Category: Features

When winter hits, many of us change the way we eat. Instead of salads and light dishes, we want warm, comforting food, such as soups, hearty casseroles and creamy mash. And then we add our winter kilos. Sound familiar? The good news is that there are tricks to have our comfort food and stay lean and mean.

When it’s cold outside and you just want to fill up on something that warms you up, and also cheers up your blue mood, you may feel a twinge of guilt or remorse about your choice, but the good news is that you don't have to substitute the foods you love when the cold season rolls around.

1. Pack in the Protein
• Eggs are satisfying at any time of the day, whether they're poached at breakfast, scrambled at lunch or an omelette for dinner.
• Canned fish is an easy way to include a satisfying protein at lunch – and boost your omega-3 at the same time.
• Low-fat milk or low-fat yoghurt with your cereal or smoothie at breakfast will keep you going.

2. Find your Fibre
High-fibre meals don't necessarily affect how much we eat straight away, but do reduce how much we eat at the next meal, because we're not as hungry.
• Add a high-fibre cereal to your breakfast regime.
• Use whole grain breads, rice and pasta.
• Add chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans, cannellini beans or other legumes to salads and stews.
• Use hummus on bread or crackers.

3. Get your Veg On
Bulk up meals and snacks with low-energy vegetables, because they help us stop eating thanks to the weight of food influencing how much we eat and how full we feel. The water and fibre in these vegetables add weight, so we fill up with fewer kilojoules.
• Snack on baby carrots, sliced capsicum, cherry tomatoes and other small or sliced vegetables.
• Other low-energy veggies include broccoli, beans, beetroot, rhubarb and turnips.

4. Grab the Good Fat
Unsaturated fats stimulate a hormone which helps us feel fuller for longer. You don't need to go overboard though – it's the same hormone (cholecystokinin) which fibre stimulates.
• Add small amounts of seeds and nuts to snacks.
• Drizzle a little canola, olive, or rice bran oil over salads or vegetables.

And enjoy! There is room to eat healthily even when the temperatures drop. Plus, you don't have to minimise taste!

Recommended Recipe

Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 6 hours
Perks: Dairy-free, low fat, low kilojoule, vegetarian

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 fat cloves garlic
2 tablespoons oil
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped in chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut in chunks
4 generous cups pumpkin, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 pinch ground chilli
2½ teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups vegetable stock
pepper (a good grind)
1 additional cup water
Handful fresh mint, chopped

Instructions
Step 1: In a large pan, heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the prepared vegetables and the flour and mix, allowing the flour to absorb the oil.
Step 2: Put the mixture into the slow cooker. Add the spices, salt, pepper, stock and water and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Step 3: When the vegetables are tender, purée or process the soup until smooth and return to the slow cooker to keep warm.
Step 4: Adjust the consistency to suit your personal taste – I like it thick with a little sour cream and some chopped mint. It’s also good thinned with a little coconut cream and garnished with coriander.
End

When the World Long Distance Trail Champs take place on 16 August in Colorado in the USA, at the Pikes Peak Ascent 21km, one of the most excited runners in the field will undoubtedly be recently crowned SA Long Distance Trail Champion Danette Smith. It will see her fulfil two long-held ambitions: Not only will it be the first time she is representing her country, but it will also be the first time she has travelled overseas.

Danette qualified for the SA team in June by winning the women’s title at the SA Long Distance Trail Champs, held as part of the Merrell Outeniqua Traverse 38km near George. Unsurprisingly, she says she still cannot believe that her dream has come true. “It still feels surreal to think I went from dreaming about representing my country, to actually winning the SA Champs and being selected for the team. I still feel I have so much to learn about trail running, and the other runners in the team are so talented and experienced, so just to see how they approach things is going to open up my world, and it is a thrill and honour to be running in SA colours.”

The Pikes Peak Ascent starts at 1800m above sea level and finishes at 4300m, and the organisers say, ‘There’s a reason trees don’t bother growing above 3600m on Pikes Peak. They can’t! Makes one wonder if trees are smarter than runners…’ Danette therefore has a realistic view of her upcoming run. “It’s all uphill and at high altitude, so I have no idea how it’s going to affect me, but I’m just going to give it my all. I will start easy and then work my way through it, because all of us need to finish for our team to score points. Whatever happens, it’s going to be an amazing experience!”

OVER TO RUNNING

Danette (25) is the middle of five daughters and her family has lived in Stellenbosch most of her life. She says their’s is a very close, supportive family, with her parents Danie and Annette supporting all the girls in their sporting activities. Growing up, Danette played tennis and hockey at school, and only made the transition to running at varsity. “I made the inter-schools athletics team in the first term of matric in 2006, and began training with Johan Fourie’s group, and at the end of that year I decided to focus on running. That led to me doing my first road races, including a few half marathons, and I found that I was quite competitive amongst the juniors.”

