Nicolette Griffioen is ready to take on the world’s best next month when she jets off to France to represent South Africa at the IAU World Ultra Trail Champs on 30 May, but first she chats about her gift for tackling the technical.

In October last year, when she won the inaugural Cape Town Ultra Trail 100km, Nicolette effectively booked her place for the World Champs, but that didn’t stop her going on to chase down a second SA Ultra Trail Champs title at the end of January, at the Ultra Trail Mount Moodie in Mpumalanga. In fact, the 22-year-old finished fifth overall in 10:54:21, beating many of the men home! That guaranteed her ticket to France, alongside World Champs veterans Su Don-Wauchope, Chantel Nienaber and Tracy Zunckel. “Su was my main competitor in Mpumalanga and she passed me on a flat section, but at 50km she was walking, so I passed her and then worked hard to keep a distance,” says Nicolette.

Her national team selection also came just after an impressive win at the Totalsports XTERRA off-road triathlon in Buffelspoort a week earlier. Then in February, despite a disastrous swim, she still managed a fourth place at the XTERRA SA Champs in Grabouw in the Cape. Now, however, her focus has shifted back to trail running. “Going to the World Champs is an opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so excited! It’s a different ballgame and sometimes I feel I need to slow down on the ultras, because I’m still young, but I can never say no!”

Competitive Streak

It’s strange to think that Nicolette was not very active at school, apart from gracing the hockey fields. “I hated athletics! The real change was when I took a gap year after changing my course to veterinary science so 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. After that she was hooked and found her competitiveness driving her on.

“I was a 30km runner in the beginning and then moved up to 40km for my first Otter Trail Marathon at the age of 19. Then I got an entry into last year’s Cape Town Ultra Trail, and I didn’t actually train the bigger distances, so it’s amazing how it turned out. The last 20km were the longest of my life, though!” Now with two ultra trail events under her belt, Nicolette says she has realised she has the mental capacity to stick it out, especially once she gets past halfway: “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.” With six more years of studying at Onderstepoort to become a vet, Nicolette structures her days around morning and afternoon training sessions, with Saturdays reserved for long runs or bike rides, and Sundays her rest day. Living on a small holding near Lanseria provides a convenient base for training, where she often runs with her loyal dog of three years, Dobby, by her side. In fact, her afternoon training runs have become an obligation. “My dog has become obsessed with running. From four o’clock, she starts scratching on the door – there’s now a hole in the door from her enthusiasm – so it’s always a given that she’s out with me. Also, with my boyfriend Nathan also a keen runner and mountain biker, and my mom doing her first event at Buffelspoort, there will always be someone I can train with, and they always support me.”

No Fear

Looking ahead to after the World Champs, Nicolette is hoping to take the win at the Otter in October. “I love getting over rocks, descending, going through rivers, tackling obstacles. I’m more cautious on my bike after some recent falls, but I have no fear when it comes to running the technical courses.” She is also looking to take part in the AfricanX, SkyRun and the Big 5 Challenge in Knysna, and adds that triathlon will also remain a focus. “I like the mix of triathlon, especially off-road, but my main goal is to travel to different continents to race.” So France is just the first stop…

Go to most weekend races in Gauteng and you’re likely to spot Shaun ‘Horsepower’ Naidoo smiling and laughing, snapping away with his camera all along the route, and ending off his run with a few cartwheels across the finish line. He appears to be high on life, and when you hear his inspirational journey from depression and drugs to finding his true purpose on the road, you’ll understand why. 

Horsepower… that’s an interesting nickname, and Shaun explains that he picked it up at school when playing soccer. “I was a great sprinter and just kept going, but it was also because I was respected on the field. Strikers hated me because I kicked their shins and wiped them out! It was a healthier, happier, simpler time… Then you finish school, study, work, fall in love, get married. Life happens and you forget those beautiful times. Suddenly you’re miserable, you can’t have kids, and you’re depressed. I compromised myself. I got divorced at 33 and wondered if anyone would fall in love with me again. I thought everyone hated me.”

 

To say that the wheels came off is putting it mildly, and Shaun explains that he went through some very dark days. “In the Indian culture, divorce is not normal. I was disowned. I felt guilty and embarrassed, and figured people thought I was a scumbag. Also, struggling to have kids with my ex-wife hurt me. I was overeating, did drugs, had bad friends… I was in a dark space and I wanted to die. I felt no one cared. I tried to commit suicide. I had lost my faith, my mind was corrupted and I wondered what I did to get punished like this. After my lowest low, chasing deadlines and dealing with relationship issues, it was all overwhelming. I overdosed. Then I went to rehab and found God again.”

 

Social Media Saviour

Coming out of rehab, Shaun says his journey to recovery began on Facebook. “When you start a profile, you put in your name and I went back to Horsepower. I travelled back to my happiest time. I felt it was time to reinvent myself, so I got rid of the bad people in my life, and came up with simple steps to change: Find a job, eat healthy and go for a walk. Soon I was running, then I went from running in secluded areas because I was so shy, to routes where people could see me. After getting into races, I’d hang my medals on the wall and chime them when I came home. Today, there are over 350!”

