Category: Features

Running the Comrades forwards is hard enough as it is for most runners, so just imagine how much harder it must be to run it backwards! But that is what Farai Sinomwe did this year, and it should go down as one of the most incredible Comrades runs of all time… and he did it to raise awareness of the plight of bees, because they are so important to all of us. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Just before the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon earlier this year, Farai Sinomwe of the Manoni Running Club in Johannesburg contacted the organisers in Cape Town to ask if he would be allowed to run the race backwards. Not the route in reverse, take note, but actually facing the wrong way. The reaction he got was “I never heard of such a thing. Why would anyone want to?” In fact, every time the Rastafarian beekeeper enters a race, he soon finds himself listening to all the usual jokes: “Most of the time I get ‘You’re going the wrong way,’ but I also get asked what I’ve been smoking! Still, people are supportive, and that helps to keep me going.”

With Oceans behind him – if you’ll excuse the pun – and having also run backwards in the Old Mutual Om Die Dam 50km ultra, Farai next set his sights on the Comrades, and finished in 11:41:31. Along the way he received an incredible reaction, from spectators and fellow runners alike. As Modern Athlete’s graphic designer Caroline Collings explains, “I had a wonderful chat with him when I caught up to him, since he was facing me the whole time, but it had taken me till past halfway just to catch him! What he did was just incredible.”

Inspired to go Back
It all started a few months ago when Farai was called out to collect a swarm of bees and was driving home in the early hours when his car broke down. “It was one o'clock in the morning and I was driving on a very dark Corlett Drive on the outskirts of Alexandra in my battered old Peugeot, with the bees buzzing angrily in the boot, when the car simply died. I realised I'd have to push the car to the top of the hill before I could coast the few kilometres back home, but I soon realised I wouldn’t make it pushing the car the normal way. So, I turned around, with my back to the boot, and found it far easier.”

Two hours later Farai made it home, transferred the bees to their new home and finally got to bed, but the next day he noticed something when he got out of bed. “My quads felt like they got the most amazing workout, and I realised that the bees had helped me discover a really useful training technique, so I decided to add some backwards running to my training.” That saw Farai enter a few 10km races as a backwards runner, and then he stepped up to 21km at the Pick n Pay Half Marathon. “I ran a 2:10 and had many people asking me questions, and that got me thinking about doing it for a good cause, so I decided that since I am a beekeeper, and the bees are in trouble right now, I would run backwards for the bees.”

All around the world, bee populations are in decline, due to a combination of insecticides, loss of habitat, disease and global warming, and this in turn threatens the very food sources that humans rely on. Nearly 85 percent of the world’s flowering plants depend upon pollinators like bees to reproduce, and this includes more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species of fruits, seeds and livestock feed. The bees are thus vital to the food chain, and people like Farai are helping to bring much-needed attention to their plight. “I decided to run races backwards to raise awareness about the importance of bees in the environment, and all funds I raise will be used to establish and manage new hives, as well as for creating training opportunities and jobs for new beekeepers, through my business, Blessed Bee Africa, which does bee removals and relocating in the city.”

Big C Backwards
So, with a backwards half marathon ticked off and a new cause to run for, the dreadlocked runner next moved on to the marathon mark at the Township Marathon, clocking in at 4:35, and then he ran the Om Die Dam 50km in 6:15 and Oceans in 6:10. Next he decided to run the Comrades backwards as well… Now, keep in mind that Farai already had four Comrades medals, with two 11-hour finishes in 2010 and 2011, but then came a Bill Rowan 8:03:20 in 2013 and a 7:06:26 finish last year for a silver medal, so this man can really run! Forwards, that is… but he gave up on another fast time to run for the bees this year.

“Physically it was a bit tough and my quads were burning at the end. Also, at some points there were too many people next to the road, so I had to turn around to see where I was going, because I was bumping into people, but soon as the road was clear again I turned around again. I was so impressed with the running community and spectators, for all their support, because it made me feel like I was doing something good. Even now, weeks after the race, I hear people asking about the backwards runner, whether I made it, and I want to thank them for all their support. I will be back for more backwards races, so people must look out for me and say hello.”

You can support Farai’s efforts to save the bees at Blessed Bee Africa on Facebook, or call him on 084 662 8761. He says he really needs help with transportation and building materials for hives, so any assistance will be much appreciated.

Sidenote #1: Benefits of Backwards
Various studies have shown that backward running can be hugely beneficial to athletes, including helping you maintain a more upright posture, improving balance, and lessening the impact on your knees due to a softer footfall. A study at Stellenbosch University even found that backwards running can burn more calories! Added to that, it promotes a better relationship between your muscles and helps them deliver more power, safely, say the experts.

However, developing the right technique is vital to avoid injury or accident. First, find a safe training venue, such as a park, beach or athletics track. Then it’s shoulders over your feet, arms held low and close to the body, and push off from the balls of your feet, trying not to lift them too high off the ground. Oh, and remember to look over your shoulder. Or better yet, take a training partner along to act as your guide, and if you both want to run backwards, take it in turns to be the guide.

Sidenote #2: Backwards Records
There is actually a recognised sport called Retrorunning or Reverse Running, and world records have been recorded from the 100m sprint all the way up to the marathon. At present the fastest time for the men’s backwards 100m is 13.6 seconds, run by German Roland Wegner in 2007. At the same meet in Horgau, German Isabella Wagner set the women’s record at 16.8s. The men’s marathon record of 3:42:41 was set by Germany’s Achim Aretz in 2010, while Kerstin Metzler-Mennenga of Liechtenstein holds the women’s marathon record thanks to her 4:42:39 effort in Rome in 2008.