After school she studied for a BA Sports Science degree at Stellenbosch University, and was then offered a position in the Sports Department at Bridgehouse Primary School in nearby Franschhoek. “I have three roles at the school. I do sport admin, I teach PE, ball skills and gymnastics, and I coach in the afternoons. I’m currently busy with my teaching diploma through UNISA, and also did a post-grad diploma in marketing, which I hope to use in the future.”

Meanwhile, her running was also going through a transition. At first, Danette had focussed on the road, but in October last year she finished third in the two-day Berg and Beach Challenge in Hermanus, then won a trail run in Knysna in January and did well in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Trail Run just after that. Then came four wins out of four and the series title in the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series, and she also won the New Balance Trail Run at the XTERRA in Grabouw. “I thought trail would improve my road running by making me stronger thanks to the climbing, plus I was looking for something different, but I not only found that I really enjoyed the trail running, but I was also successful, which was very motivating. As a result, I started to focus on trail, and even began dreaming of the SA team for the World Champs.”

NATIONAL CHAMP

Danette had heard that a series of races would count towards qualification for the national team, as well as the actual SA Champs race at the Outeniqua Traverse, so she decided to enter the Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge in Stellenbosch. However, the severely cold weather took its toll and she could only finish second, which made her think her chance of selection was gone. “I was told that the route at Outeniqua would not suit me, as it is a very technical course, but I thought I would give it a try anyway, just to see how I compared to the other top women. Then a week before the race I got a cold, which I couldn’t believe, because I hardly ever get sick!”

By race day she felt a bit better and decided to start and just see how she felt, and found herself in the lead for the first six kilometres. However, she was still feeling a bit weak and thus drinking a lot of water, and was passed by Leilani Scheffer. She retook the lead at 10km and opened a two-minute lead, but at 20km she ran out of water. “It was actually quite scary, because I began to feel dizzy and felt I might fall off the mountain. Luckily I got some water from one of the men, and four kilometres later I filled my water bladder at the last water table. But then the race really became very technical, and I was drinking a lot again, and would you believe it, I ran out of water again! The whole time I thought Leilani was chasing me, but I didn’t know she had already dropped out somewhere around 18 due to an injury, so I kept pushing. I have never felt so physically challenged, but with 5km to go I reached a stream, could get a solid drink and then pushed for home.”

NASTY EXPERIENCE

The fact that Danette is still running is testament to her character. In 2009, she was doing a 16km training run with two clubmates on the ‘Bergpad’ trail above Stellenbosch, when she got separated from her training partners. “I was the slowest of the three at the time and they pulled about 100m in front of me as we went through a twisting section of the trail. I came around a corner and suddenly there was a man in the middle of the road with a knife. It happened so quickly – he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me into the bushes, then threw me to the ground.”

“I screamed, so he stepped on my face, but I kept screaming and he tried to put his hand over my mouth, but one of his fingers slipped into my mouth and I bit as hard as I could. He pulled his hand away suddenly and one of my teeth was pulled out, and then suddenly he ran away. I still don’t know what made him run, but I stood up and ran back up the trail to a nearby house, where I asked for help. The people phoned my parents and cleaned me up.”

Apart from a few scratches and the tooth, she was relatively unharmed, but the mental scars remained for some time. “At first I could only run on the track at Coetzenberg. Then a few weeks later I managed to run around my block, but as soon as I saw another person I would turn around and go the other way. My father actually followed me in the car for a few months, but gradually I began to regain my confidence, and I decided that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my outlook on life, or stop me running. Now I am just more careful and avoid overgrown areas or roads where I can’t see ahead.”

TOP RUNNERS

Danette was recently signed up to the Contego Trail Running Team, and she trains with Jacques Janse van Rensburg’s group in Stellenbosch, which includes Landie and Christiaan Greyling, Michael Bailey, Kane Reilley and Chantal Nienaber, who have all represented SA in Trail World Champs. “I really wanted to be part of this group and was incredibly nervous for my first session, knowing who I was training with, but they are all so motivating, because I can see how hard they work. Jacques also makes training fun and interesting, so a lot of my success is thanks to him.”

Naturally, Danette says she would love to turn professional as a runner – what she describes as the ultimate dream – but is not yet at that level. “It’s all still new and sudden for me, and you can’t plan too far ahead, because your body must adapt to the running. I would love to do trail running overseas and compete at a high level, but I think I must give myself time to reach all my goals here first, and if the opportunity then comes to race overseas, and see the world, that would be terrific.”

SA’s two-time Olympic triathlete Kate Roberts is off to the Commonwealth Games this month with the hope of capturing a medal, having finally recovered from a lingering foot injury. Looking further ahead, she also sees herself reinvesting her know-how into the sport when she eventually decides to retire. 

After 15 years of participation in triathlon, Kate has raced all over the globe and her career CV is quite something to shout about: She holds seven ITU African Championship wins, several national triathlon and aquathlon titles as well as Energade series wins, has won several titles in France and Italy, and proudly wore the green and gold at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. Another highlight was finishing 2010 ranked seventh in the world, with her fourth-place finish at that year’s ITU Triathlon World Champs in Hamburg playing a leading role in her breaking into the global top 10.