 

“In that first year of running, I wanted to lose weight. There was also the intention to make new friends. I became known as the ‘Running Photographer’ and my second year was exciting because I went back to the races I had done to get PB’s. I connected with so many people through my photos, sharing them online, and I think I’ve perfected the angles, too! Taking photos and opening up to people on the road was my therapy.”

 

Big C calling…

In 2012, Shaun lined up for his first Comrades Marathon, which he describes as another life-changing experience. “A year earlier I volunteered on the route with Alberton running club, giving out crème sodas, watching the top guys go through and then later the pacing buses. The next year I ran it myself, and I think Comrades is so special, because it was my definite turning point. I still prepared myself for disappointment, because my body hadn’t done that distance before, but if you really believe you can do something, there is nothing stopping you! I also ran for The Wildlands Conservation Trust after being inspired by Brad Brown at a roadshow. I got my bronze medal that I had been aiming for, coming home in 10:58. It was the most incredible feeling. I had found my purpose.”

 

“It was after my second Comrades, coming in 11:54 after a terrible day on the route, that I got my tattoo in Clarens. At the bottom, there is a darkness that I went through, the drugs and negative aspects that grabbed me to keep me down. That disgusting self. Then the phoenix rises out of the darkness. The phoenix has the head of an eagle – something that can see everything. Every morning it reminds me where I’ve been, and where I’m going. Out of the darkness, I’ve become aware of who I am. At the top, my Comrades number is there. While I haven’t earned it permanently yet, it’s my commitment to keep running.”

 

Hooked on running

“I am an addict. Every day is a struggle, but I’m glad I have replaced a bad addiction with a good one. At Slow-Mag last year, I cut open my palm while climbing over a gate to get to the start in time. I was bleeding when the start gun went off, but I just grabbed some tissues from a lady and ran a sub-4:00. It was my last chance at a good seeding for Comrades and I got it! Four stitches later, I was being told off by the nurse but it was worth it!”

 

To date, Shaun has run 52 marathons, 34 ultras, and still more half marathons and 10km races, and earned his permanent number in the 1000km Challenge, having been involved with it for three years. “Today, I run every Saturday and Sunday, and if there is nothing on the Saturday, I’ll do a parkrun. I once ran three races in one day, the first at Tom Jenkins, followed by a parkrun at Delta Park, and then I stayed for a cross-country championship that afternoon. I also did three marathons in 30 hours, driving between three provinces: The Shaduka Coal in Mpumalanga, then the night race in Ottersdal, and Johnson Crane the next morning. I passed out under a tree by the end of it with three medals around my neck!”

 

Ambassadorial role

After two years with the Alberton club, Shaun received a surprise message from the Comrades King, Bruce Fordyce, inviting him to run as a running ambassador for the Nedbank club, and he jumped at the chance. “It was a great opportunity. We created a group called The Green Machine, and the whole concept is to inspire each other and other runners. Now, when I see a ‘newb’ on the road, I encourage them to join any club, to learn and meet new people, and I often get asked for advice, about what to eat, about race routes, and if I know about extra entries and things like that. I love inspiring people, so my main philosophy now is to spread smiles on the road, especially through my photos. One of my goals is to run two hours at one of the ladies’ 10km races, just so I can walk, photograph and enjoy myself. I’m also running my first ever Two Oceans Ultra this year.”

 

“Meanwhile, I’ve fallen in love, I’m looking for a job, and who knows, maybe there will be little coltpowers soon? Also, two years ago, I designed this action figure of me. My face with a Superman body. It’s called The Phoenix. I wanted to create this comic of a normal guy who got divorced, went through bad stuff and fell into toxic sludge, then he got superpowers. Maybe he runs around and saves things? That’s what I want to be. I used to be the villain. Now I choose to be the hero.

Vlam Pieterse is one of the most recognised Comrades runners of the last 15 years, despite always finishing with just a few minutes to spare, thanks to his heroics as a long-time driver of the sub-12:00 pacing bus, and in 2015 he will once again be part of the Modern Athlete Comrades Pacesetting crew. 

More than half of the field at the Comrades Marathon crosses the finish line in the last hour before the final 12-hour cut-off gun is fired, and as the countdown to the gun approaches, so the runners become more and more desperate to make it home on time and claim that prized medal. But one thing they have going for them is the 12-hour pacesetting buses, with hundreds upon hundreds of passengers all hanging on to that flag and the comedic comments and motivational spurring on of the volunteer bus drivers, men like Vlam Pieterse of Hartbeespoort Marathon Club.