There is also a South African connection here: On 12 October 2004 new world records for women in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay were all set on the Coetzenberg track in Stellenbosch by Riana Truter (100m – 20.3s), Marjorie Isaks (200m – 43.5s) and Marjorie, Deidré Gerstner, Ilse Gideons and Eloïze Fry in the relay (1:26.9s). By 2008 all of these records had been bettered by German athletes.

There are also recorded ultra distance runs, such as Plennie L. Wingo of the USA walking 13,000km backwards from Santa Monica in California to Istanbul in Turkey in 1931-1932. In slightly more recent times, Arvind Landya of India set the Trans-USA record for walking 5100km backwards from Los Angeles to New York in 107 days from August to December 1984. So Farai’s run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is nowhere near being the longest backwards run ever recorded, but it is the first recorded Backwards Comrades, and he is thus in the record books.

Mostly known for its flu-fighting properties, Vitamin C can also pack a punch and influence your performance out on the road, as well as help you recover quicker. – BY ESMÉ MARÉ, R.D. AT CHRISTINE PETERS AND ASSOCIATES

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, which may help lower the risk for cancer by reducing free radicals and lipid oxidation in body tissues, and it is also involved in reactions that form collagen, a connective tissue protein. Added to that, vitamin C is also required for wound healing and is a water-soluble vitamin essential for normal growth and development. However, we cannot synthesise our own Vitamin C, and excessive amounts can easily be removed from the body through our urine, within 24 hours, rather than it being stored. This means that we need to consume Vitamin C on a regular basis.

Special Help for Athletes
Vitamin C has some distinct functions that can influence athletic performance, such as:
• Assisting in the synthesis of carnitine, which is important for energy metabolism.
• Assisting in the production of epinephrine and norepinephrine, which makes glucose available to your working muscles.
• Assisting in the transportation and absorption of non-heme iron (mainly from fruits and vegetables).
• Assisting in the resynthesis of Vitamin E to its active antioxidant state.
• For runners taking on the bigger distances, Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that limits the damage from oxidative stress that one undergoes during a long run or race.
• It plays an important role in the healing process by building protein, scar tissue, ligaments and blood vessels.
• Vitamin C also helps the body maintain bone tissue and cartilage.

Good Food Sources
Fresh fruits and vegetables have the highest vitamin C content while meats and dairy products are low in vitamin C, and cereal grains contain none (unless fortified). Fortified beverages and cereals are good sources. Vitamin C can easily be destroyed when exposed to heat (cooking) and oxygen (air) and can easily be removed from foods boiled in water and strained, as it is water-soluble. Methods of cooking less likely to compromise the vitamin C content of foods include steaming, microwaving and stir-frying.

Top Tips
• The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C for men is 90mg/day and for females it is 75mg/day. (Smoking increases a person’s need for vitamin C, so smokers need an additional 35mg/day.)
• It is easy to meet the body’s requirement for vitamin C by eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables a day (five a day). Remember that a serving of vegetables is half a cup cooked or one cup raw, or one cup of vegetable juice. A serving of fruit is one medium fruit, a cup of chopped or canned fruit, or one cup of fruit juice.
• Have a fruit at breakfast or at each snack, or have some fruit juice before, during or after training. Include one or two portions of vegetables (including salads) at lunch and dinner. Remember, foods high in vitamin C also contain fibre and other vitamins, including A and K.
• Taking megadoses of vitamin C is not fatally harmful, but side-effects are common when exceeding a dosage of 2000mg/day for a prolonged period of time. These include nausea, diarrhoea, nosebleeds and abdominal cramps.

Fruits and Vegetables High in Vitamin C
Sweet red pepper, raw, 1 cup – 283mg
Sweet green pepper, raw, 1 cup – 120mg
Hot chili peppers, raw, 1 pepper – 109m
Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup – 101mg
Brussel sprouts, cooked, 1 cup – 97mg
Kale, cooked, 1 cup – 80mg
Peas, boiled, 1 cup – 77mg
Tomato paste, 1 cup – 57mg
Red cabbage, raw, 1 cup – 54mg
Potato, 1 large – 39mg
Tomato, 1 large – 32mg

Papaya, 1 large – 188mg
Orange juice, 1 cup – 124mg
Cranberry juice cocktail, 1 cup – 107mg
Strawberries, 1 cup – 98mg
Grapefruit juice, 1 cup – 94mg
Kiwi, 1 medium – 76mg
Mango, 1 large – 75mg
Pineapple, 1 cup – 74mg
Orange, 1 large – 70mg
Cantaloupe, 1 cup – 59mg

To say that South African sprinting is looking good right now would be one of the biggest understatements ever made in the history of track and field in this country, because so far this year we’ve seen the men’s 100m, 200m and 400m SA records fall and the women’s 100m record equalled, we’ve seen two more SA men join the elite sub-10-second club in the 100m, we’ve had two sprinters crowned World Champions, and we’ve seen Ilse Hayes become the fastest female Para-athlete of all time. The sprinters in SA are well and truly on fire at the moment! – BY SEAN FALCONER

Part 1: The Sub-10 Club

Up until just over a year ago, sprinting in South Africa appeared to be stuck under the same ceiling it had reached in the late 1980s. Johan Rossouw’s 100m record for men of 10.06 seconds had been on the record books since 1988, while Evette De Klerk’s women’s record of 11.06 had stood since 1990. Simon Magakwe did equal the men’s record in 2012, and Geraldine Pillay was just one hundredth of a second out in 2005 with her 11.07, but both marks still stood in 2014, like fortress walls defying a besieging army. Then everything changed.