Kate’s vast experience is sure to be a huge benefit to Team SA at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and she is happy to share her competitive wisdom. “This year at the Games, I’m one of the experienced ones alongside Richard Murray and Gillian Sanders. I’m used to that village environment of the Games, so I’m giving advice to the younger guys, telling them things I did right and wrong.”

These Games come at a time when Kate is re-evaluating her participation in the pro set-up, and so, because Glasgow’s ‘Friendly Games’ might be her international swansong, she’s treating it with a little more sentimentality. “I want to embrace that enjoyment factor… but this SA team also has a good chance at a medal, especially with Richard in the mix in the individual race, so we’re really excited. In the team race, I’m starting, so it’s crucial for me to set the team up well, then Henri Schoeman is second, and he can definitely make up time. Gillian will be a strong third leg, and obviously Richard is strong to bring us home.”

The Team’s Teacher

Kate has been involved in triathlon since 2000 and believes it was a natural fit for her. “Sport was natural growing up with the likes of athletes LJ Van Zyl and Johan Cronje back in Bloemfontein. I started running and swimming at school and then triathlon became a part of my life,” says Kate, who juggled races and training while studying a B.Com in Human Resource Management at the University of the Free State. Having completed her studies in 2005, she turned pro, later basing herself out of Australia for a number of years.

Now back in SA, Kate was sidelined by a foot injury for the last few months, but she approached the recovery process conservatively so she could be in shape for the Games. With morning and afternoon sessions at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria with coach Lindsay Parry, she has learnt to listen to her body and has a lot more freedom when she feels there is a specific session she should work on. “There is room to adjust, and before competitions, we learn to limit distractions and manage recovery.”

Giving Back

With the Games her foremost priority right now, Kate is also planning to give back to the sport when she decides to hang up the goggles, helmet and running shoes. “Depending on my future results, I may stay in the sport longer – I’m still in for the 5150 events and competing for fun, but it’s exciting to get that social and work balance I’ve never had. More importantly, though, right now there is no series in SA, and it’s difficult because tri is still a self-funding sport. I want to work with corporates to harness the tri potential in SA, and I want to help and plan these programmes. It’s moulded me for the rest of my life, so I want to give back – and we should be able to take a talented squad to every Games.”

In June, 21-year-old Wayde Van Niekerk crushed the 15-year-old South African 400m record when he clocked 44.38 seconds for a second place finish at the Diamond League meeting in New York. The young sprint prodigy chats to Modern Athlete about his improving times and what he expects at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

There’s a new speedster making headlines on the track, and Wayde van Niekerk’s new national 400m record is a significant improvement on the old mark of 44:59, set by Arnaud Malherbe way back in 1999 and then equalled by Hendrik Mokganyetsi in 2000. Wayde’s record was made even sweeter with a huge leap from his previous best of 44.92. Just two weeks later, he stormed to victory in 20.53 in the men’s 200m at the Sollentuna Grand Prix meet in Stockholm. It was a little slower than the impressive 20.21 he ran in Pretoria in April, just 0.10 seconds off Morne Nagel’s 12-year-old SA record of 20.11, but it once again showed that this young man is on the verge of really great things.

MA: Congrats on your record run! Did you expect to break it, and what does it mean to you?

Wayde: It’s been a goal of mine to beat the record and the run was a blessing. I went out feeling extremely nervous, but then the race started and before I knew it, I was in front with the Olympic and World Champ, LaShawn Merritt from the States. I held on as long as I possibly could. It’s only then that I realised I got the national record! Getting it this soon in my career just gives me more confidence to set higher goals for myself each year. Throughout my career, I’ve had amazing support from family and friends. On and off the track, there are so many people encouraging me and supporting my dream, and it’s so special that they’re sharing in this now.

MA: Where did your love of athletics begin, and have you always been sporty?

Wayde: Yes, we were a sporty family. I was always playing games in the streets, parks and at school, with my cousins and friends. As a kid, I tried everything out there – tennis, rugby, athletics and squash. You name it, I tried it! Eventually, in high school, I pursued athletics and my teacher referred me to a coach where I improved and started growing in the sport. That’s when my dreams and goals started to develop into something more.

MA: What does a typical training week look like and is it dependent on competition? Does your diet also play an important part in that preparation?

Wayde: It is fairly dependent on competitions. I train five to six days a week and adjust my training depending on how my body feels, or if I need rest. I usually do strengthening in the gym in the mornings and do a long track session in the afternoon. With regards to my diet, obviously it’s very important, but it is a weakness of mine, I must admit! But I’m improving there, and it’s something I’m set getting disciplined on.

I’m lucky to have seen the world with running. I’m a great fan of Europe, but nothing beats South Africa and some of our venues, in my opinion. The best track I still stand by is Pelliespark back home in Bloemfontein, where I often train.