 

Pacing Perfection

With 23 Comrades medals to his name, the 57-year-old has finished with 10 minutes or less to spare 18 times, so he is an expert on getting the pace just right at Comrades. But it all started in a half marathon, when Vlam helped some clubmates run their target time, and his pacesetting skills soon led to more requests, until eventually he found himself the designated driver of the sub-12:00 bus at Comrades, even before the buses became an official, organised part of the race. Thus the legendary ‘Vlam se Bus’ was born, and Vlam even used to bring along a huge weather balloon with his name on it, so that fellow runners would be able to spot him amongst the crowd at the start! Another part of the Vlam legend is the role his wife San plays on race day, popping up at regular intervals along the route with her marmite sandwiches – now just as famous as Vlam himself!

 

“I help runners who are hoping to reach the cut-off time, including those who are capable, but don’t believe in themselves enough,” explains the red-haired Vlam, hence his nickname. “For me, the ultra-marathon is a spiritual journey… we are fortunate to be able to run it, and knowing we can do it strengthens the mind. But sometimes we need a little bit of help to get home.” Thus Vlam breaks the distance up into smaller, more manageable segments, and keeps the group’s minds off the distance with jokes, songs and a flair for making funny comments, like “Bolyfies vorentoe, borsies uit, dames ook!” The group chants, sings, waves their hands – anything to have fun while keeping going – and every kay marker is greeted with the singing of Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust.

 

Vlam actually says that he can’t run races without a pack around him any more – he misses the camaraderie too much! But driving the 12-hour bus is also a huge responsibility, one that he doesn’t take lightly. “It’s really living life on the edge – great if you make it, heartbreaking if you don’t. I have learnt to remember that I am a pacesetter, not a nurse, and I have to keep the best interests of the group in mind. I must stick to my pacing chart to ensure that everyone in the bus gets to the finish on time, and I cannot slow down or stop for anybody who can’t keep up, even though it breaks my heart to see them drop off the bus.”

The Modern Athlete Pacesetters will once again be in action at his year’s Comrades Marathon on 31 May, but this year the volunteer pacesetters will be appointed well in advance and will be in action in some qualifying marathons or shorter ultras leading up to the Big C. This will allow runners to meet and run with the Pacesetters before the big day, to get to know their pacing style and strategies.

 

Vlam Pieterse is just one of our volunteer Pacesetters, and several others from previous years will also be returning – watch the mag for more on them in coming months – but Modern Athlete is still looking for more pacers. If you are willing to carry a flag at Comrades, please mail Sean Falconer at [email protected] and include a brief running CV. Please note that only experienced Comrades runners will be considered for this important but immensely satisfying job.

When it comes to breaking off a piece of chocolate, you might have that sinking feeling of guilt that it will put a dampener on your training and runner’s lifestyle, but don’t fret, because it actually relieves the stress put on your body after the hard miles. Just remember, it’s all about moderation… BY ESMÉ MARÉ, REGISTERED DIETICIAN AT CHRISTINE PETERS & ASSOCIATES

Running helps to build strong bones, strengthen muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness, burn energy and help maintain a healthy weight, but it can also place stress on your body. Some runners therefore turn to certain foods to help reduce the stress placed on their body and to help improve performance and recovery, and thus both dark chocolate and chocolate milk have become very popular amongst runners.

 

Come to the Dark Side

Chocolate contains potent antioxidants called flavanols, which may reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress. Studies have shown that consuming moderate amounts of chocolate can boost heart health, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Other research suggests that these flavanols can ease inflammation and lower the risk of potential blood clots. However, not just any chocolate will do!

 

The darker the chocolate, the higher the antioxidant content and more heart-healthy benefits. Dark chocolate has a lower glycaemic index, which means that eating dark chocolate won’t make your blood sugar levels peak. Choose a dark chocolate 70% or higher, which will help keep your blood sugar levels stable. Just remember to take note of the calories, as chocolate is high in fat, contains sugar, and it’s very easy to over-indulge.

 

Drink Up!

Chocolate milk may help give you more power and help you run longer if you drink it before your workout. It can also improve recovery if you take it after your workout. The chocolate milk helps replace fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise and contains calcium and vitamin D, which will help in strengthening bones. Chocolate milk also contains the perfect ratio of carbohydrates to protein to improve recovery after exercise. The carbohydrates will replenish the depleted glycogen stores and the protein will help rebuild muscle.

 

It is worth mentioning that the benefits from chocolate milk are from the milk and not from the chocolate. The chocolate only adds to the flavour of the milk and the amount of cocoa in the flavouring does not contain sufficient amounts of antioxidants to be of benefit to the athlete. Therefore, any flavour of milk can be used.

Moderation Reminder

Even though chocolate can help your running performance, you still need to consume it in moderation as part of a healthy balanced diet, because chocolate and chocolate milk are high in sugar, fat and energy, and excess consumption can still lead to weight-gain.

Some Perspective

Four Lindt 70% dark chocolate squares equal one slice of bread and two heaped tablespoons of peanut butter, or 250 calories. To burn that many calories, you would need to do one of the following sets of exercise:

·         69 minutes of walking

·         29 minutes of jogging

·         21 minutes of swimming

·         38 minutes of cycling

She’s been setting the Collegiate athletics and cross country circuits alight while studying in the USA, and now Dominique Scott is hoping to turn her good form into a ticket to the Olympics so she can race in the green and gold.

