski trip I did for work in April. (Yep, it’s a tough life, I know!)
 
I was very worried about injuring myself, because I am no ski pro, and I was concerned about losing out on gym for 10 days and not being able to train. Well, Club Med Val Thorens Sensations in France changed my mind – and I am convinced, added hugely to my Comrades finish. Not only did I have a memory-making time, but my Comrades training actually improved, not lessened! (Rumours that the outdoor jacuzzi helped are true – sitting in steaming hot water with snow around you does wonders for tired leg muscles.)
 
Skiing uses leg muscles and core strength – well, unless you want to end up flat on your face the whole time – and so my week of skiing was perfect training. My legs got a couple of hours of tough, intense training every day, in different parts of my legs, all of which being useful come Comrades, when you are on your feet for 12 hours. (By the way, this is the first year I lost no toenails and my legs were not stiff and sore – fully recovered by the Wednesday post race day.) In addition, my ski instructor, provided free by Club Med as part of my all-inclusive package, helped me develop my core even more. We purposefully focused on a strong core to make my skiing better, and to assist with Comrades preparation. Again, this year my body was far less sore and I attribute a lot of that to my skiing holiday.
 
Spending a week at Club Med Val Thorens, I was also concerned about diet. Apart from not over-indulging in the ‘bad foods,’ I needed loads of protein and variety to keep me on track for Comrades. Again I need not have fret, because the buffets were delicious, healthy, full of variety and some of the best food I have ever had.
 
Secrets to Success
So, there you have it, my ways of not letting a busy lifestyle become an excuse not to prepare for Comrades. Find clever ways to spice up your training and have Comrades compliment, not dominate, your life! Oh, and of course, don’t forget to pick the best running partner and seconding team – the people who want only the very best for you and are prepared to slog out 12 hours in tough conditions with you, for you. See you in 2017, maybe…