When I was given the Totum Sport Performance Bundle to try out, I must admit, I was in a bit of a quandary. After decades of using every supplement, tonic and elixir available, all with “wonder ingredients” (usually with unpronounceable names) that promised breakthrough levels of renewal and revitalisation, I was a bit perplexed when told I’d be trying good old seawater! – By Jason Martin
After a 4 week high altitude training camp in Dullstroom in January, Matt made the long haul to New Zealand for his first race of the year at Tarawera Ultra-Trail By UTMB
Designed to capture the stunning and diverse landscapes of the Rotorua region and showcase what #TrailsFullofHeart is all about – connection with land and people in breathe taking surroundings on 105km of runnable trails with roughly 3000m of ascent.
The pace on Saturday was fast from the start and Matt was with the lead bunch. Last years winner Daniel Jones piled the pressure on, Matt measured his efforts to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race picking off runners one by one and moving into third place where he would manage a comfortable gap and find himself crossing the finish line to stand on yet another UTMB World Series podium behind now two times champion Daniel Jones(NZ) and Justin Grunewald(USA).
Races of this nature are not run on a weekly or even monthly bases as athletes need time to prepare with each Ultra Trail Run presenting its own unique challenges but then there is the recovery time post the race. The consistency Matt is showing is incredible and testament to his meticulous training and strategic race craft, in the past two years, Matt has accumulated incredible accolades:
• 2022 Mozart100 by UTMB, Austria – 10th overall, 5th in Category
• 2022 Nice by UTMB, France – 5th overall, 3rd in Category
• 2022 UTCT, South Africa – 6th overall and in Category
• 2023 Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB, France – 2nd overall(behind 1st by 58seconds)
• 2023 Julian Alps Trail Run by UTMB, Slovenia – 5th overall, 3rd in Category
• 2024 Tarawera Ultra Trail by UTMB, New Zealand – 3rd overall, 2nd in Category
If you’ve been reading my column for a while, you may have heard me speak before about running in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape, and more specifically, the mountains of the Amatola Rainforest, but Stutterheim boasts another hidden gem, the Gubu Dam, which I ‘rediscovered’ in December. – By Carla Lea Farina
The news that Stephen Mokoka has joined the Hollywood Athletics Club will, quite appropriately, see one of the all-time greats of SA running – running royalty, if you like – donning the regal colour of purple in his local races in 2024. – By Sean Falconer and Manfred Seidler
With 2024 being the 70th anniversary year of the world’s first sub-four-minute, as well the 60th anniversary year of South Africa’s first sub-four, as well as the 70th anniversary of the women’s first sub-five-minute mile, let’s take a closer historical and statistical look at the history of what is now known as the ‘Dream Mile.’ – By Sean Falconer with Riël Hauman
You may have heard coaches and other runners say, “to get faster, you need to run faster,” but we often misinterpret what this means, and end up running too fast, too often. – By Ray Orchison
My motto for 2024 is Make Magic Happen, and what better way to do that than by being in the mountains, where you get to make and find magic. I’m a mountain person, not so much a sea person, so this works best for me, as I once again realised when I tackled the 13 Peaks Challenge in early January. – By Juliana Ambrosi with Sean Falconer
It takes a special type of athlete to line up year after year for the Comrades Marathon and finish this ultra-marathon challenge 40 times or more, and that’s why just 18 runners have done so in the 102 years since the Comrades was first run. Leading that list is Barry Holland, who will be aiming to become the first athlete to achieve 50 Comrades medals in June this year, and a chat with this South African ultra-running legend is guaranteed to inspire. – By Sulette Ferreira with Sean Falconer
Thanks to some clever planning and use of Vitality benefits, I was recently able to head to the Eastern Cape for the Cheetahs Marathon. While it may have been a small race, it proved a most enjoyable and educational trip, and I would happily go back to Mthatha to tackle this one again. – By Stuart Mann
I may not be the same shape and size as many of the other runners in the races that I enter, but I’m still there, putting one foot in front of the other… and in spite of sometimes forgetting my age, and picking up a few injures along the way, I’m still enjoying my running! – By Guillaume Smit