When Dominique Scott won the 2010 SA Junior Champs 1500m title in 4:36.94 (and the 3000m title), little did she know it was about to change her life forever. Her win was featured on the TV news that night, which prompted her proud mother, former Springbok triathlete captain, age group World Tri Champ and Comrades gold medallist Renée, to post the video on YouTube. It was seen by a number of university coaches in the USA who began trying to enlist Dominique to come run for them in the States on a full scholarship. “I was really fortunate that I got to go on a recruiting trip and visited my top three pick schools, and I ended up loving the University of Arkansas, which is in Fayetteville, a small town that reminded me of Stellenbosch, where I had really grown as an athlete,” says Dominique. “I really liked the girls on the Razorbacks team, and thought Coach Lance Harter would bring the best out of me – fellow South African Christine Kalmer also studied there and I had seen how she came in with certain times and was running faster by the time she left. That showed me that Coach Harter really develops athletes.” (She also met her soon to be boyfriend, fellow athlete Cameron Erfud, during that recruiting trip, and they have been together since she moved to the States.)

And so Dominique took six months off after matriculating at the end of 2010, then went over to the States in the middle of 2011 when the US academic year started, enrolling to study business marketing with a logistics minor. She will complete both courses in May this year, following which she plans to complete her Masters as well. “It is pretty challenging being a student-athlete, because I miss so much school due to travelling to meets, and we train like pro athletes, but still have to juggle classes and sport. I think most people in SA wouldn’t even be able to comprehend the amount of work that we put in. My high mileage weeks get up to 120km, and we don’t do junk miles, every run is a solid effort – and we race a lot. But they’re giving me an excellent and expensive education in exchange for four years of running for them, so you really want to run hard for your university.”

Starting young

Dominique took up running at the tender age of seven, thanks largely to her mother. “I started running cross country for fun on Friday afternoons when I was in grade one, because my mom was the cross country coach at Herzlia Prep School and High School in Cape Town. I started to get more competitive and eventually won the SA Junior Champs. From there I ventured into track when I was in grade eight and loved it, so my mom looked for a coach for me and made contact with Johan Fourie in Stellenbosch. I started training with him twice a week, so halfway through grade nine I moved to Rhenish Girls High and started training with Johan on a daily basis. That’s when my love of running really blossomed.”

Under Johan’s guidance, Dominique won several SA Junior titles, or finished second to her great rival at the time, Caster Semenya, and she also ran for her country twice. Then came her big breakthrough at the SA Junior Champs and being spotted by the coaches in the US, and she has positively flown since then, although she first had to learn a few hard lessons about pacing herself. “That was hard for me to grasp at first, because in South Africa I had been winning race after race, but when I got to the States, I came to realise that the girls who are going to win Nationals are just playing around at the beginning of the season, because they know how long the season is. I learnt how to peak at the right time.”

Success in the States

In her Freshman (first) and Sophomore (second) years, she did enough to keep her scholarship while competing in the three main seasons per academic year, for cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. However, she felt she still needed to prove herself and justify her full scholarship, and then in her Junior (third) year, she says things just went crazy as she made a name for herself. “I won the South Eastern Conference (SEC) cross country meet and also helped my school get the team win, then went to Nationals and finished 28th. I was really pumped up after that for the indoor season, where I ran 9:02 to break Christine’s school record for 3000m, and we also broke the school record for the Distance Medley Relay (DMR). I won the SEC 5000m title and finished second in the SEC 3000m, and then at Nationals, my school won the DMR, which we had never done before, and I was second in the 3000m. After that, I got the outdoor school record for 5000m, and finished sixth at outdoor Nationals.”

More success soon followed in the first half of Dom’s Senior (fourth) year as she won five out of her seven cross country races, including winning the SEC title and the Regional title, and then finishing sixth at Nationals. “I probably worked too hard early in that Nationals race and cost myself a few places, but my coach thinks it was the best race I had ever run, because I really went for it.” Dom’s great results also saw her awarded All American status six times thus far. In NCAA collegiate competition, a top 40 finish at cross country Nationals and a top eight finish in indoor and outdoor track events are rewarded with this elite recognition, and this has turned Dom into a sporting celebrity in her adopted state. Now she not only has her name on several honours boards at school, but is often asked to do interviews, and is getting more and more invites to top level meets, where she often races professional athletes.

Olympic dream

Looking ahead, Dom says her big goal in the upcoming track season is to qualify to run for SA at the Rio 2016 Olympics. “My goal as a little girl was always to go to the Olympics, so I was blown away when my coach recently sat me down to discuss what I want to run in Rio. We decided that my focus will be the 5000m in 2016, so this season I am going to work on my speed and look to get some international exposure in Europe. The next year and a half will be instrumental in deciding my future. There is a definite possibility that I will stay in the USA to run professionally when I finish studying, but I also miss SA – my family, the weather, the mountain and the sea, and the SA accent! But I am living my dream right now, and just enjoying every moment.”