Dipping under 10
On 12 April 2014, Simon Magakwe burst past not only the SA record, but also became just the 90th man in the world to go under the 10-second barrier, as he clocked 9.98 at the SA Champs meet in Pretoria! (In second place was Akani Simbine, who also dipped under the old record as he ran 10.02.) Unfortunately, Simon was banned for two years for a doping-related violation in December 2014, leaving a cloud of suspicion hanging over his sub-10 performance, but happily that is now no longer of much concern, thanks to the scintillating performances of Akani and Henricho Bruintjies in recent weeks.

On 1 July Akani clocked 9.99 as he won the 100m in the European Athletics Classics Meeting in Slovenia (with Henricho finishing second in 10.15), thus giving SA its second sub-10, and the first not only at sea-level, where times are traditionally a little slower than at altitude, but also in an international race. “I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the time I had run, but with a good start it was easy for me to put the rest of my race together,” he said shortly after the run. “To run 9.99 seconds in a ‘minus headwind’ is very special, but it was more a relief that I was able to get this out of the way. I said I was going to run nine seconds in Europe and I fulfilled my promise. And in the right conditions, against the right competitors, there is no reason why I won’t be able to do so again.” How true that would turn out to be…

The record goes… and goes again
The proverbial dust had barely settled on Akani’s PB before Henricho also joined the sub-10 club four days later at the Resisprint International meeting in Switzerland, with an incredible 9.97 to take the SA record and become our third sub-10 sprinter, in spite of a bad start. “The first 30 metres were bad, but then I caught the guys and just ran away from them,” says Henricho. “When I saw the time I was just running around and screaming. It was a really great moment! Then I phoned my sister back home to tell my mom that I had broken the 10-second barrier.”

And then the unbelievable happened just five days later as Akani won the 100m final at the World Student Games in Gwangju, South Korea on 10 July, equalling Henrichos time with another 9.97, having won the semi-final in 10.00 seconds. Once again quite understated after a scintillating performance, he simply said, “I am very happy with my run. I never thought about running a fast time, it was more important for me to win the gold medal, so I concentrated on getting through my phases and to stay relaxed. At 60 metres I was able to relax a bit and just powered through.”

Friends, housemates and rivals
Interestingly, Akani and Henricho are both studying at the University of Pretoria and training at the High Performance Centre, but with different coaches, and they live in the same student house on campus. Off the track they are good friends and often support each other’s racing, but on the track the friendship is temporarily put away. “On the track it is each one for himself, and may the best man win,” says Henricho. “Afterwards we will play video games again. Normally, Akani beats me in that.”

While Henricho missed the Student Games due to a tight gluteal muscle, both will now focus on preparing for the World Champs in Beijing, China at the end of August, and then move on to the Rio Olympics next year. Besides hoping to do well individually, they should also be part of the SA 4x100m relay team, with big expectations on their shoulders. The SA record in this event stands at 38.35 seconds, which saw SA finish fourth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and which replaced the 38.47 mark that Team SA set in 2001 at the World Champs in Edmonton, Canada to claim the silver medal position. (We were later promoted to the gold medal position when the USA was stripped of the win due to one of its athletes being caught for doping). Just recently, the SA student relay team won bronze in South Korea at the Student Games with a 39.68 result, with Akani anchoring the team home, and with Henricho and Anaso Jobodwana (2012 Olympic 200m finalist who has run 10.13 this season as well as broken the SA record for 200m twice, clocking a best of 20.04) also in the mix for the full SA team, we could also see that SA record fall at last in Beijing, or Rio, hopefully with medals to go with the record.

Side Note: Leading sub-10 Nations
Jim Hines of the USA was the first athlete to break through the 10-second barrier for 100 metres in 1968, and thus far 106 athletes have broken 10 seconds. However, only 22 countries can lay claim to one of its athletes dipping under the 10-second barrier, and of those, only 11 have more than one sub-10 athlete. Thanks to Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies, South Africa is now joint sixth on that list with three sub-10 sprinters.

1 United States 47
2 Jamaica 14
3 Nigeria 8
4 United Kingdom 6
5 Trinidad and Tobago 5
6 Canada 3
6 France 3
6 South Africa 3

Part 2: Carina equals Women’s 100 Record

South Africa’s sprint revolution continued in Madrid, Spain, on 11 July when Carina Horn sprinted to a time of 11.06 in the qualifying heat for the women’s 100 metres of the World Challenge Meeting, thus equalling Evette de Klerk’s 25-year-old South African record. She could ‘only’ manage a 11.10 in the final to clinch third place, citing tired legs for the slower time, but she was still ecstatic about her record-equalling heat, which is the fastest time run by a South African woman at sea level. “The conditions were ideal for the final, but unfortunately my legs were dead and I just could not get them to go faster. But I am looking forward to the rest of the season, and I think I still have a few good races left in my legs. I did not sleep a wink after I ran 11.06. Actually, I am still battling to believe that I have really done it!”

