Is running the new kid on the block?

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Bo

Running races in South Africa have become increasingly popular. If you don’t arrive at sparrow’s fart before a race, be warned about getting stuck in gridlocked traffic! This was us at Johnson Crane in January. Added to that is taking over 20 minutes to cross the timing mat at the start of the race, like majority of suckers at Vaal marathon.

The starting line at Pick n Pay 2017

Is it due to health trends hitting our media that people suddenly want to run? Could Parkrun have ignited newbie runners into challenging themselves to run further than 5kms? Or have other events such as Crossfit, Bootcamp or Warrior have added to the flow of budding athletes trying their skill on tar?

Another view of the start of Pick n Pay 2017 – crazy view!

Whatever it is, it’s fantastic! Running is a reasonably cheap sport (that’s before you think you need a GPS watch to upload your runs to Strava) and you don’t need to run official races to enjoy yourself.

YouTube is loaded with free coaching and it would appear that people are catching on to this. Don’t believe me? Check out Cape Town’s promenade. Or head to Jo’burg’s highway aka Westcliff stairs. Packed!

Start line at Sarens 2017 – a stunning pic!

In between the ever growing numbers of runners are everyday people like you & me. The average Joe who will never run an ultra like Comrades; the casual half marathoner who dreams of full marathons; the 10km social guy and yes, all the really fun runners at the back! It’s a mixed batch and we’re all in it having fun together.

Let’s keep running!

5 things I’ve noticed about 5km fun runs

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Bo

I’ve run shorter distances this year. I started running the odd 5km races here and there. First it was the RAC 5km last year November, followed by my first park run in January and just recently, I ran my 4^th Dischem 5km Dash. Yesterday I ran the Bestmed TUKS 5km fun run. It’s funny because I’ve started to noticed something quite unique about these races. A 5km race is just not the same as a 10km race or even a half marathon.

Here’s what I’ve observed:

They don’t call it a fun run for nothing. No one is stressed out before the race. People are laughing, chatting, eating sandwiches. There isn’t that heavy smell of deep heat in the air. The vibe is relaxed and excited. Runners are out to have fun!
Two Oceans 2013 fun run
You’re surrounded at the starting line by a mixed batch of runners, run/walkers and walkers. The age groups vary from toddlers to grannies. There are families, lovers holding hands, prams and even dogs on leashes. If you’re hoping to get a good start or a PB, make sure you line up close to the front.
If you decide to wear your official club running shirt, you will stand out like a sore thumb. Ha ha! I certainly did. I was kitted out, even had my finger ready on my Garmin watch waiting for the gun to go off. I shot off and got stuck behind everyone in the point mentioned above. Rookie mistake. In fact 5km runners/walkers are already wearing their goodey bag t-shirts that should only really be worn after the race. Eeek! Talk about bad luck! Meh, they don’t care.
They have no concept of the #runclean movement and throw their water sachets everywhere! The pro’s and other athletes do too. But fun runners are oblivious. It’s not uncommon for a water stop to take as long as you want either.
The race organizers seem to think that no one cares if the 5km distance is suddenly 4.4km, as was the case with the Bestmed TUKS run. I mean, it’s not a serious run after all, right?

It’s crazy but I’ve started to love running 5km races. And somehow I blame it all on the reasons listed above. I love the freedom. I love that no one is too competitive. I love not stressing about half marathon distance cutoffs and while I struggle with plantar fasciitis, my feet are getting time to rest and recover.

Shorter distance races makes you love everything about why you started running in the first place. Because while I’m surrounded by the grannies, the dogs, the prams, the lovers holding hands, there are runners in those races who go on to run 10km, 21km and even ultra distance races. Because let’s face it, we all started out in that one fun run race. It’s where the passion was ignited and the bug bit!

The start of the 2017 Dischem Rehidrat Dash

(Images: Google)

Here’s what I’m starting to realize about quality over distance

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Bo

I ran a total of 17 races in 2015 and in between that, over 200 runs, either track sessions or runs from home. This is according to my Strava activity log. It was the year I ran 2:44 (my PB’s) for Pick ‘n Pay, Sarens as well as Kaapsehoop half marathons. By the end of the year I was exhausted. I was tired of running and when I started 2016, I couldn’t find that running mojo again. Hey, it happens and I did consciously decide that I would rest a bit and focus more on improving my form, as I’ve shared in my blog post about sessions with my bio, Mari.

One of the insights that came out of a session with Mari is that I should focus on shorter distances for now, while I strengthen my legs and core. As she put it, “There’s no point running half marathons every weekend, hating the run and not being able to walk for days afterwards.” She suggested that I rather run shorter, manageable distances, but use the run to focus on key elements of improvement. She was right.

I’ve realized that, for me, it’s not about the distances, but the quality of the run. While I don’t have any big distance running goals like KK to run Comrades, my running is currently for enjoyment and improvement. It’s taken a few weeks but when I was analyzing my Strava results, this slowly started to sink in. Here’s what I started to notice:

I am able to get home from work and run 3kms easily and still get back sweating and bursting with those amazing feel-good hormones
Running the shorter races requires less intensive road training
I am starting to see real improvements in the races I’ve run

Seeing these results has made me feel excited and motivated and has also helped set proper goals for 2017, knowing what I need to do this year.

Sometimes, we are too focused on the wrong things and before we look, we’re disappointed that we didn’t see the results we wanted to obtain.

It only takes a bit of slowing down and self-assessment to get back on track. I’m also running more km’s under 8mins/km. Did you see that? *grinning*

A bit of “trail running” running

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Bo

When I woke up that Monday morning, it felt as if I had been hit by a bus! My shoulders ached, my toes were sore and my ankles were stiff. All the signs were there. I had finally run my first proper trail run at the Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series event at Segwati Game Ranch. Trail running landscape Segwati game farm Cars parked at Segwati trail running gwts_3_of_4_-_segwati_-_as_-_012_0049

Trail running is definitely different to road running. My fellow running junkie (and comedian) Shaun captured it quite well when he posted this to his Facebook wall:

“I need to work on my beard, grow a man bun and eat more organic granola bars to be taken seriously as a trail runner.” ~ You had to be there but trust me, I LOLZ’ed for days at this!

But seriously, here’s my list of some of the more positive (& negative) aspects about the trail runs:

You get to lie in! Trail runs begin later in the day. My race only shot off after 9:30. BONUS!
But then is was hot. VERY hot and I struggled. There are no water points and I had left my camel pack in the car.
It’s dusty. And dry.
You do a lot of looking down to prevent yourself from falling (which explains the sore shoulders!) I was determined not to fall so I made a conscious effort of watching where I was going the entire time.
You need the right shoes! I was happy to have an old pair of casual Salomon’s to run in. They kept my feet super protected from all the stones and sand, but they were not the right size for racing. At the 3km mark, my toes were taking strain already. I don’t even want to explain how sore those downhills felt.
The hills take forever to climb! And I’m not talking an extra 30 seconds to your time, I mean minutes!
The views are spectacular! The air is fresh and crisp. And at Segwati, I dodged some “bok drolls” along the path which meant the animals were close by.
I made it to the finish before prize giving! This is a first. Usually I’m still out there on the road when this happens.
You had to run 3 out of 4 races to qualify for a medal. I know, right!

Me and KK after the trail running race Dusty trail running shoes But it’s loads of stress-free fun and in fact a lot more casual than the road runs. I do wish I had more time to enjoy them but with limited time in the week and weekends, I have decided to stick to my road running programme and focus on my 10kms and 21kms. Expect a blog post soon on my goals leading up to the end of the year.