He comes bounding down the road in his Carbineers club colours and red socks, a huge smile on his face as he hugs friends and exudes a lust for life. He’s AJ Spieringshoek, high school teacher and hockey coach, runner, Red Socker and Unogwaja, and everyone he comes into contact with can’t help but catch his good mood and enjoyment of running. 

Shocked… that’s the only way to describe the reaction of the Spieringshoek family in November 2012 when AJ told them he had entered the 2013 Comrades, and what’s more, that he wanted to ride a bicycle for 10 days from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg as part of the Unogwaja Challenge before running the 90km ultra. After all, he had been a good 400m hurdler at school, as well as playing first team cricket and hockey, and had carried on playing club hockey after school, but he had never done any road running, nor had he done any cycling!

It all started when AJ heard Red Sock and Unogwaja founder John McInroy speak at the school where he was teaching in Cape Town. He was so inspired that he decided to enter the Comrades that same day and apply to become an Unogwaja. “I started training and did the Sundowner 10km in December, finishing in 52 minutes. There were a lot of people running and the race had a festive feeling, and that really gets you in the mood to run more, so it was a very positive start to my running career,” says AJ.

“I ran 2:07 in my first 21km at the Kloofnek Half in January, and then in February I did my first marathon at the Peninsula, clocking 4:26. Then came Two Oceans in 6:27. I only started cycling after Two Oceans, and most of my training was on a bike that was too big for me, until I got my KTM two weeks before Unogwaja, and it carried me through the ride. Then I ran the Comrades and finished in 11:46, the last Unogwaja home. The others finished in 11:42 and they were a bit concerned, as they hadn’t seen me for a while. Thinking about it all now still gives me goosebumps!”

Familiar Face

Nearly two years after Unogwaja, AJ says he still gets people walking up to him to say they followed him in that 2013 journey, or saw him in the videos online, and how much he has inspired them. Typically humble at all times, he says that kind of feedback still blows him away. “We really were not aware of what we were getting into in terms of hype with Unogwaja. For example, at Comrades I met Greg Dove of the Royal Marines, who was stationed in Afghanistan. He walked up to me and said he recognised me from the videos on YouTube, and that our message was spreading all over the world. That’s just incredible!”

AJ (28) studied B.Ed at CPUT, taught at Fairmont and is now at Bishops, intern-teaching Maths and Information Technology, while also coaching the under-16 hockey team and third cricket side. He also coaches the under-18 Boland indoor hockey girls, the Foxes, who recently finished second in the National Pro Series. While teaching and coaching give him great satisfaction and joy, it is running where AJ now looks for his own sporting highs, and since his remarkable entry into running, he has improved his running times markedly. “I’ve learnt a lot in two years of running, and this year I will be looking to go sub-3:30 for the marathon, run 1:33 for the half and sub-40 for 10km. I would also love to run a Bill Rowan at Comrades, but for now a sub-10:00 will make me very happy. With Comrades, it is such a long way – you can set goals, but then the race will decide for you.”

“I just love being alive, and want to live my life as best I can. That’s the type of person I am – I go in wholeheartedly,” says AJ. “Every time I run, I want to smile, because I am using my god-given ability. I’m not going to win races or go to the Olympics, but I think I can inspire the average runner by being out there, sharing the same pain and joy on the road, and that makes me happy.”

Multiple ultra-marathoning SA, African and event record holder Johan van der Merwe likes to go long. In fact, the longer the event, the better he gets, be it chasing records on the road or going round and round the track in pursuit of 60-year-old SA records set by the late, great Wally Hayward. 

Ask multiple ultra-marathon record holder Johan van der Merwe what he thinks about running ultras, and he responds with an interesting cricketing analogy. “It’s like test cricket, really. Sometimes, things will be going smoothly and you could be going through a seamless partnership. Then, suddenly, things go from good to bad and your opponent grabs three or four quick wickets. It can change in a blink of an eye.” That said, this man obviously doesn’t hit many bad patches, judging by his impressive list of wins and records.

Johan only took up running in 1999, at age 27, due to being an overweight 87kg while working on the police force in Mokopane and joined Potties Athletics Club. “I had to get my health in check, and after starting to run, I lost 26kg in six months,” he says, adding that at first he just ran to lose weight, but then it became something he really looked forward to. “I was already onto my first Comrades run a year later in 2000,” and after coming home for an 8:38 Bill Rowan medal on debut, Johan realised that he had a natural talent for running ultras. By 2010 he had his Comrades Green Number 39957 and four silver medals to go with six Bill Rowans, but it was only in 2011 that he stepped up to his first 12-hour circuit race at the Dusk2Dawn and really found his niche. “I guess it was a tester,” he explains, “and I told myself if I did well, I’d up my training. If not, at least I tried.”