Carina started the revival of South African women’s sprinting last year when she ran times of 11.21 and 11.17 at European meetings. Then in recent weeks she clocked 11.19 and a (then) PB 11.16. Having moved to Linz, Austria to train with sprinting specialist coach Rainer Schopf, Carina has now seen her 100m PB plummet from 11.59 to 11.06, and she attributes this massive improvement to her training. “Rainer keeps emphasising that the 100m is a very technical race and he has me working on small technical details for hours on end to help me to become faster.” She has also focused on the indoor 60m event, to work on her explosive power, and earlier this season twice improved her own SA record, clocking 7.21 and then 7.20, so she could cause a surprise at next year’s World Indoor Champs.

Part 3: World Class, Wayde

In June Wayde van Niekerk showed that he was in fine form for the 2015 European season as he clocked 31.63 over the seldom-raced 300m distance at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham in the UK, setting a new SA and African record. He then followed that with an SA record 44.24 in the New York Diamond League meet to finally beat the old SA record of 44.59, jointly held by Arnaud Malherbe (1999) and Hendrik Mokganyetsi (2000). And he wasn’t done yet…

Next, on 4 July, he became the first South African to dip under 44 seconds as he crossed the line in 43.96 at the Paris leg of the Diamond League, setting a new SA and African record, and handing Olympic and Commonwealth champion Kirani James of Grenada his first loss of the year. But Wayde was not done yet: On 14 July he became the first SA sprinter to di under 20 seconds for the 200m, clocking 19.94! (This beat Ansao Jobodwana’s still shiny new SA record of 20.04.)

The good news is that Wayde thinks he can go even faster. “It wasn’t easy, but I think I planned it well and really felt good in the last 200m. The first 200m was a bit relaxed, but that meant I saved a lot for the last 200m. I just feel there should be more, and there’s definitely still room for improvement. My goal this year is to continue pushing myself to improve, and because Kirani is the guy who inspires me, my victory was even more special. I hope this was the beginning of great things ahead for me.”

Part4: World Champion status

South Africa’s latest world champion is Justine Palframan after she powered to a personal best 51.27 to win the 400m women’s sprint at the World Student Games in Gwangju, South Korea on 10 July. “I felt really good in the race and all the training paid off, especially the work we put into my finishing. I stuck to the race plan and I got a personal best time out of it,” said the Stellenbosch-based Maties student after her big win.

When asked how it compared to her 200m/400m SA Senior Championships double title win earlier this year on her home track in Stellenbosch, she said, “This is definitely my highest achievement. Winning the double at the SA Seniors was a great feeling, but in comparison this is a world title, and it feels great to go into the history books of the Universiade as a gold medallist. And I think I can go quicker. I had a very successful championship, going through three rounds successfully and still being able to produce a personal best, so I have no doubt that I have the ability to go faster, especially with more opportunities at international level coming up soon.”

Part 5: Fastest Woman Ever!

Ilse Hayes became the world’s fastest female para-athlete of all time when she sprinted to victory at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the end of April. Clocking 11.89 seconds, she took 0.02 off the previous overall fastest mark run by China’s T12 world record holder Guohua Zhou. (Ilse competes in the T13 category, but often races T12s in mixed races.) At the same meet, she added the 200m title the next day in 24.70, then in June she did the 100/200 double at meets in Italy and Germany as well, continuing her fine form as she builds up to the IPC World Champs in Doha, Qatar in October.

“My aim was to break the 100m World Record at the World Champs, but I did it in Brazil already. Getting the record just motivated me to train even harder, because records are there to be broken, and there’s nothing stopping me from doing it again. I just want to train harder, and maybe do it at an even bigger event – like the World Champs or the Paralympic Games in Rio.”

Ilse won gold in the long jump and silver in the 100m at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, an exact repeat of her medal haul at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, to go with the bronze she won in the 400m at the 2004 Athens Games. However, from 2012 to early 2014 she was plagued with various injuries and struggled to train consistently, until finding the right balance, which included withdrawing from the long jump to focus on the sprints. “I’ve put more focus on recovery, nutrition, and maintenance with the chiro – all things that have contributed to me being healthier, meaning I can give more on the track, which shows in my results.”

“I ran a PB at the 2014 SA Nationals, and after that came PB after PB, SA and African records, and now the World Record. The downside was not knowing I had broken it, but that’s one of the challenges of being visually impaired, and I couldn’t understand the Brazilian commentator, so I only heard later when I was at doping control. I’d like to go after the 200m World Record as well – it is 24.24 and I’m currently on a best of 24.27, but with stronger competition, working on the bend and getting my speed-endurance up, anything is possible.”

Michael Botes is set to run nearly 250km this September in the Spartathlon Ultra in Greece – and tick an item off his bucket list – as he retraces the footsteps of the mythical hero Pheidippides. – BY SEAN FALCONER

According to ancient Greek legend, when the Athenian army faced the invading Persian army at Marathon in 490 BC, they sent a messenger named Pheidippides to run 240km to Sparta to ask for help. The Spartans said they would help, but according to their law could only march once the moon was full, so Pheidippides ran 240km back to Marathon to report that no reinforcements were coming, then joined in the fighting at the Battle of Marathon, which the Athenian army won. He was then despatched some 40km to Athens to report on the great victory, and allegedly collapsed and died after uttering the words, “We have won.”

Fact or Fiction
Of course, historians will point out that this story is likely not true, or at the very least highly romanticised, but nevertheless, it has laid the foundation for two modern-day running traditions. The first is the well-known marathon distance of 40-42km, which has become the pinnacle of long distance running the world over. The other is the much less well known Spartathlon event of 246km, from Athens to Sparta, which was first run in 1982, and this year SA runner Michael Botes will be one of just under 400 athletes lining up to take on this historical challenge.

