Category: Racing

This weekend sees the next edition of the Impi Challenge in Cape Town. This unique adventure sport race combines trail running with a series of obstacles and is attracting both an impressive elite field as well as a huge field of average athletes that are looking for a unique challenge.

This week Run Talk SA caught up with the race director of the Impi Challenge Pieter du Plessis to find out more about the race and what you can expect as an athlete.

Brad also touched base with Paul Mcrystal from the Benoni Northerns Running club about the East Rand based club as well as his personal achievements which includes his aspirations for running his tenth Comrades in under 9 hours.

 

Having a child is one of life’s greatest joys, but childbirth can definitely compare to an endurance event. Despite childbirth being a natural process, your body is still put under stress and physiological changes occur, so we asked Reproductive Medicine Specialist Dr Chris Venter to give us his expert advice to help new mothers get back on the road.

There are many aspects to take into account after having a baby, and how easy, or difficult, it could be to get those running shoes back in action. “For starters, most women feel out of sorts after having a baby, due to their fluctuating hormones,” say Dr Venter, a former gynaecologist and now a Reproductive Medicine Specialist at Vitalab in Morningside, Johannesburg. “During pregnancy, the levels of progesterone in a women’s body are at their highest level. Progesterone has a calming effect on the brain and once you have your baby the progesterone drops straight down to what it was before you were pregnant. This is when some women suffer from what they call the ‘baby blues,’ or Postpartum depression.”

Dr Venter says that women should give it six weeks before getting out on the road again, for a number of reasons:

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM: “In the first six weeks after your baby has arrived, your resting heart rate is increased by 15 beats a minute. Due to this, you are also short of breath. Therefore, if any training takes place, it needs to be extremely gradual, and also needs to be monitored.”

JOINT LAXITY: “During pregnancy, your body releases a hormone called Relaxin. It loosens connective tissue, including ligaments that connect bones and help support our joints. This increased laxity allows for expansion of the rib cage, making room for the growing fetus, as well as allowing the pelvis to expand in order for the baby to be delivered. Up until six weeks after the baby, your laxity levels in your ligaments and joints is still high, so by putting too much stress on the body, you can pick up injuries easier, and it is also common to feel sharp pain or discomfort in your lower back.”

BIRTH PROCEDURE: “After having a cesarean done, you need to go for your six-week post-birth checkup and your doctor will then be able to indicate whether you are ready to start training. It is vital that the wound heals properly before putting stress on the body. A natural birth will have you training a lot quicker, unless you experienced a tear, which will mean that you will also need to wait until the wound has fully healed.”

BREAST MILK: “Training too hard or putting your body under stress will decrease a mother’s breast milk. Your routine should revolve around creating more breast milk.”

GETTING STARTED

The latest craze is to take your baby with you in a running pram, and this can be great fun, although hard work on the uphills. It is important to take it slow to start off with, as your baby doesn’t have much of an immune system in the first six weeks and can be susceptible to flu and colds. Any exercise should be started off gradually, and not to the level you trained at before your pregnancy. “You need to listen to your body,” says Dr Venter, “you also need to be sure to invest in good support bras, as in this time you also stand a good chance of stretching your Cooper’s Ligaments, the connective tissue in the breasts.”

 

With Two Oceans upon us, it’s too late to start introducing strength work into your programme, but if you’re running Comrades or another long race, make sure you get yourself to a gym, because long-distance runners need to prioritise strength training to minimise overuse injuries. – BY RAY ORCHISON

Join me in a quick experiment: Start with a short warm-up – a few star jumps and a couple of walking lunges – then with stop watch in hand, stand with your back against a wall, feet shoulder-width apart, and then slowly slide down the wall into a ‘seated’ position, keeping your knees bent at a ninety degree angle. Now lift and hold your right foot up and start the stopwatch, hold for as long as possible and make a note of the time, then reset and repeat the process by lifting the left leg.

In most cases, the first thing you will notice is that you were able to hold one of your legs up longer than the other. This indicates a muscles imbalance between your left and right side. Ideally, you want your muscles balanced, so that you’re working both sides equally and don’t have one side over-compensating for the weaker side, which often results in an injury or strain on the stronger side, because it’s doing the bulk of the work. More importantly, however, is looking at the number of seconds that you were able to hold this position. Compare your times with the table below.