Well, he did do rather well – he broke the event record by 19km! And that win convinced Johan he could improve still more. “I guess from that point, one thing led to another. I was encouraged to do my first 100 Miler at Golden Reef and despite some niggles, I won it! But believe it or not, I was down in the dumps after that, needing to recover for a good three weeks. I knew I had to tackle another challenge, and that’s when the Washie dream was born…”

Washie Welcome

Johan says he knew the Washie course record was beatable. In fact, before his Washie debut, he was so confident about smashing the record that he posted about his planned record attempt on Facebook. That prompted a call soon after from a stranger who happened to know then record holder Manie Saayman way back when he set the course record of 13:13:38 in 1982, and the caller told Johan he’d never break what was considered an unapproachable record. “I was arrogant about it, I must admit,” says Johan. “I remember telling the stranger on the phone that I intended to better it and reminded him that he didn’t even know me! Before it all, I ran my Comrades PB in 6:24:35 so I knew I had it in me, and I got the Washie win that year in 13:07:05.”

After that, he managed to grab an equally impressive 13:18:02 in 2013, the all-time fourth-best Washie time, and this past year he clocked 13:21:49 for the fifth-fastest time. And it tested his endurance and willpower along the way, choosing the complete last year’s race without seconds beside him. He also put aside a foot niggle that he sustained during a 6-day race earlier that year. “I remember the constant headwind and me being alone,” says Johan, “it was a difficult one!” Johan also heaps praise for his online coach Nic de Beer who assisted in 2011 to get Johan to step it up before taking on anything more than the Comrades distance.

Breaking Wally

With the Washie record behind his name, Johan began looking for new challenges, and soon his eyes turned to Wally Hayward’s 24-hour SA record of 256.4km, set way back in November 1953 in England. No other South African had passed the 250km mark since then, and on his first attempt Johan just missed the record by 3.4km when he ran 253.076km in a race on his home track in Polokwane in April 2013. Putting that record aside temporarily, he then chased down the 48-hour SA and African records while competing in the EMU 6-day race in Hungary in May 2013. He completed 333.02km in just over 46 hours to beat the previous African best of 332km set by Namibian Johannes Gawaxamab in 2001, before leaving the track for scheduled rest in preparation for the next four days of running. Then on 7 December he went after Wally’s record again, this time in the Soochow International 24-Hour circuit race in Chinese Taipei, and coming home third overall, he finished on 258.064km to claim the SA record as well as beat the previous African record of 257.881km. (In the same race, he had also claimed the SA 200km track record in 17:34:20, taken as a split during the 24-hour race.) Even though he didn’t win that race, Johan rates it as one of his best performances, because he had achieved what he had set out to do, break Wally’s record! “Before trying it, it looked easy on paper. I needed to break that record, so when I achieved that, it was like a huge monkey off my back!” My wife went the extra proverbial mile during the last four hours. The eye contact was important. She also chased me out of the loo after I realised I had the record in the bag at 22 hours. My mind was playing tricks on me, ordering my body to go to the loo after every 400m. She ordered me to get back out there.”

Back home, Johan also continued to tick off the 100 Milers, and he currently holds the course records for the Coaldust Dreams and Capital Classic races to add to his Washie record, and he also celebrated circuit race records at the Dawn2Dusk 12-hour, Hout Is Goud Day Breaker 12-hour and Jannas 18-hour events. And somewhere in between this he still managed to run consecutive Comrades silvers from 2009 to 2014. “People keep thinking that doing Comrades must be easy for me, but it’s never easy keeping up your form on the day,” he explains. “That said, 2015 will probably be the first time I’ll take it easy and use Comrades just for training for Washie, where I’ll be looking to dip under 13 hours.”

What Wall?

So what preoccupies the mind of an athlete trudging along for 160km or circling a track for days on end. “You think of Washie and running through night-time and it’s hard to keep motivated, but I have this ability to hang in there! As for circuit races, I love going around and around, because there are no surprises, like a big hill after a corner, and you can measure yourself by taking lap times to ensure that your pacing is correct and that your goal is maintained,” says Johan, adding that his game plan is to approach each event aggressively and hang in there when the going gets tough – and it does get tough!

“My bonus is my mental state. My training buddy can beat me in a session, but when race day comes, beast mode kicks in. If you decide to break through that ‘wall,’ then your body can accomplish anything!” And with that attitude, it’s no surprise that Johan has the six-day world record pencilled in as a goal for the next few years, in between travelling the globe for more ultra events. “My golden rule is to believe in myself. It’s corny, but there is no such thing as a wall if you back yourself. Like cricket, a running event can swing either way, but once you get going, it’ll all work out.”

Every now and again, Matt Daneel posts a ‘Throwback Thursday’ pic of his ‘Fat Matt Days’ on Instagram, to remind himself where he has come from, and where he is going with his promising multisport career. 