“One of my mates mentioned it to me in 2012 and while I am not a natural born athlete, I love running and extreme challenges, so I decided to go do it, not only for the distance, but also because I love a race with history and culture behind it,” says Michael. “I was fortunate enough to crack an entry first time round, because they normally get about 900 entries from all over the world and use a lottery system to select 390, and there are fairly strict entry criteria as well, including running 100km in under 10 hours.”

Michael adds that he will become just the second South African runner to take on the Spartathlon. “Working through previous results, the only South African I could find was Norrie Williamson in 1992, when he finished fifth in a time of 29:30:41. So this is not a well known event amongst SA runners, but interestingly, while running the Comrades this year, I ran with and chatted to three British and two US runners, and all five knew what the Spartathlon is.”

Black Belt Runner
Michael (52) lives in Johannesburg with wife Ina and their two teenaged daughters, works as an investment adviser and runs for Randburg Harriers. He took up running seven years ago as part of his quest to lose weight after reaching 107kg. “A very good friend was also my doctor and kept nagging me that I was over 40 and needed to do something about my weight. Now my daughter had started judo, and I was spending two hours per week watching her train, so I decided to try it myself. I got my black belt, but because belt gradings were in November and then we had a three-month break, I needed to maintain my fitness, so I took up running. I found that I’m not a fast runner, especially on shorter distances, but as I progressed to longer distances, I made my targets comfortably.”

“The big challenge is that we don’t have many races over 100km in SA. We’ve got the Comrades, then the Washie 100 Miler and a couple of circuit races, but the Spartathlon is 246km and the longest I’ve done is 161km, so it will be unknown territory. Naturally, I am also concerned about the high drop-out rate in this race, mostly due to the high temperatures and humidity. On average, only 41% of participants finish, and in the hardest years, 1987 and 1991, only 23% made it. The best year was 1997 with 59%, and last year it rained during the race, which pushed the figure up as well. My worry is that we’ll be coming out of winter in SA, so I won’t be able to train in the same conditions, although I have been spending time in the sauna to build up resistance to the heat and humidity. Still, I am hoping to touch the feet of King Leonidas’ statue in Sparta on 26 September.”

It’s possible for vegetarian athletes to perform well, to be healthy and to have an injury risk no higher than that of other athletes. All they need to do is follow a planned diet containing the necessary nutrients that the body demands. – BY ESMÉ MARÉ, R.D. AT CHRISTINE PETERS AND ASSOCIATES

A vegetarian diet is one that does not include meat (including poultry) or seafood, or products containing these foods. And you get all types of ‘veggies’ too, including vegan, fruitarian, pescetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, macrobiotic, raw, and even semi-vegetarian (or flexitarian). There are many reasons for adopting this lifestyle: To improve one’s health, to boost performance, adherence to spiritual or cultural guidelines, to protect the environment, or to abide by a love for animals. Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the lifecycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence, and athletes can also embrace the benefits of a meat-free eating plan.

In terms of benefits, vegetarianism is associated with lower body mass index and lowers overall cancer rates. Vegetarians also appear to have a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, lower blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than non-vegetarians. Added to that, the diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, and vegetarians have a reduced risk for chronic diseases because they have lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fibre and phytochemicals.

Key Nutrients
The key nutrients for vegetarians include protein, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12, as these nutrients are often deficient. These deficiencies are often associated with the avoidance of animal foods and products. Vegetarians that include milk and other dairy products, eggs or fish are less likely to suffer from these nutritional risks than vegans who do not consume any animal products. Vegetarians who consume animal products are still at nutritional risk for these nutrient deficiencies, but through careful dietary planning and the intake of selected nutrients these are easily overcome.

However, consuming the nutrients and the energy you need to participate in endurance events becomes more difficult as you eliminate foods and food groups. Creatine is found to be lower in vegetarian than in non-vegetarian athletes, as its synthesis is not sufficient with low meat intakes. This poses some performance-based concerns. The vegan diet is also associated with the risk for dysmenorrhea, iron-deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, vitamin D deficiency and impaired calcium and zinc status. Furthermore, in vegetarianism, the total energy intake is often inadequate and protein gets broken down to satisfy the body’s energy requirement before other anabolic muscle-building or muscle recovery processes can occur.

Planning Meals
Meat, fish and poultry contain all nine of the essential amino acids, which makes them complete proteins, whereas veggies, beans, lentils, plant proteins and grains are incomplete proteins. Therefore, athletes consuming vegetarian meals should be careful and plan their meals in ways that optimise essential amino acid availability.

Combining legumes and cereals (samp and beans or rice and lentils), legumes with seeds and nuts (hummus), grain and dairy products or nuts and seeds and dairy products (macaroni and cheese, or muesli and yoghurt) at the same meal ensures for a good distribution of all essential amino acids. This will compliment the amino acid weakness of one food with the amino acid strength of another.

Veggie Advice
With the availability of new products including convenience foods, fortified foods such as soymilks, meat equivalents, juices and breakfast cereals, and dietary supplements, it is possible for vegetarian athletes to meet their key nutrient requirements. Here are a few recommended eating tips to further ensure you have the energy to perform on the run.
•  Choose a variety of foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, dairy products and eggs (if desired).
•  Minimise the intake of foods that are sweetened, high in sodium and fat, especially saturated fat and trans-fatty acids.
•  Choose lower-fat dairy products and use both eggs and dairy products in moderation.
•  Use a regular source of vitamin B12 and, if sunlight exposure is limited, of vitamin D as well.