Rate Yourself

(seconds)
Excellent >100 >60
Good 76-100 46-60
Average 51-75 36-45
Below Average 25-50 20-35
Poor <25 <20 Most non-elite endurance athletes will find themselves somewhere between Poor and Below Average, which is strange when you consider that this test lasts two minutes, while an ultra lasts anything from five hours and up! TARGETING THE MUSCLES
An ultra is nothing more than conditioning the body to perform a single movement over and over, but using the same muscles in the same way increases the risk of overuse injuries. To avoid strain, it’s crucial that you strengthen these muscles, and in running, the most important are the calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads and hip flexors. When these muscles are weak, they no longer perform their task in moving the body forward, which results in the smaller, less-trained muscles doing more work then they’re designed to do. That’s when niggles turn into full-blown injuries, and most often, this will point back to a weaker bigger muscle, such as the glutes.

Athletes who have not done enough strength training will often start a race with good form and posture, but by the end may find themselves bent over at the hips or leaning toward one side, or struggling to lift their legs. These are all indications that their muscles have not been trained to go the distance. As your form breaks down, your speed decreases and you find that certain muscles go into spasm because they’re being overworked. Strength training enables us to maintain good form for longer.

START SLOW
When introducing strength training, start off using light weights and focus on doing the exercise correctly, slowly and controlled – that’s far more important than how much you can lift. In the first three to four weeks, use the lightest weight possible and perform two to three sets of 15 repetitions each per exercise. After the initial three to four weeks, you can start increasing the weight slowly over the coming weeks while decreasing the number of repetitions as you increase the weight.

Ray Orchison is a Joburg-based USA Track & Field and NAASFP certified coach. For more info, contact him on [email protected].

Thanks to his winning ways in the pool, Olympic, World and Commonwealth champ Chad Le Clos has become one of South Africa’s brightest sporting heroes. This month, he’s going all out for a record eight titles at nationals, with the Commonwealth Games and Rio 2016 in his long-term sights.

Who can forget one of the iconic South African moments from the London 2012 Olympics: In the 200m butterfly final, a 20-year-old from Durban, Chad Le Clos, won the gold medal and beat the most decorated Olympian of all time, American Michael Phelps, and then Chad’s ecstatic father, Bert, won the hearts of the nation as well, thanks to gushing on emotionally about his “beautiful boy.” Coming back from London, Chad says the hype was overwhelming. “I felt like Justin Bieber, and it still hasn’t died down! There’s been great support. Swimming is a lonely sport, it’s just you out there, so it’s important to be appreciated.”

London really put him on the proverbial map, but Chad’s success in the pool actually began a few years earlier. In 2010 he brought home a gold, three silvers and a bronze medal from the Youth Olympics, as well as two golds, a silver and two bronze medals from the Commonwealth Games. The following year he won five golds and a silver at the All Africa Games. Then came 2012, bringing a gold and a silver from London to go with two World Champs golds and a silver. Next up was the 2013 World Champs in Barcelona, where Chad shortened his programme to focus on the butterfly events, his signature stroke. It paid off as he won gold in both the 100m (with a new SA record) and 200m. Chad has also twice won the Overall Swimming World Cup, in 2011 and 2013.

WINNING MENTALITY

Chad’s drive to succeed in the pool actually stems from watching Michael Phelps bag six golds at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Back then, aged eight, his only sessions in the pool came in Physical Education classes at school. However, his swimming ability soon shone through, and today he is one of the world’s foremost swimmers, but he remains humble about his achievements. “People expect me to win, but you can’t always be Superman. I just focus on what I have to do. I also watch my opponents on Youtube, because I want to keep learning, and see how I’ll match up. As a pro, you have to think outside the box.”

Having travelled the world, Chad says he is hard-pressed to choose a favourite race or meet. “I’m biased when it comes to places I’ve visited – the results stand out more than the venue. That’s because I don’t get to see any of the countries, I’m just in the pool doing my thing.” There’s little ‘downtime’ for the champ, with just 15 days off a year for short recovery. Along with interviews and obligations to sponsors, he puts in 10 training sessions a week, doing about 80 kays in the pool, or as Chad puts it, “Swimming the Comrades Marathon!”

He also fits in three gym sessions a week to work on his core and improve his stamina, but 80% of his training is in the water. Most Sundays are spent surfing with his brother. Apart from training, Chad remains loyal to his diet, having started using GNC Nutrition products three months ago, avoiding heavy supplements, and using whey protein for recovery as well as FutureLife after morning sessions.

