Category: Racing

When it is cold and dark outside, we runners can often come up with plenty of excuses to avoid training, so try these great training tips to find the motivation to get out of from under our duvets, beat the freeze and keep fit! – BY RAY ORCHISON, CERTIFIED COACH

The alarm goes off and you slowly open your eyes, all snug in your warm, toasty bed, and you recall the promise you made to yourself to get up early and run, but then the excuses start coming thick and fast for not heading out, and so the alarm is reset for another hour, maybe even two, the duvet is pulled all the way up and it’s back to sleep. A simple way to avoid this temptation is to put your alarm out of arm’s reach, so that you can’t simply lean over and hit snooze. When it goes off, you’ll have to get up to switch it off, and once you’re up, there’s less chance that you’re going to climb back into bed.

The toughest part of training in winter is getting out of bed, but once you’re up and out on the road, you soon realise that it’s actually not as bad, or as cold, as you thought. But if you really can’t bear the thought of heading out the door into the icy cold dark, there are other ways to keep your fitness levels ticking over in winter.

1 Hit the gym: Do a 10-15min easy warm-up on a spinning bike, the Stair Master or the elliptical trainer, all with low resistance gradually building up to a higher RPM. Next, head to the treadmill, set the elevation to 1.5% (to offset treadmill training being easier due to no wind resistance), and play around with various 10-20min sessions of quality:
• Run easy for 90 seconds, then hard for 60 seconds, repeating 6-10 times.
• Increase the pace and elevation to 4-5% for 60 seconds and then easy for 120
seconds, repeating 5-6 times to give you a great hill session.
• Do a tempo session of 5min easy and then increase the pace until you’re hitting
your 5 or 10k race pace and hold that for 10-15min, then easy for another 5min.

2 Join the class: Sign up for one of the group classes for spinning or aerobics. It’s far easier getting back to training when you know others will be slogging it out next to you.

3 Hit the indoor pool: Do a few swimming sessions, which are great for core muscle strength and building your cardiovascular system. The water temperature at most gyms is normally around 25 degrees – warmer than outside!

4 Skip the dark: There is no rule stating that to be a runner one has to train in the morning or evening. Why not slip out for a quick run during your lunch break?

5 Set yourself a goal: Identify a race in the next month or two, make it your goal and you’ll find all the motivation you need!

The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, A gruelling 161 km ultramarathon that takes place on trails in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. This tests your trail running ability as well as your navigation. The winner also focuses on keeping his or her hydration time and “pit stops” to a minimum.

The Western States 100 mile Endurance Run is known as the ‘original 100 miler.’ Ryan who came 2nd last year this time took first place in 16hours 18min.

A huge well done to Ryan from everyone at Modern Athlete. The red bull athlete was seen crossing the line with a live feed courtesy of www.irunfar.com.

Camille Herron who won this years Comrades Marathon is also featuring in the race and is a favorite to win.

Wayde van Niekerk proved again last night why he is truly one of the stars of international athletics when he won the 100 metres at the EA Classic Meeting in Velenje, Slovenia in a time of 9.94s.

His winning time is 0.04s faster than his previous best, more importantly, is the fact that he did so at sea level so he can now claim to be an “honest member” of the sub ten second club in the 100 metres. He ran his previous best of 9.98s in Bloemfontein.

“I am very pleased,” said Van Niekerk in an IAAF interview. “It is my best time and I am glad the race played out the way I wanted it to. This bodes well for my two main distances the 200m and 400m.”

Ten days ago in Kingston Van Niekerk set a new South African record in the 200m when he clocked 19.84s. Van Niekerk is currently the fastest athlete over 200m and 6th fastest athlete over the 100m.

Last night’s 100 metres was an all-South African affair with Emile Erasmus (Tuks) finishing second in 10.12s and Henricho Bruintjies (Tuks) third in 10.14s. It is the second best time of Erasmus’s career.

Johannesburg, South Africa – The SPAR Grand Prix has reached the halfway stage, with three SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge races completed and three to go. Challenge newcomer Kesa Molotsane has moved into a 21 point lead on the SPAR Grand Prix ladder, after coming second in the Durban leg of the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge on Sunday.