It's a story, and an important one to all of us. A story involving five siblings – same mom, same dad, same common goal, to participate and complete the Ultimate Human Race, the Comrades Marathon 2015. – BY CARLA TRUMAN

There were five of us, starting with the oldest siblings, the two girls, Nadja Payne and Carla Truman, who were both running the Comrades for the first time this year, and both being mommies of four precious children. The next in line, and the stalwart of the group, was Peter Toich, also a dad to four beautiful children, having already completed seven Comrades and this year going for his lucky number eight. Then there was Stephen Toich, the new daddy in the group, who would be running his third Comrades this year, and last but certainly not least, the 'baby’ brother, Joe Toich, who had completed three comrades and would be going for number four.

The story wouldn't be complete without mentioning our dear mom and dad, Monica and Nic Toich, who have always supported the Comrades Marathon. Our TV was always tuned into the Comrades the whole day, a fond childhood memory for us all. They have supported along the route every year that one of their children has participated, but unfortunately would not be travelling to KZN this year, due to our father’s restricted mobility. They would, however, be with us in spirit, and (most likely) be glued to the TV at the 'Comrades get-together' at our Pretoria home that day. They are truly parents that have lived the saying, “Aim to inspire rather than to teach.”

And so we came home together, all five of us clocking 11:49:47, give or take a second. We also have our own families to be thankful for, for the love and support that we have each received during the long training months. We all feel deeply grateful that we could be there on the starting line, injury-free, and it was indeed a privilege to be part of such a beautiful race, and even more so to finish together!

Olympian, World Champs bronze medallist and South African record holder in the 1500m Johan Cronje has mastered his discipline for well over a decade, but he’s now working even harder on his speed as he chases glory on the world stage. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

Back in 2004, at the Athens Olympics, Johan Cronje admits he was still content to play second fiddle to the big names on the track in the 1500m, and even considered himself a spectator, just trying to absorb as much experience as possible. “I still remember the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics itself, as one of my standouts after 15 years of top level athletics,” says Johan. “It was the first time I really experienced a packed stadium, and living in the village for a few weeks. If any athlete could die and go to athletic heaven, it would be just that!”

Back then, Johan did well to make it to the semi-final round, eventually finishing 21st overall, which was an admirable result coming so soon after his 2001 African Junior Championship win in the 4x400m relay as well as his first big victory a year earlier at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the 800m, where he earned gold in 1:51.32. After Athens, however, Johan became a prominent regular at meets all over the world, and that culminated in him finding his best form in 2013, when he brought home the bronze medal in the 1500m from the World Champs in Moscow, thanks to a 3:36.83 finish. That was a year of PBs, too, with a 1:45.64 finish in the 800m, as well as cutting his 1500m best down to 3:31.93. Then in 2014 he clocked a 3:50.70 finish in the mile, and at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games he only just missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 1500m.

Now he has his eyes firmly set on the 2015 World Champs in Beijing later this year, currently competing on the European circuit to help push him to faster times, and then it will be on to the Rio Olympics next year. “Right now I’m testing my speed and the boiling point will be the World Champs in the next few months,” says Johan. “You really can’t guarantee fast times from May until August, so you have to manage when you reach that maximum level.”

In The Genes
It’s no surprise Johan took a liking to athletics. Both parents were Springbok athletes, with mom Sarina setting national records in the 800m, 1000m, 1500m, Mile and 3000m, and also running the fastest 10km in SA on the road in 1980. Father Danie was also a celebrated athlete, competing in the green and gold in the 3000m steeplechase in the early 80s. “I chose my running before rugby in grade 10 and continued from there,” says Johan. “I’ve always had that mind to reach the highest accolades. By choosing to focus on my running, I was committing myself to get to the top level.”

Today, Johan feels fortunate to have family with the know-how in the sport giving him coaching and advice along the way. “Both my parents cycle beside me on my long runs, so they’ve always been an amazing support through the years. Also, without my wife Claire, training would be difficult. She got up most nights with our son Daniel when he was born two years ago, so I could sleep and recover, and luckily she understands my schedule and travelling.” It’s an interesting balance Johan has figured out after his years of competing on the track, focusing on keeping a certain amount of fitness while not going all out in pre-season. “You can’t back off early because that will knock your confidence,” he explains, “so I think that’s a positive of being an older guy. You plan easier. Which is a big change from Athens!”

Planning the Attack
Looking towards the crunch at World Champs, Johan is building his speed by racing 800m more often this year and looks poised for a new PB as he builds up to Beijing, and then Rio. “The Olympics come once every four years, so if everything connects, I will be ready for the 1500m. Now I want to break 1:45 in the 800m and get close to 3:30 in the 1500m, and I will do everything I can to improve!”

With three gold medals to his name, including a third place last year, Rustenburg policeman Gift Kelehe was one of the pre-race favourites to take the 90th edition of the Comrades Marathon – and he was happy to tell everyone that he would do it, too. Gift’s sensational win in 5:38:35 was thus not only vindication of his pre-race confidence, but also a historical first of two brothers winning the world’s oldest and biggest ultra, with older brother Andrew having won the Comrades in 2001. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

With the familiar strains of Chariots of Fire playing and the chanting crowd at the Pietermaritzburg finish cheering him in, Gift Kelehe soared over the line with arms outstretched to a history-making win in the 2015 Comrades Marathon. One of the first to embrace him was older brother Andrew, winner in 2001, and then the younger Kelehe still had enough fuel in his tank to do 10 celebratory push-ups in the home stretch, with the stadium announcer and crowd counting with him. It was a dream realised, says the winner. “I just had a feeling I would take it this year! Looking back, with a fifth place in 2011, eighth in 2012, bailing in 2013 because of a stress fracture, then coming back and improving with third in 2014, I knew a better position was in me.”