MA: Looking ahead, your plans have been focused on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow at the end of July going into August, but what comes after that, and what are your goals for the next few years?

Wayde: Hopefully I will have done well at the Games, and then I hope to step up and improve my times in the 200m in the next few years. I have the World Championships to look forward to next year, which is key if I want to get to the Olympics in 2016!

The 2014 Comrades Marathon delivered a stunning race with many highlights – and a number of surprises. From an all-South African men’s podium, the Brit who broke the Russian stronghold, Zola’s stunning gold and various milestone finishes, we relive the greatest moments of this year’s race.

Around 14 600 athletes set off from Pietermaritzburg at the start of the 2014 Comrades, and 12 hours later 11 984 had crossed the finish line in Durban to beat the 5:30pm cut-off gun. The stadium was once again filled by an enthusiastic crowd, whose roar of approval was clear as they witnessed a South African 1-2-3 in the men’s race as KZN local Bongmusa Mthembu from Nedbank broke the tape in 5:28:34, followed by teammate and 2012 winner Ludwick Mamabolo (5:33:14), with Gift Kelehe third (5:34:39).

The new champ said afterwards he did not feel any pressure, as he felt there was more focus on Ludwick and on defending champ Claude Moshiywa (who withdrew during the race due to a niggling hamstring injury). “I was confident and ran with the top guys and knew they wouldn’t give up easily, but nobody thought about me, nobody mentioned me,” says Bongmusa, “I think that’s why I was in such a good position – I ran my own race and was comfortable throughout.” He added that winning Comrades had been his dream since he watched it on TV when young, but with a first taste of glory, now he wants more. “This is just the beginning. It’s straight back to work from here because I like to push myself hard and to compete and win more.”

Breaking the Stronghold

In the women’s race, all eyes were on eight-time winner Elena Nurgalieva to see if she could win the race a ninth time and pull level with the Comrades King himself, Bruce Fordyce. However, an incredible late surge saw Britain’s Eleanor Greenwood overtake Elena and twin sister Olesya to claim her first Comrades win in 6:18:15. Her 27:50 split for the last 7km, averaging
3:59/km, was the second-fastest for that section in the entire field – only sixth-placed man Mncedisi Mkhize was faster in 26:56! Elena and Olesya held on for second and third respectively.

Speaking after her win, which saw her close an eight-minute gap with just 17km to go, Eleanor said she had simply run her own race. “I kept to my game plan even though the twins were in the back of my mind. Then with about 5km to go, I saw the timing car ahead and knew I had my chance to catch up,” she said. “The win means everything. This is the highlight of my career!”

SA Surprises

With two new winners crowned, another big surprise saw Nedbank’s Caroline Wostmann finish sixth woman and first SA woman in 6:51:43. Her rise to a top 10 position and a gold medal in her fourth Comrades is nothing short of remarkable, having gone from a bronze medal in 2009 (9:17:39), on to a 8:33:29 Bill Rowan in 2011 and then a 7:16:48 Silver in her previous runs. Equally popular finishes came from South Africans Martinique Potgieter and Julanie Basson, who rounded off the women’s top 10 with their ninth and tenth place finishes in 7:00:46 and 7:02:50 respectively.

However, the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for former world record holder over 5000m, the legendary Zola Budd Pieterse, who finished seventh in the women’s race in 6:55:55 to earn her first gold in her second Comrades outing. The 48-year-old’s top-10 finish was bittersweet, though, as her thoughts were constantly on her former coach and dear friend Pierre Korkie, who has been held hostage in Yemen for more than a year. “I have always dreamt of running a gold medal at Comrades, but today I was running for Pierre,” said Zola. “The run was an emotional rollercoaster, and if it wasn’t for the support, I don’t think I would’ve made it to the finish. It was the hardest day of my life, and this gold is for Pierre.”

The Comrades Marathon is a massive physical and mental challenge for the average runner, and just finishing the 89km race is considered a big achievement. But after 2014, thanks to Hilton Murray and the Ten10 Challenge, nobody will ever quite look at the Comrades distance in quite the same way.

When Hilton Murray, Hazel Moller and Carlo Gibson set out from Bedfordview Country Club (BCC) on Friday 23 May, intending to run from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg, doing the Comrades distance each day within 12 hours for nine days, then run the Comrades itself on the tenth day, many said it couldn’t be done, that the human body would not be able to handle that distance. Carlo and Hazel unfortunately did not complete the challenge, but Hilton, an average 47-year-old guy from Bellville Athletic Club in the Cape – he’ll be the first to point out that he is no super-athlete, and is usually under-trained as well – made it all the way, including an 11:46 finish on race day. He does admit that it was tough-going, though.