Matt was always a good runner. He took it up while still at school when his mom joined a local running club in Stellenbosch, ran the time trial regularly, then did a few 10km races, and in 2003 and 2004 he ran the Old Mutual Two Oceans Half and clocked times of 1:28 and 1:29. However, having gotten into a typical student drinking lifestyle and then working in the hospitality industry, Matt’s weight had steadily climbed until he tipped the scales at 107kg in 2011, and he knew he had to do something about it.

“My friend Mia Mocke, a personal trainer here in Stellenbosch, convinced me to start exercising, and I actually tried to run a half marathon. I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack!” says Matt. “That was the last straw for me, so I bought the cheapest bike I could find on Gumtree and started pedalling with friends. A short while later Mia suggested a triathlon, and since I had done some running back in the day, I now had a bike, and I swam in primary school, I thought maybe I can string a triathlon together.”

Latent Talent

To Mia’s great surprise, Matt didn’t just finish that BSG Sprint Series event, he actually did quite well. “She said, ‘Hang on, you’re heavy, and you just started triathlon, but you beat most people I know, so you should do more of these!’ I had enjoyed it so much that I actually entered my next one that same day. Then I did my first Totalsports XTERRA off-road tri in February 2012 and had the most fun imaginable, even though it was a long day out, and at prize-giving I watched the age-groupers collecting their prize money, so I thought this is cool, and set myself the goal of finishing on the podium in my 25-29 age group.”

He duly claimed third spot in his group in 2013, and at prize-giving the two guys in front of him were handed envelopes with an entry to the XTERRA World Champs in Hawaii. “I sat there thinking, I only just didn’t make it, and that sucks, so next year I need to go World Champs!” And so the 2014 race saw a still leaner, meaner Matt at 75kg go all-out, and he finished 11th overall and first non-pro, earning his Hawaii slot – but still he was a bit disappointed. “The pro’s had a minute head-start on us, but I didn’t know the Italian just in front of me at the finish was actually only a few seconds ahead of me, so I came trotting into the finish, taking in the vibe, and walked over the finish line, just to see that I missed the Top 10 by three seconds! Still, I was the first guy with a day job over the line!”

Success has also come to Matt in other events. He can boast a half marathon PB of 1:16 and a 10km best of 34:50, and has finished on the podium at many events, including third in the Totalsports Challenge Terra Firma, second at the Slanghoek off-road tri, and first in the Die Burger mountain bike race. He is a product tester for sponsor First Ascent and also has nutrition, shoe and bike sponsors, and says he still can’t quite believe what has happened to him. “I am so incredibly lucky to have sponsors that make my sporting career possible, and I can’t believe I am now being asked to do interviews as well!”

Trying Again

Matt had a sponsor lined up to pay for the Hawaii trip last year, but that unfortunately fell through, so this year he says he will just have to qualify again. He will also race the SA Cross Tri Champs, along with various other tri events as well as trail runs and mountain biking events. The ProNutro AfricanX three-day trail run is another must-do on his list, with great friend Al Leslie, but that one is just for fun, as they literally laugh from start to finish. Then again, Matt is pretty much always laughing these days. Seems being lean and successful agrees with him.

Voted by CNN as ‘the most difficult and wildest eco race on the planet’, The Jungle Marathon is an extreme seven-day 275km footrace through the Amazon Jungle in Brazil, and SA’s Anthony Erasmus was there to experience it. Here are some extracts from his ‘race diary.’

Arriving via river boat at base camp in the Flona Tapajos National Park, surrounded by unspoilt jungle on the banks of the Amazon River, the Bombeiros (jungle military firemen) briefed us on a list of warnings: Plants to avoid, creatures we may encounter and what to do if lost. Our race packs were kitted with food, hammock, T-shirt, shorts, socks and 2½ litres of water – all weighing in at 13kg.

Stage 1 – 27km (Running time: 7:51)
The terrain was undulating, with 14 steep hills of 50 to 250m, roots of the massive trees forming vertical buttresses 40cm high, and muddy marshes in between. The leaves fill the spaces between trees, making the jungle track look flat! The going was tough and slow…

Stage 2 – 28km (8:54)
Water points were stationed every 10km with dehydration a major threat, as you sweat profusely. I found myself taking in 15 litres of water, electrolyte drinks and energy supplements in water! I made a point of stopping every hour to check the colour of my urine. You learn to read your body.

Stage 3 – 34km (8:39)
In the second half the terrain eased and it actually became a ‘run’, not a hike/power walk. You’re told to shuffle your feet when entering rivers to chase away electric rays, but thankfully the Anacondas are shy and hide in the swamps. Ticks, however, are not shy, and infest your legs and nether regions.

Stage 4 – 42.2km (11:43)
Suddenly, I felt as though a spear had been launched into my leg. A half-metre long tree branch was protruding at right angles from my shin, and whilst removing it, the point broke off in my calf, but I was fortunate to have Cody from Texas with me. I massaged the foreign body below the muscle while Cody guided the broken end up towards the shin wound. It moved up slowly, with Cody wanting to pass out, but after guiding it up, Cody managed to pull it out thanks to a Swiss army knife.