With about 25km to go, Gift took the lead from eventual runner-up Mohammed Hussein of Ethiopia and opened a substantial gap over all the chasers. At the top of Polly Shortts hill, he knew the victory was in the bag, and with final instructions from long-time coach John Hamlett, Gift maintained his pace to claim the win. “As I approached the finish, I saw people running to the stadium from their houses, or leaving their cars in the road. The minute I reached the stadium, it was electrifying, with people banging on the side walls. This was my dream race!”

“Taking the 90th edition of the race was special, and the fact that my brother won in 2001 and now I also have the title, that is history. The support from my coach, brother and sponsors has been unbelievable. I remember Andrew being with me when I didn’t finish in 2013, and he told me that it wasn’t the end of the world, that I must train harder and that I will be back. He was right.”

Strategy Sounds
Following his comeback third place in 2014, Gift started training for the 2015 edition as early as October last year, doing the base training that he and his Samancor Chrome Marathon Club teammates usually did in January in previous years. He still had to wake up early each morning to fit in his training runs before heading to work for the SAPS, where he is part of a specialised tactical response team in Rustenburg, and then in the evenings he’d change out of uniform and go for another run. By April, he was clocking 250 to 270km a week, and spent time with the team in Dullstroom to prepare in high altitude conditions. That’s also where a few race-day strategies were worked out for better communication between Gift and his coach for running in the bunch.

“I had to simply sit with the guys, not doing the work for them, so Coach had a whistle he would blow and that’s how we’d communicate, so I’d know when to slow down,” explains Gift. “Last year we made a mistake where Coach shouted an instruction to me and I didn’t hear him, but Ludwick Mamabolo heard and he backed off, because we were fighting alongside Stephen Muzhingi. This year, the whistle was something only I knew, and I could always hear it. The guys were confused – Coach would blow the whistle, they would look at him, then look at me and wonder what’s going on!”

Winning Focus
Gift’s introduction to the bigger distances was realised as a 20-year-old when he played second to his brother’s 2001 winning effort. At that stage, Gift was a middle distance athlete who was encouraged by John, who had been working with Andrew since 1989, to work with the team at speed work drills before the Big C. When Andrew took the title, a proud younger brother wanted to emulate that achievement. “I wanted to be a champion like him, I needed that feeling.”

The plan now is for the team to go back to the drawing board in the next two months, with a back-to-back win the main focus for 2016. “I like making history, so another win is in our minds,” says Gift. “I think my experience counts for a lot, and with the women’s race, too, South Africans are ready to start a trend where we locals win it. I think we can make the race ours for a long time.”

Unsurprisingly, there is little ‘down time’ for the new champ, with interview upon interview, being paraded through his home village of Taung Sekhing as well as being honoured by the provincial legislature, but Gift is happy to embrace it all. “What a response it has been! People have recognised me in the street and I hope I can keep my win in the community.” It’s also something to hear that the humble 33-year-old didn’t waiver from the team’s traditional fartlek session the day after his phenomenal win. “I’d never skip that! It loosens my legs and helps with recovery. And it feels better after a win, too…”

After 20 years of running, I can look back on some incredible memories of races I have run, places I have been and people that I have met, and still, what I experienced on 27 April touring the Cape Town area with a bunch of running friends as part of the 6 Freedom Runs for Freedom Day Challenge stood out as one of the really special days of my running career!

In 2014 a group of Johannesburg-based runners decided to take on all the 5km parkrun routes in the city in a single day, and they called it doing Freedom Runs, as they ran them on 27 April, the Freedom Day public holiday. Down in the Cape, David Papenfus saw this mentioned online and decided it sounded like a great idea, so in March he called up all his Red Sock and parkrun mates in the Stellenbosch area and suggested a Cape version of the same challenge for 2015, on the six parkrun routes we currently have up and running in the Cape Town area, including Bellville and Stellenbosch. Soon a Facebook group had been created, the various parkruns contacted, and the group of Cape Freedom Runners began to grow, with runners from all over Cape Town saying they would join for one or more of the runs.

Early Start
So it was that the Stellies group met in the Spar parking lot before sunrise and off we went to Fish Hoek for the first run at 7:30am, with great excitement and jokes flying. It was a wee bit cold and windy, but after a few words of welcome from Dave and a group photo, we soon warmed up on the run, and then it was straight back into the cars and over Ou Kaapse Weg to get to Rondebosch Common for Freedom Run number two at 9am. I ran these both fairly hard, to catch up to friends after hanging back at the start to tweet pics of the massive groups that met up to run with us, and I soon realised I was going to have to pace myself a wee bit more if I wanted to get through the next four… So, I took it much slower (and chatted a whole lot more) at the third run in Green Point (10:30am), and again at the Big Bay parkrun in Blouberg at 12, where a brisk south-easter also made the first half of the out-and-back route a bit more challenging.

I was blown away by how many people had heard about our Challenge via Facebook or running friends, and then come out to join us for anything from one to four of the runs, depending on what their schedules for the public holiday allowed. The spirit in the ever-growing group at each run was amazing, which really kept us all going as our legs started to stiffen up from all the stop-starting – but we were having so much fun, that was just a mild irritation, really.