MORE ON THE CARDS

This month, Chad is chasing eight wins at the SA Champs. “The most won is seven and it will be difficult, because the competition is tough, but it’s my stepping stone to the Commonwealth Games later this year, and obviously Rio 2016. My goal for London was any medal; my dream was gold. It might have been unrealistic, but if you’re not up to dreaming big, you won’t make it. There were occasions growing up that people told me I’m not good enough, but my parents were always in the crowd and guided me. I wouldn’t be here today without my sponsors, coach and family. I swim for myself, but I also do it for them.”

WHY GO
Excellent running right on the Mother City doorstep comes to you courtesy of Silvermine Nature Reserve, a protected area set along the south-eastern slopes of Table Mountain. If you’re down in this neck of the woods for the Two Oceans Marathon, but still enjoy dabbling in a touch of trail, Silvermine is less than half an hour from the city centre, with stunning views across both False Bay and the Atlantic, and even has a remote tarmac strip for those not keen to get their shoes dirty!

WHAT YOU GET
A whole network of circular and return routes spider-web through the Fynbos vegetation blanketing the Reserve. Options include the full gamut, from a gruelling gravel road climb up Ou Wapad, to a punchy and technical 4.5km River Trail looping from the Northern Gate. The southern section combines meandering gravel road loops with excellent single-track booming up onto the trails traversing Steenberg and Muizenberg Peaks.

WHERE TO RUN
Silvermine boasts so many options, with a total trail distance of well over 50km. If you’re looking for a quickie workout for a couple of hours before or after work, thump onto the River Trail from the Silvermine North entrance gate. Get ready for a combo of gravel road and hiking trail, with some wooden boardwalk and a touch of tarmac on the side. Expect rocky ascents, loose gravel and looping Fynbos singletrack, with a workout bordering on hardcore if you plan to take on the complete route.

Keep to the left of Silvermine River, following the rocky River Trail up to the concrete dam wall for 3.5km and then keep right. (A River Trail return run would be a good start for beginners). Keep left past the dam onto the concrete dual-track, then look for a single-track forking right to wind its way towards Elephants Eye Cave before dog-legging left to cross over the gravel road and ascend up Silvermine Peak. A twisty-turny trail brimming with rock-hopping and tight Fynbos bends drops you back down towards the dam, from where you can double back to the start, either via the River Trail boardwalk or the rough-and-ready loop above the Ou Wapad and back to the gate.

Fast Facts: SILVERMINE
MAP: Available at Silvermine entrance or download at www.mtbroutes.co.za.
ACCESS REQUIREMENTS: SANParks Wild Card, or a fee of R40 per day (adults).
TRAIL MARKINGS: Limited signage at main trail junctions.
FACILITIES: Secure parking, ablutions, picnic spots, swimming in dam.
CELL RECEPTION: Relatively good.
BEWARE: Mountain bikers, hikers and dogs.
TIME OF YEAR: Trails may be sandy in summer; waterproof gear is a must in winter.
LOCAL INFO: www.sanparks.org.za

GETTING THERE
Follow the M3 from Cape Town towards Muizenberg, then keep right along the M42 onto the M64 (Ou Kaapse Weg). Silvermine Nature Reserve (North) is on your right just as you reach the top.
GPS: 34º 05’ 135” South / 18º 25’ 144” East

STAY HERE
Check out www.capepointroute.co.za.

The 3rd instalment of the Modern Athlete Sprint Series took place at Randburg Harriers last night, 27th March 2014. There was a great turnout from the Randburg locals as well as those travelling to the event to join the series. The weather played along and it was a perfect evening for a time trial.

Randburg offered 2 distances, a 5 Kilometre and an 8 Kilomtre. We are reliably informed that there is a 3rd distance which starts much earlier to afford some extra time in the local pub!

Congratulations to Garth Willis (19:46) and Rachel Leistra (20:00) for taking line honours in the 5km, while our own Donald Mathipa (29:18) and Mary-Ann Niewoudt (34:20) were first home in the 8km.

Again some great lucky draw prizes given away with an ecstatic Shaun “Horsepower” Naidoo winning the TomTom watch and 2 lucky shoe winners courtesy SweatShop and adidas.

We look forward to the next event on 2nd April 2014 being hosted by Khosa. Check out our Facebook Event Page for more details.

Results for last nights events can be found at www.championchip.co.za and series standings are available here. Runners need to participate in at least 4 of the events to qualify for the overall series leaderboards. Currently the best 2 results are counting.

See you all at the next event!