“The guys who have done six-day circuit races warned me that the third day is the toughest, and I saw what they meant, but at the end of the fifth day, I realised it was doable, because I had gotten into a groove, and I was 99% sure I was going to make it all the way,” says Hilton. “From there each day was a bit easier, even though I would always get to 65km and start slogging to finish within 12 hours. But there is only one Comrades, and the last day was still the most difficult, because of that route!”

PERSONAL CHALLENGE

Hazel made the headlines last year when she ran back-to-back Washie 100 Milers, which she did to raise funds for PETS (Pets Empowerment in Townships), and the BCC runner is a veteran of hundreds of ultras and multi-day events. Hilton, an accountant by trade but more recently part of the Newton shoe venture started in SA by Zola Pieterse, made contact with her last year when he heard that she ran in Newtons, and the friendship grew from there. When they spoke in January, Hazel said she had an idea for a new challenge, the Ten10, and invited Hilton to run with her. She also found a third runner, Carlo of neighbouring club Jeppe Quondam, when she mentioned the Challenge on a morning run in Johannesburg.

“When Hazel told me her idea, at first I didn’t think it was possible, but after two weeks I thought why not, since I had always wanted to do some personal challenge,” says Hilton. “So I followed a normal Comrades training programme, doing about 90km a week, but Hazel did 200km per week – luckily she only told me that the night before we started the Ten10, otherwise I may have stepped away from it!”

SCENIC ROUTE

The team planned what Hilton calls a “scenic route,” passing through Oranjeville, Frankfort, Reitz, Warden, Bethlehem, Fouriesburg, Clarens, Harrismith, Estcort and Howick. “We wanted to see the country, so it was not the easiest course, and after three days we found we were having problems covering 90km in 12 hours, so we cut it shorter to 87km,” says Hilton. “That also allowed us to get a bit more rest, after finding guest houses and preparing food each evening.”

The team was seconded by Hazel’s husband Chris, and Hilton’s wife Lizet and brother Marius, and initially all went well, but then Carlo and Hazel both picked up problems. He suffered a recurrence of an old leg injury and had to pull out just as they started day four, then Hazel’s ulcer began bleeding, forcing her out as well after six days. She decided to rest up for race day and went on to finish comfortably in 8:36:00. (Lizet also ran the race, but found that seconding duties had sapped too much of her energy and she decided to bail at 53km when she realised she wasn’t going to make the cut-off.)

That left Hilton to run alone from Harrismith, and he says day nine was emotionally the toughest of them all. “We would have run a loop from Estcort, but at halfway the road got very busy and there was no shoulder to run on, so I decided to rather backtrack for the rest of the distance. The problem was, that morning I had a visit from clubmates at the start, and we took pics running together in the mist, so I didn’t realise it was all downhill. When I got to the last four kays, and it was uphill, I had to work really hard to come in under 12 hours. I made it in 11:56, but I was totally wasted – not exactly tapering before race day!”

FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Like Hazel, Hilton decided to run the challenge for a charity, but his first choice did not work out. “I wear a penguin on my hat because I support SANCCOB, for the penguins, but I decided to rather run for one of the official charity of the Comrades. The Pink Drive is another cause close to my heart, because my wife had cancer a few years ago, and also a work colleague, who has breast cancer and had an operation three weeks before I began the challenge, so I also ran for her.” Carlo decided to also run for the two charities chosen by Hazel and Hilton, and the team decided to set themselves a target of raising R100 000. “We raised R72 000 on the website, but my biggest surprise was the pledge line,” says Hilton. “When I came into the stadium on race day, I was carrying a banner with the SMS number on it for just the last 400m, and we apparently received another R11 000 just from that!”

He adds that he was blown away by the amount of attention the challenge received, both in mainstream media and social media. “I was totally oblivious to all the hype at first, I was just running, eating and sleeping, but after the fifth day I realised something was going on. I was getting over 100 SMS messages and another 100-plus Facebook messages per day, and I simply couldn’t keep up – I would type an answer and get three new messages in the meantime! Even then, I didn’t realise how big it had grown, until I heard people along the route calling my name as I passed, ‘Penguin Man, Hilton Murray, Ten10, go for it.’ A huge thank you must go to Patrick Devine for handling the social media side of things, and to Gerald Yapp for designing and hosting the website.”

LET’S DO IT AGAIN

With the success of the 2014 Ten10 Challenge, the intrepid trio have already committed to repeating the run. “The Ten10 Challenge is going to happen again, and Hazel and Carlo want to try again, but I will only be involved in organising and seconding,” says Hilton, adding that they have big plans for 2015. “It is an excellent platform to raise funds for charity, so we’re thinking of having eight to 10 runners, and we want corporate sponsors to come on board. We think we have established a nice base to work from and are hoping to make this an annual event as part of the run-up to Comrades.”

Hazel adds, “A huge thank you needs to go to the Bedfordview Country Club members who sacrificed their time, effort and money to create the event infrastructure for the Ten10 Challenge. Without their dedication and commitment, my dream to raise money for PETS would not have materialised, and we have already put together a committee to ensure the event is organised and run even more effectively next year, so that we can continue to raise much-needed funds for these charities.”