Taking strain…
After a lunch stop in Blouberg, we headed to the hilly three-lap Bellville course for a 2:30pm start, and by now I wasn’t the only one showing signs of strain. Then it was back to Stellenbosch for the Root 44 parkrun, delayed from 4pm to 4:30pm, as we had taken a bit longer at Bellville than planned, and that saw 15 of us running our sixth 5km route for the day. That group included runners from Bellville, Cape Town and Fish Hoek joining our Stellies group, and by that stage we were all comrades in arms and cheering each other on. It was hugs and high-fives all-round as each of us finished our last run of the day.

That evening, over well-earned beers, we heard that 22 runners had done all nine parkruns in Joburg that day, and I still wonder how they managed to fit them all in – they must have raced the routes and then driven like bats out of hell! That said, by next April we’ll have a few more parkruns in the Cape, so we could be doing a nine-run challenge ourselves. It was a stunning experience with stunning people, so here’s a huge shout-out to my fellow Freedom Runners: David, Ilse, Adele, Peter, Mariska, Zahn, Cecil, Jacques, Marion, Anna, Colin, Craig, Kim and Gino. I’m looking forward to doing it again with all of you (and still more runners) next year!

In the last two years, two female grandmasters have been rewriting the running record books on a regular basis in SA, so we caught up with both Nancy Will and Margie Saunders to find out what motivates them to chase down these records.

Where there’s a Will…

At this year’s Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra-marathon 56km, Nancy Will (62), who runs for Pinelands in Cape Town, cruised her way to a new 60-69 age-category world best of 4:12:54 at the 50km marker, but just missed out on the grandmaster course record at the finish with her time of 4:44:48. “I missed out on the record by only 21 seconds! I was not aware of the record on the day and only read about what I had done a day after the race,” she said. “All it tells me is that I have to go back and get that record, because I can cut it down.”

Nancy now has 14 ultra medals (4:08 PB) and six half marathon medals (1:30:40 PB) at Oceans as well as five Comrades Marathon finishes to her name, including two Comrades silvers and a PB of 7:12:34, so it’s strange to think that she never really considered herself much of a runner in her younger years. “I was a swimmer, and it was only after I got married that I turned to running to lose weight, and it just stuck from there,” she says. “Today, there are so many experiences that stick out, from SA Champs to running for Western Province, to all the big races. I’ll also be heading back to Comrades again this year after 10 years away from the race. My son will be running and I am hoping to do well in my age group there.”

Competitive Streak
Having represented South Africa as a swimmer and recorded great results as a road runner, including setting Western Province records at various distances in her age category in the last two years, Nancy has also turned to trail running this year for something a little different. “I ran the 50+ Trail Summit Series and I am enjoying the challenge of trail. There is no boredom factor and it tests me.” Apart from Comrades and trail races, Nancy is also aiming to re-break her provincial records this year across various distances as well as cut down her times on her 42km, 21km and 10km finishes.

Just before her taper period before Comrades, Nancy was clocking around 100 to 120km a week, which was quite an intense load to make sure she can last on race day. “I usually train on my own, but I also join our club group twice a week. The atmosphere and support at the club is always great and there is such a hype around Comrades, too,” she says. “I’m glad I’ve got a sport that’s easy to do, where you can get fit and meet new people, because there are no barriers in this sport. I think the most important things running has given me are good friends and a healthy body!”

The Record Buster

Port Elizabeth’s Margie Saunders (62) has made quite a name for herself in the last year as she has set and reset a number of SA records in the grandmaster category. At the end of February, she broke her own national mark for the 15km (1:04:01) to go with her national marathon (3:15:48) and half marathon (1:30:53) records. Now, having been in great form for the last few months and with her confidence at a peak, she’s ready to chase down the one SA record that has eluded her thus far, Sonja Laxton’s 10km record.

Interestingly, she also only came into running later in life. “I only started running when I was 35 years old, having been a swimmer for years,” she says. “Running came about because I wanted to do triathlons and I jumped right in and started with a half marathon, and suddenly found myself in the provincial team.” She continued setting fast times in her 40s, including a 2:55 marathon and two silver Comrades medals, which she considers her biggest running achievements, but then a speedbump in her health struck in 2000.

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer and for six months I underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy,” she explains. “At 50 I was back running competitively again, but nothing serious and I was less competitive. Then at age 57, I took on my first Ironman 70.3 and at the 2013 World Triathlon Champs in London, I managed a first and fourth place in my age-group in the sprint and standard distances, and it was my mission after that to take running more seriously.”

Runner & Triathlete
Today, Margie wakes up at around 4am and says she never misses a day’s training, even if she has an early morning flight to Johannesburg for her work as a manager of medical schemes contracted with ER24. “I run every day, and still swim three times a week, but I keep my distances shorter in the week. The swimming is my secret in keeping up my cardio fitness. When I work at home in Port Elizabeth, I can sit at my desk at 5am, run at 8am and get back to work an hour later. Running is easy because you just head out with your shoes!”

Margie is now focused on working on her 10km time and is looking forward to competing in the full Ironman one day. “I retire next September at 63 years, so I can afford more time training for Ironman then, especially when you need time on the bike,” she says. “For now, I clock 40km a week, swim regularly and do some rides a few times a month. I’ve reached my best in my sixties and have got great support from my Nedbank club and my family.”