Molotsane was also second in Cape Town, and she won the Port Elizabeth race. She earned bonus points in both races, and has a total of 78 points. The current Grand Prix title holder, Irvette van Zyl, was third in Cape Town and second in Port Elizabeth, also earning bonus points in each. However, she was forced to drop out of the Durban race because of an injury. She has 57 points.

The 2015 Grand Prix winner, Lebogang Phalula, who was fourth in Cape Town, fifth in Port Elizabeth and third in Durban, is closing in on Van Zyl with 51 points.

Nolene Conrad and Mapaseka Makhanya, who won the Grand Prix in 2013, are in joint fourth position with 44 points.

The winner of Sunday’s race, British athlete Tish Jones, is in 12th position, with 30 points, after finishing within the target time. Jones did not compete in the first two races, but says she intends to run at least two more, which means she could challenge Moletsane before the final race in Johannesburg in October.

One of the outstanding achievers is Judy Bird, running in the 50-59 years category. She has been the first Master home in all three races, earning time bonus points in each, for a category total of 30 points.

At the halfway stage, KPMG is the leading club, with 292 points. Nedbank has 284, and Boxer is lying third, with 215.

The last three races will be run in Pretoria on August 5, Pietermaritzburg on August 20 and Johannesburg on October 8.

You may have recently achieved one of your biggest sporting goals, be it Comrades or the Ironman, and you may be asking yourself, what do I do now? Here are a few great ideas. – BY DERICK MARCISZ, CERTIFIED COACH

For many athletes this time of year is for resting and recovery after a big event, but for how long do you rest, and then what should you do in this so-called ‘off-season’ until you start training for the next big event? I believe that athletes should take up to four weeks rest, and then try to ease back into some form of training. This is not always easy, and the temptation is strong to stay under the duvet on those cold winter mornings, but the key to any training is to always have a goal, so even during this off-season/winter period it is important to identify a goal, however simple, and to avoid training aimlessly! Here are some suggestions for winter training goals for both triathletes and Comrades runners.

SWIMMING
Winter is a great time to improve your swimming technique. The indoor pool is actually the warmest place to train in winter! Most swim training for triathletes is generally geared towards swimming distance rather than speed, so why not work on your technique and speed by keeping the sessions short and doing faster reps.

DUATHLON
A duathlon (run/bike/run) is tough, but it is something different and will build strength, whether you are a runner or a triathlete. Here the emphasis is on speed on both the run and the bike, as the distances are fairly short.

CYCLING
Winter is not the ideal time to ride, because of the cold, but there are still bike races most weekends, so if cycling is your thing, aim to race one of these events. Training sessions will include a longer ride on the weekend and either indoor sessions or spinning classes in the week.

SHORT DISTANCE RUNNING
Winter is the perfect opportunity for triathletes to rediscover their ‘running legs’ and for Comrades runners to improve their speed. Your run training in winter should be a maximum of four sessions, as follows:
• Long run of 15-18km
• Easy recovery run of 10-12km
• Intermediate run of 10km, with some speed work
• Race or time trial up to 21km

RUNNING DRILLS
This is my favourite! I find it absolutely amazing that runners do not believe they should work on their running form! All other sports, without fail, include some form of drills. Yet, runners think they do not need to do this. So, take one day a week to go to a nearby track or sports field, do a 4km warm-up run and then drills such as high knees, butt kicks and fast feet. In just five minutes you can do two sets of each for 30 to 50 metres at a time and greatly improve your running style.

About the Author
Derick is a Joburg-based running and triathlon coach, with multiple ultra-marathon and Ironman finishes to go with his 20-plus years of experience in coaching. He is also the Modern Athlete DARE TO TRI Coach, and has helped hundreds DTT novices to their first Ironman finishes.

The 8th Annual BIG5 Challenge is fast approaching and the competition for podium spots is heating up with the likes of Bradley Weiss, Davide Del Fante, Dean Hopf and Theo Blignaut fighting it out over five events during the ten days of the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival between 7 and 16 July.