With Team South Africa heading to Scotland for the Commonwealth Games at the end of July, we spoke to a number of our track athletes and triathletes about their hopes for the Games.

Cornel Fredericks, 400m hurdles: Training has gone well! This will be my first time representing SA at the Commonwealth Games, and I know to win a medal I need to be hungry, focused and ready for that moment!

Andre Olivier, 800m: My goal for Glasgow is first I need to get into the semi’s, then it’s getting into that final, and once there, I hope to get a medal, of course. I think I’ve learnt a lot the last couple of years, that I can run with the big names, so going into these Games I’m full of confidence.

Kate Roberts, Triathlon: I am really excited that I have been selected for the Games in Glasgow, and thank you to everyone who has been there and supported me during this testing time in my triathlon career. I am excited to throw my heart and soul into the next few weeks, give it my everything and to make you all proud.

Simon Magakwe, 100m: Since breaking 10 seconds, I do feel more pressure, because now I have to run it again, and to run that fast is not easy… but I am hoping for the best in Glasgow, to be in the final, and I’m just training to see myself improve.

Fanie van der Merwe, Para-sport 100m: It has been an exciting season so far. We are busy with the Grand Prix series, and had the privilege of a training camp in Gemona, Italy, preparing us for the competitions ahead. I feel extremely privileged to be part of Team SA. I am in good shape, and I will give it my all.

Zarck Visser, Long Jump: All I want to do is make that final first. When I have done that, I’ll be jumping for gold!

Johan Cronje, 1500m: I think I’m lucky, because I haven’t done the necessary workouts for fast times yet, but I’m already running decent times. I just hope all goes well the next month, because then I’ll be in the kind of shape I want to be at the Commonwealth Games.

Wenda Nel, 400m Hurdles: I am very excited for the Games, and my first goal will be to reach the final. Once there, I want to end on the podium. Rankings of athletes are a good idea of their performances, but anything can happen in a final. I want to be the best I can be on the day, and just want to enjoy it.

LJ van Zyl, 400m hurdles: I have good memories from the 2006 Commonwealth Games – gold and a champs record in the hurdles and silver in the 4×400 – and then silver in the hurdles in 2010. Looking ahead, if my rhythm and stride pattern work out well, I’ll have a good Games again, and we also have a mean 4x400m team of Wayde, Cornel, Shaun and myself!

Richard Murray, Triathlon: I really believe I can medal at the Commonwealth Games, the body will be ready, but we need a plan to be implemented from the South African team. Other countries have their plans in place for the race and I hope we can come up with a winning strategy.

Anaso Jobodwana, 4x100m Relay: I’m just aiming to do well for my team and for my country, that’s the main focus right now, and to compete like I always do.

Willem Coertzen, Decathlon: I’m very excited about Glasgow, been working really hard this year! I’m not the guy who speaks a lot before a competition, I let my actions on the day speak for me, but I really do want to do well, and I feel like I have a very good chance to medal, so that’s the main focus going into Glasgow. I’m really pumped up for it!

The Comrades Marathon is a massive physical and mental challenge for the average runner, and just finishing the 89km race is considered a big achievement. But after 2014, thanks to Hilton Murray and the Ten10 Challenge, nobody will ever quite look at the Comrades distance in quite the same way.

When Hilton Murray, Hazel Moller and Carlo Gibson set out from Bedfordview Country Club (BCC) on Friday 23 May, intending to run from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg, doing the Comrades distance each day within 12 hours for nine days, then run the Comrades itself on the tenth day, many said it couldn’t be done, that the human body would not be able to handle that distance. Carlo and Hazel unfortunately did not complete the challenge, but Hilton, an average 47-year-old guy from Bellville Athletic Club in the Cape – he’ll be the first to point out that he is no super-athlete, and is usually under-trained as well – made it all the way, including an 11:46 finish on race day. He does admit that it was tough-going, though.

“The guys who have done six-day circuit races warned me that the third day is the toughest, and I saw what they meant, but at the end of the fifth day, I realised it was doable, because I had gotten into a groove, and I was 99% sure I was going to make it all the way,” says Hilton. “From there each day was a bit easier, even though I would always get to 65km and start slogging to finish within 12 hours. But there is only one Comrades, and the last day was still the most difficult, because of that route!”

PERSONAL CHALLENGE

Hazel made the headlines last year when she ran back-to-back Washie 100 Milers, which she did to raise funds for PETS (Pets Empowerment in Townships), and the BCC runner is a veteran of hundreds of ultras and multi-day events. Hilton, an accountant by trade but more recently part of the Newton shoe venture started in SA by Zola Pieterse, made contact with her last year when he heard that she ran in Newtons, and the friendship grew from there. When they spoke in January, Hazel said she had an idea for a new challenge, the Ten10, and invited Hilton to run with her. She also found a third runner, Carlo of neighbouring club Jeppe Quondam, when she mentioned the Challenge on a morning run in Johannesburg.