I realised there must be small bits of bark in the tissue tunnel, so I placed the nozzle of my water bottle into the wound and flushed about 800ml of water through it, then packed it with an antibiotic ointment and wrapped it with a bandage and zinc oxide tape. I immediately started a course of antibiotics. Couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the 128km night stage next.

Stage 5 – 128km (36:05)
We were told the night stage had been lengthened by 20-odd kilometres! Setting off at 4am, we had to reach checkpoint six by 3pm, otherwise we were not allowed to continue until the following morning, because it was considered too dangerous to traverse after dark! Nearly half the field didn’t make it. Cody and I pushed ourselves and made it at 2:30pm, then got to checkpoint seven at 4:30pm and decided to take a break. There was a ‘foot medic’ there, and I needed him – I had five toenails wanting to come off!

We left an hour later and then Cody’s headlight packed up, so I gave him a little LED light. We got lost so many times! The trail is marked every 30m by ribbons, but they’re not particularly visible at night. At 10:30pm, we reached a muddy marsh that I can only describe as a quicksand bog. It took us two hours to get through 2km of swamp! We ran through the next day, passing the villages and schools that benefit from the money raised by the race, making it huge for the locals, and finished late that afternoon. Nothing felt as good as a swim in the warm, green river water.

Stage 6 – 16km (2:27)
My backpack had been reduced to 6kg as we ran along the ‘beach’ of the Tapajos River, and I reached the finish in a total time of 75 hours 39 minutes, in 14th position. If I had entered the Jungle Run knowing what to expect, I think the achievement would not so much be in finishing as in the courage it would take to enter it. What an experience!

After two hugely successful years in the sport of triathlon, including four African championship titles, wins on the international tri circuit and a Commonwealth Games team silver, Henri Schoeman is fired up for the New Year while planning ahead for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
– BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

Two big wins in October really put the icing on the proverbial cake for Henri’s 2014 triathlon year, as the 23-year-old won the ITU Triathlon World Cup event in Tongyeong, South Korea and then defended his 5150 African Champs title in Germiston a week later. Earlier in the year, despite starting 2014 with an injury, he had bounced back with a bang to successfully defend his African Championship title in Zimbabwe in April, beating the likes of fellow South Africans Richard Murray and Wian Sullwald, and then in August he was in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, where he placed 17th in the individual event and helped the SA team win the silver medal in the mixed relay event, alongside Kate Roberts, Gillian Sanders and Richard.

With such a successful 2014 behind him, to go with an equally successful 2013, Henri’s road to the Rio 2016 is well on track, and he says that getting to the Olympics is very much his focus right now. “I always look at the bigger picture, and with the experience gathered in 2014, I can now focus on getting more podium finishes and wrack up as many good performances on the WTS circuit as possible this year to get qualified for Rio. The Olympics is always in my sights!”

Swim Sense
Born in Vereeniging, Henri moved to Durban at an early age and started out as a talented swimmer, also taking part in lifesaving, cross-country and duathlon for fun. “My parents wanted me to have a good sense in water, being by the sea, and growing up in an environment where your family is sporty, it’s quite easy to keep going.” That saw Henri take the natural step up to triathlon while still in school, and success soon followed as he won the under-19 title at the SA Triathlon Champs for two consecutive years, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing…

“The transition from swimming to running and cycling was slow,” he explains. “I picked up bad injuries in my shins. As a swimmer, you have ‘soft’ bones, so it’s a process to adapt. Then in 2011 I broke my collarbone after a fall, but it was definitely a blessing in disguise – because I came back stronger!” The enforced lay-off allowed Henri to concentrate on strengthening his legs as he worked his way back to full fitness, notably with pool-running, and it paid off. “There were times when I thought about giving up, but then the improvements came,” he says, “and with a good start in my first year on the international circuit in 2013, I learnt so much, could travel by myself and handle the pressure of it all.”

Success upon Success
That year, he picked up wins in the ITU African Cup, ITU African Championships, 5150 African Champs, South African Champs (in the elite under-23 category), ITU East London Premium Africa Cup as well as the KZN Provincial Champs. He also placed 14th overall in the ITU World Triathlon Series, and finished the year with a world ranking of 10th position. Then came the success of 2014, which saw Henri add to his reputation as one of the world’s best up-and-coming young guns, and he says his achievements thus far in the sport are thanks to the hard work he has put in.

“I guess it’s down to discipline, to training three times a day, putting in two to three hard runs, one hard bike and two hard swims each week. I have one rest day a week, but I take an easy swim anyway! I have this inbred drive to perform and I like that triathlon is demanding,” says Henri. “I believe that the Olympics will be a reality, and I have to thank my family and friends for their support in getting me to that point. Also, as far as the sport goes, I think our two medals in Glasgow have opened people’s eyes. There is still hard work to be done, but that keeps me motivated!”