The ladies’ competition also promises to be tight with Vicky van der Merwe and Fienie Barnard taking on the field of South Africa’s strongest and most adventurous multi-sport athletes.

“This is going to be an exceptionally exciting year,” says BIG5 Challenge Race Director Gary Marescia, “both defending champions Andrea Steyn and Stuart Murray are unable to participate. It throws the competition wide open!”

Known as ‘The Ultimate Multisport Challenge’ the BIG5 includes entries to some of South Africa’s most popular outdoor events including the Momentum Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race and the Momentum Knysna Forest Half Marathon. The challenge also includes the Featherbed Trail Run, the MTB-X – a combination obstacle course and mountain bike route – and the Knysna Lagoon Mile Swim.

“I am not sure if I enjoy the amazing vibe or the racing more, but this has become my favourite event every winter!’” says Dean Hopf.

If an open water swim isn’t your idea of fun, consider the BIG5Lite where the swim is optional and can be replaced by either the Harbour2Heads 11km paddle or the Momentum Cycle Tour Road race.

“For years the Big5 has been the pinnacle of multi-sport events during the cold South African winter – dragging athletes from the comfort of their warm homes and forcing them to train in unfavourable conditions for a week of pain and suffering labelled as a 'holiday'!” laughs Bradley Weiss “But let’s be honest, the FOMO of sitting it out and taking shelter next to the fireplace is so much worse! Fighting through adversity makes the reward of completing this action-packed race so much sweeter and gives each and every competitor a real sense of accomplishment. I for one cannot wait to go up against the elements and come out victorious!”

To find out more go ton www.big5sportchallenge.com

Wöstmann withdraws from 2017 Comrades Marathon

Ultra-distance runner Caroline Wöstmann will not defend her Comrades Marathon ‘Up-Run’ title on June 4 after losing a race against time to recover from a hamstring injury.

Wöstmann has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2017 Comrades Marathon on advice from her medical team. Suffering a hamstring injury at last month’s Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, Wöstmann undertook an intensive rehabilitation regime with the hopes of defending her ‘Up-Run’ title.
“Despite aggressive recovery treatments and rehab to the injury, it hasn’t healed sufficiently to allow me to safely compete at Comrades this year,” Wöstmann said.

“On Sunday the 4th of June 2017 I won’t be running the Comrades Marathon but I will be one of the supporters. “Even though everything in me wants to go and run Comrades, I have made the heart-breaking decision to listen to my medical team and withdraw from the race.”
Wöstmann was initially positive about the prognosis and looked set to line up for the race in just over a week’s time.

“During Two Oceans I picked up a hamstring niggle where it was later diagnosed as a neural injury which was far more serious than originally presumed,” Wöstmann explained.
“I want to thank all my sponsors, my team, and my friends for their incredible support.”

The 34-year-old Wöstmann made history in 2015 when she became the first South African woman to win the Comrades Marathon in 14 years.

Wöstmann captured the imagination in 2016 when she battled through cramps and injury to finish second behind Charne Bosman. Even though Wöstmann will not be racing this year, she has vowed to show her support to the thousands of athletes that will take on the grueling race.

“I have received so much energy and motivation from the Comrades supporters cheering me on in past years and I hope I can give that back to my fellow Comrades as they complete their journey this year,” Wöstmann said.
“I wish every one of my Comrades a life-changing adventure from Durban up to Pietermaritzburg this year.”

The Hollard Jozi Urban Mountain Bike Adventure, taking place at Marks Park on the 28th May 2017, is NOT your average mountain bike race. Naturally this means it comes some not so average prize categories! Here’s a breakdown of the prizes up for grabs in 2017.

You don’t need to be a racing snake to ride the Hollard JUMA, but if the thought of carbon frames and podium finishes excites you, there is over R80 000 up for grabs in the race categories. For the 54km, prizes for Juniors up to Grand Masters, with a trophy and prizes for the Top Ten. For the 22km the there’s R6000 in total waiting for the top three.

For those in it, just for cleats and giggles, why not enter one of the following fun categories.