“When Hazel told me her idea, at first I didn’t think it was possible, but after two weeks I thought why not, since I had always wanted to do some personal challenge,” says Hilton. “So I followed a normal Comrades training programme, doing about 90km a week, but Hazel did 200km per week – luckily she only told me that the night before we started the Ten10, otherwise I may have stepped away from it!”

SCENIC ROUTE

The team planned what Hilton calls a “scenic route,” passing through Oranjeville, Frankfort, Reitz, Warden, Bethlehem, Fouriesburg, Clarens, Harrismith, Estcort and Howick. “We wanted to see the country, so it was not the easiest course, and after three days we found we were having problems covering 90km in 12 hours, so we cut it shorter to 87km,” says Hilton. “That also allowed us to get a bit more rest, after finding guest houses and preparing food each evening.”

The team was seconded by Hazel’s husband Chris, and Hilton’s wife Lizet and brother Marius, and initially all went well, but then Carlo and Hazel both picked up problems. He suffered a recurrence of an old leg injury and had to pull out just as they started day four, then Hazel’s ulcer began bleeding, forcing her out as well after six days. She decided to rest up for race day and went on to finish comfortably in 8:36:00. (Lizet also ran the race, but found that seconding duties had sapped too much of her energy and she decided to bail at 53km when she realised she wasn’t going to make the cut-off.)

That left Hilton to run alone from Harrismith, and he says day nine was emotionally the toughest of them all. “We would have run a loop from Estcort, but at halfway the road got very busy and there was no shoulder to run on, so I decided to rather backtrack for the rest of the distance. The problem was, that morning I had a visit from clubmates at the start, and we took pics running together in the mist, so I didn’t realise it was all downhill. When I got to the last four kays, and it was uphill, I had to work really hard to come in under 12 hours. I made it in 11:56, but I was totally wasted – not exactly tapering before race day!”

FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Like Hazel, Hilton decided to run the challenge for a charity, but his first choice did not work out. “I wear a penguin on my hat because I support SANCCOB, for the penguins, but I decided to rather run for one of the official charity of the Comrades. The Pink Drive is another cause close to my heart, because my wife had cancer a few years ago, and also a work colleague, who has breast cancer and had an operation three weeks before I began the challenge, so I also ran for her.” Carlo decided to also run for the two charities chosen by Hazel and Hilton, and the team decided to set themselves a target of raising R100 000. “We raised R72 000 on the website, but my biggest surprise was the pledge line,” says Hilton. “When I came into the stadium on race day, I was carrying a banner with the SMS number on it for just the last 400m, and we apparently received another R11 000 just from that!”

He adds that he was blown away by the amount of attention the challenge received, both in mainstream media and social media. “I was totally oblivious to all the hype at first, I was just running, eating and sleeping, but after the fifth day I realised something was going on. I was getting over 100 SMS messages and another 100-plus Facebook messages per day, and I simply couldn’t keep up – I would type an answer and get three new messages in the meantime! Even then, I didn’t realise how big it had grown, until I heard people along the route calling my name as I passed, ‘Penguin Man, Hilton Murray, Ten10, go for it.’ A huge thank you must go to Patrick Devine for handling the social media side of things, and to Gerald Yapp for designing and hosting the website.”

LET’S DO IT AGAIN

With the success of the 2014 Ten10 Challenge, the intrepid trio have already committed to repeating the run. “The Ten10 Challenge is going to happen again, and Hazel and Carlo want to try again, but I will only be involved in organising and seconding,” says Hilton, adding that they have big plans for 2015. “It is an excellent platform to raise funds for charity, so we’re thinking of having eight to 10 runners, and we want corporate sponsors to come on board. We think we have established a nice base to work from and are hoping to make this an annual event as part of the run-up to Comrades.”

Hazel adds, “A huge thank you needs to go to the Bedfordview Country Club members who sacrificed their time, effort and money to create the event infrastructure for the Ten10 Challenge. Without their dedication and commitment, my dream to raise money for PETS would not have materialised, and we have already put together a committee to ensure the event is organised and run even more effectively next year, so that we can continue to raise much-needed funds for these charities.”

The 2014 Comrades Marathon delivered a stunning race with many highlights – and a number of surprises. From an all-South African men’s podium, the Brit who broke the Russian stronghold, Zola’s stunning gold and various milestone finishes, we relive the greatest moments of this year’s race.

Around 14 600 athletes set off from Pietermaritzburg at the start of the 2014 Comrades, and 12 hours later 11 984 had crossed the finish line in Durban to beat the 5:30pm cut-off gun. The stadium was once again filled by an enthusiastic crowd, whose roar of approval was clear as they witnessed a South African 1-2-3 in the men’s race as KZN local Bongmusa Mthembu from Nedbank broke the tape in 5:28:34, followed by teammate and 2012 winner Ludwick Mamabolo (5:33:14), with Gift Kelehe third (5:34:39).