Brandon Cumby was lying in his Parkland Hospital bed following an electric shock and 25-foot fall from a tree in August 2012. The self-described skeptic had tubes in his mouth, internal burns below his abdomen, a lacerated liver and a bevy of broken bones.

Friends and family were reading him uplifting passages from his favorite athlete’s books. One stood out: “We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell,” from Lance Armstrong’s book,It’s Not About the Bike.

“I chose to fight like hell,” said Cumby, whose Facebook page is sprinkled with inspirational quotes. “I lay there and thought: ‘I’m going to get back as fast and as hard as I can. I’m not going to let this define me.’”

Despite a painstakingly slow recovery, beset by complications, Cumby, 34, focused on healing and regaining his strength. His goal, set before the accident, was to run the MetroPCS Dallas Marathon.

Cumby will be on the starting line Sunday thanks to moral and financial support from the running community and a free race entry from Dallas Marathon executive director Marcus Grunewald.

“That’s been the carrot dangling in front of him,” said his running partner, Rebecca Baker, who will run with Cumby. “It will be less than a year and half since he was on life suppor

Between 1993 and 2004, cricketer Gary Kirsten played 101 Test Matches and 185 One Day Internationals for South Africa, then launched a successful coaching career that saw him lead India to the World Cup title and SA to the world number one Test team ranking. Now running his own academy while still coaching overseas, he still finds time for a morning run, and the odd ultra. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Finishing the 2012 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in 5:33:31 was the fulfilment of a long-held dream for legendary Proteas opening batsman Gary Kirsten. “Being from Cape Town, I’d always wanted to run the breathtakingly beautiful route,” he says. However, getting to the start line was a real challenge, as he had to run a qualifying marathon while on tour in New Zealand with the SA team, and that meant a very long night…

“We finished the last ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on the Saturday night, around 10:30pm, and literally an hour later three of us jumped in the car to drive four-and-a-half hours to New Plymouth. We slept for one hour when we got there, ran the marathon, then drove back to catch a flight out of Auckland. It was a pretty tiring day, but a great experience, and gave me a healthy respect for that sort of distance. I finished in 3:53, but struggled a bit in the last 5km, so it was a good mental challenge, too.” Much like his cricket career, then, where he had to overcome the combined mental and physical challenge of facing the world’s best bowlers.

CARRYING HIS BAT
Gary wracked up a formidable set of records in his cricketing career. He was the first Protea to play in 100 Test matches, the first Test batsman to make hundreds against each of the other nine Test nations, and his 188 not out against the United Arab Emirates at the 1996 World Cup remains the highest ODI score by a South African and the highest score in World Cup history. He also held the record for the highest Test score by a South African after batting for 14.5 hours against England to make 275 in 1999. That mark was subsequently surpassed by Graeme Smith’s 277 in 2003, but it remains not only the second-highest SA Test score, but also the second-longest innings in Test history.

Unsurprisingly, Gary says he had to be really physically fit to be able to concentrate on batting for such long innings, and therefore has been running for 25 years, but reckons running an ultra is far more challenging than batting through a long innings. “Spending all day in the middle and running a marathon are very different experiences, but running a marathon is definitely a harder physical challenge!”

ALWAYS ON THE RUN
After his playing days came to an end, Gary turned to coaching, and his finest moments came when he led India to the World Cup title on home soil in 2011, followed by coaching South Africa to Number one in the World Test team rankings in 2012. In between all of that, he helped form a company called Performance Zone, focused on working with individuals and teams in business and sport, then established the world class Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy and also became a sought-after guest speaker.

In terms of running, Gary averages about 40km a week, mostly in the suburbs around his home in Cape Town and the nearby Kirstenbosch Gardens, and he says he prefers starting the day with a run. “Except for winter in Cape Town, I prefer to run in the mornings. It’s a great way to start the day, and my advice to people who think they are too busy to go for a run is to make it a priority in your day.” However, his hectic work and travel schedule make it hard to settle into a regular training routine, especially the months when he is overseas in India, coaching the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

“I find running a great way of seeing places I travel to, so my adidas running shoes are the first thing I pack, but when I am coaching in India I run mainly in the gym, because it is difficult to get around on the roads. I find running is a great time to meditate, or think of ideas to outwit rival teams.” Also, Gary’s training philosophy in cricket is easily adapted to his running: “Simple repetition in practice is important to build a strong mechanical base that can withstand the pressure of performance.” That’s what made him such a great batsman, and what is now working for him as a runner.