For those who love riding with your saddle down low, the 54km BMX category for you! First BMX rider home on the 54km will shred their way to R3 000. If you like big bikes (and you cannot lie…) we have R2000 to give away to the winner of the Fatboy / Girl bike category. And for those lean, mean single speed machines… the Single Speed category, where the winners can ride away with up to R2000 in prize money.

Making it a family affair? Make some pocket money by entering the Parent & Child category, a total of R3000 to give to the winners of the 55km and up to R5000 for the 22km winners.

Fancy yourself a bit of a Spielberg when it comes to single track? Why not enter the Best Rider video category; we have a whopping R5 000 up for grabs for both the 22 KM and 54 KM Best Rider Videos. Requirements: 3 – 4 minutes long. Must include music that best fits the Hollard JUMA and the sponsor’s logos.

For the corporates, it’s time to settle that office beef and do some good while you’re at it. The winners of the Fastest Corporate Team for both the 22km and 54km will receive R5 000, a trophy plus R5 000 to the charity of your choice!

The Hollard JUMA is not your average mountain bike race and we want to see some out of the ordinary outfits. Winners of the Best Dressed Team, for the 22km and 54km, will sashay away with up to R3 000.

And finally… first prize as always, whether you win or lose, just experiencing the Hollard JUMA on the 28th May 2017. Entries are open! Entry fees are R399 (ex VAT) for the 54km and R299 (ex VAT) for the 22km. Don’t miss your chance to experience a whole new kind of MTB race. Enter now at www.juma.co.za.

The Hollard Jozi Urban MTB Adventure and Hollard Jozi Urban Run Adventure are brought to by Hollard and BAM Specialist Events in partnership with Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo.

DRAKENSBERG, KWAZULU-NATAL, 3 MAY 2017 – Saturday, the 29th April, saw Jeep Team trail runner, Christiaan Greyling, run the tough 62km Giant’s Cup Uncut Race at Ultra Trail Drakensberg, and win it by more than 50 minutes.

Giant’s Cup Uncut (GCU) is hefty 62km non-stop traverse of the entire Giant’s Cup Hiking Trail, a certified 5-Day hike, with 2400m of vertical climb and occupies an altitude window between 1600m and 2150m. The race started at the Sani Pass Hotel and finished at the Bushman’s Nek Hotel and is entirely on mountain trail, providing runners with a uniquely pure trail running experience.

Greyling crossed the finish line in first place in a time of 06:41:39. Second place went to Ben Brimble in a time of 07:32:10, and finishing in third place was Landie Greyling, in a time of 07:50:19.

“In every Ultra, you reach a point where you want to give up, or at least question yourself why you are doing this. These thoughts come regardless of your speed, preparation or talent. My race went arguably well, but again I learned how easy things can go pear-shaped in an Ultra,” says Christiaan Greyling, adding, “I ran the 62km GCU in a time of 6:41, followed by Ben Brimble in a time of 7:32. We ran together for the first 25km, but the technical downhill around halfway suited my skill and I got away from the quicker Ben Brimble.”

But as he explains it wasn’t all smooth sailing, “The lesson? Hydration and nutrition is the most important items on race day. My first mistake was to drink less because of the colder weather. I only suffered the consequences of this after 30km, but by then it was difficult to rectify. The section from 33km to 46km had no river crossings, huge climbs and a baking morning sun. When I reached the Swiman hut (46km mark), I had to consume about 10 cups of fluid not to suffer from dehydration. Drinking water alone can further dehydrate your body as we lose both water and important minerals when we sweat. To counter negative thoughts, think positive thoughts of previous successes, future races, bible verses, or even a song or two.”

Race Results – 62km Ultra – Giant’s Cup Uncut
MEN
1. Christiaan Greyling 6:41:39
2. Ben Brimble 7:32:10
3. Ross Michaux 8:36:16

WOMEN
1. Landie Greyling 7:50:19
2. Andrea Devine 10:34:14
3. Mmamapudi Kubjane 11:24:58

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For more information please contact Bronwen Blunden on 079 060 1905 or email [email protected].