The new champ said afterwards he did not feel any pressure, as he felt there was more focus on Ludwick and on defending champ Claude Moshiywa (who withdrew during the race due to a niggling hamstring injury). “I was confident and ran with the top guys and knew they wouldn’t give up easily, but nobody thought about me, nobody mentioned me,” says Bongmusa, “I think that’s why I was in such a good position – I ran my own race and was comfortable throughout.” He added that winning Comrades had been his dream since he watched it on TV when young, but with a first taste of glory, now he wants more. “This is just the beginning. It’s straight back to work from here because I like to push myself hard and to compete and win more.”

Breaking the Stronghold

In the women’s race, all eyes were on eight-time winner Elena Nurgalieva to see if she could win the race a ninth time and pull level with the Comrades King himself, Bruce Fordyce. However, an incredible late surge saw Britain’s Eleanor Greenwood overtake Elena and twin sister Olesya to claim her first Comrades win in 6:18:15. Her 27:50 split for the last 7km, averaging
3:59/km, was the second-fastest for that section in the entire field – only sixth-placed man Mncedisi Mkhize was faster in 26:56! Elena and Olesya held on for second and third respectively.

Speaking after her win, which saw her close an eight-minute gap with just 17km to go, Eleanor said she had simply run her own race. “I kept to my game plan even though the twins were in the back of my mind. Then with about 5km to go, I saw the timing car ahead and knew I had my chance to catch up,” she said. “The win means everything. This is the highlight of my career!”

SA Surprises

With two new winners crowned, another big surprise saw Nedbank’s Caroline Wostmann finish sixth woman and first SA woman in 6:51:43. Her rise to a top 10 position and a gold medal in her fourth Comrades is nothing short of remarkable, having gone from a bronze medal in 2009 (9:17:39), on to a 8:33:29 Bill Rowan in 2011 and then a 7:16:48 Silver in her previous runs. Equally popular finishes came from South Africans Martinique Potgieter and Julanie Basson, who rounded off the women’s top 10 with their ninth and tenth place finishes in 7:00:46 and 7:02:50 respectively.

However, the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for former world record holder over 5000m, the legendary Zola Budd Pieterse, who finished seventh in the women’s race in 6:55:55 to earn her first gold in her second Comrades outing. The 48-year-old’s top-10 finish was bittersweet, though, as her thoughts were constantly on her former coach and dear friend Pierre Korkie, who has been held hostage in Yemen for more than a year. “I have always dreamt of running a gold medal at Comrades, but today I was running for Pierre,” said Zola. “The run was an emotional rollercoaster, and if it wasn’t for the support, I don’t think I would’ve made it to the finish. It was the hardest day of my life, and this gold is for Pierre.”

Few things make a runner as happy as expert advice from a fellow runner when buying shoes, so having top trail runner Nicholas Rupanga guiding you through the latest models is a real bonus!

Walk into The Sweat Shop branch in Claremont, Cape Town, and chances are you will be served by Nicholas Rupanga, a Zimbabwean national who has lived in South Africa for just over seven years and who divides his time between being a professional runner and professional shoe salesman. The 39-year-old hails from the Mashonaland, about 300km south of Harare, and has been running since his school days, but only took it up professionally once he came to SA to find work. He has a marathon PB of 2:18:41, which he set in Portugal in 2001, and has clocked 30:21 for 10km and 1:05:29 for the half marathon, so this man can run!

Judging by comments posted on Facebook, Nicholas not only knows his shoes, but also offers customers great service in the shop. He has worked at The Sweat Shop for four years, since the Claremont branch opened, and says he loves going to work each day. “I really enjoy working here, because we are like a family and they are so supportive of my running – whenever I want to go training in the mornings, they say go for it and come to work once I’m done. Also, working here means I meet people that I also meet when running, and runners are such nice, friendly people.”

SMILING RUNNER

Another thing that people always comment on is that Nicholas is always wearing a smile, even when running, but he is an ultra-competitive athlete, and lists winning the Pronutro AfricanX Trailrun in 2009 with running partner Patrick Cox as the highlight of his career. “That is still my best run, but it was also great to finish second last year with Kane Reilly. I love the AfricanX and had run it every year since 2009, but missed it this year because of a calf injury. I am seeing a physio, but I think it needs complete rest for a few months.”

Looking ahead, Nicholas will be getting married to fiancé Precious in a few months’ time, and then he says he still has big goals to chase in running, once he recovers from the injury. He wants to run some of the big trail runs in the US or Europe, but his sights are firmly set on a local race first. “My goal is to win the Otter Marathon, even though some people say my age is against me, but I am inspired by Ian Don-Warchope – he is even older than me and still came second at Otter, so I believe that I can still win it. There is strong competition in trail running amongst the vets at the moment, and I’ll be 40 soon, but at heart I feel like I’m in my late 20s. I want the youngsters to see that if you look after yourself, you can still run competitively as you get older.”