Worlds Best Second!

This is the second post in my series on “Running Stories”, you can read the first one here.

I’d like to introduce you to my dad aka Bruce aka Popsicle.  I’ve mentioned seconds many times before on my blog, I even wrote a Guide to being an Awesome Second - which is why I thought it would be a fabulous idea to ask my dad a few questions, especially since I think he is the Worlds Best Second (of course the word nepotism springs to mind but this is MY blog, so basically I can do what I want)!

Do you enjoy being a second?
Yes, I do

What is your favourite thing about being a second?
Seeing my runners coming through at my check points, laughing and enjoying themselves

Do you sometimes just want to leave it up to someone else?
No (Didn’t even hesitate here…)

What is the most difficult thing about being a second?
Getting to the next check point, fighting traffic and finding parking, all before the runner comes past.

Does it ever inspire you to run?
Sometimes I think it might be easier than seconding by putting a number on my chest and running, but NO I have no inspiration to run

Seeing us in distress is difficult for you, why do you keep coming back?
It is difficult but it is my runners’ passion and I will support them

Being the Worlds Best Second is a tough job, what would you say to other prospective seconds out there, aspiring to be as fabulous as you?
As a second you will be shouted at and ignored, but they need you and it is rewarding seeing their faces full of appreciation when they cross the finishing line - and I am always so proud of them.

* Just to make a few things clear, by ‘my runners‘ my dad is referring to my mom, me and any other runner who has trusted him to be waiting at the designated points with their food/energy stuff/vasteline etc for a long race.

**  My dad is also the official club photographer and has an uncanny ability to take the most awkward pictures of you (my mom is still seething from the one taken after she had just thrown up and was feeling rather retched)

Leave a Comment / July 2nd, 2009 / Uncategorized

Comrades Marathon Green Number Club

This post marks the first of my “Running Stories” series.

I’d like to introduce Russell Mackintosh - Russ ran his 10th Comrades Marathon this year - this entitles you to a permanent number and entry to the exclusive “Green Number Club”

Here are the questions I thought were important along with Russ’ answers:

How long have you been running for?

I started running to keep fit for rugby in 1985 when I was at UCT. I eventually took running up as my main sport when I gave up cricket in 1993. I ran my first marathon in 1994 (Winelands Marathon) and my first Comrades in 1996.

Out of the 10 Comrades you have done, how many were good runs?

I had one absolute “dream” run (9:05 on the up run in 2006), probably 4 more runs that were not too shabby, and the rest were in the “I’m never doing this again” bracket.

What made you decide “I think I’ll do 10 Comrades”?

When I was in std.9 I watched the Comrades on TV and saw a guy called Colin Goosen collapse on the final bend and then crawl the length of the home straight to claim the last gold medal. I decided then that I wanted to run the Comrades some day. JUST ONCE.

And I did that in 1996, and I was content. But then you go down to the club and the guys are standing around having a few beers, and eventually the talk turns to Comrades, and before you know it the trip to Durban is planned and you’re on it. I can’t believe they caught me like that . . . 9 times!!

What type of mental preparation do you do?

A couple of things: I try to develop a positive mindset by focussing on the good races I have run recently; I go over the route in my mind and try to recall how I felt at various stages on my good Comrades runs; I remind myself that bad patches are nearly always temporary; I like to drive the course before the race, because it scares the sh*t out of me and reminds me to treat the race with respect.

When do you start training and how many km’s do you do?

I start training about 6 months before the race and generally do about 1200kms in that time, although this year I did 1500km – obviously too many junk miles, because the extra 300kms had no positive effect on my performance. Ideally I like to have five runs of 42km or longer in that period, and generally peak at about 100km a week, about a month before Comrades.

What is the most important thing you have learned by doing endurance sports?

Participating in endurance sports has taught me that if I set myself a goal and work towards it, the seemingly impossible gradually becomes possible, and eventually achievable.

What does your family think about it?

I’m fortunate in that my wife has run 7 Comrades Marathons and we do a lot of our training together.  It helps that your partner can relate to your mindset and emotions in the lead up to Comrades, and vice versa.  I have a daughter (15) and twin boys (11) who have grown up in a running family and so don’t know any different. My daughter has been up to Comrades twice and loves the vibe on race day. Hopefully one day I’ll have the opportunity to take one (or more) of my kids through their first Comrades Marathon.

6 Comments / June 25th, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Reluctant runner, Running, Series

Trail Running Series

I’ve been talking about thinking about starting to trail run for ages and on Sunday I decided to stop talking about thinking and actually just DO…

Montrail and CapeStorm have a trail running series which is coming to the Western Cape in July.  It consists of 4 runs of which you can choose to do the long (12 – 13km) or short (5-6km) routes, in different locations ranging from Durbanville Hills to Groot Constantia.

I had heard about this trail series from friends of mine and before the Comrades it was a lovely plump carrot on a stick to look forward to - with the promise of a change of scenery, some new faces and hopefully a rekindling of my motivation to run (although my lack of motivation could be due to the horrid weather we are having at the moment).

Have a look at the race details and if you are in the Cape area sign up, would be great to meet you!

3 Comments / June 23rd, 2009 / Reluctant runner, Running, Trail Running

Running Stories

I’ve decided to start another series, this one is called Running Stories and will involve interviews with different runners and their experience with the Comrades Marathon and other endurance races which have the potential to be life changing.

I’d like to cover categories like First time Comrades runners, Bus Drivers (Pace setters), People who have overcome insane things to go on to run the Comrades, Green Number runners (10 Comrades or more), Seconds and foreign runners who come over here to take part in this crazy race.

I’ll be making a few changes around the blog too, just to make it a bit more stream line (especially since my occupation is online marketing and specifically social media – which is embarrassing to admit given the fact that I’ve done so little on this blog), so please let me know what you think along the way.

Looking forward to interviewing some great people and sharing what I find!!

Photo Credit:  PakyuZ

Leave a Comment / June 19th, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Race, Reluctant runner, Running, Series

Running Charity Round-Up…

It seems the final numbers are in…

All pledges were honoured and with Ryan’s efforts in Canada coupled with mine, it seems we have managed to raise about R10 860 – that’s 17 kids whose school fees will be paid up for the entire year!!

I also want to thank a few people who had a huge impact on this little endeavour of mine:

• Everyone who was so generous and managed to spare some cash, especially since we’re all feeling rather pinched at the moment – Ryan’s friends (you know who you are), Shaun & Nicola, Ariane & Mdu, Brendan & Rebecca, Andy Duncan, Collin Budge and Russel Mackintosh (Russ was the one who said he’d double his pledge if I beat him, I came in 8 minutes after him!!).
• Ryan, for your enthusiasm and encouragement
• Craig for running the whole way with me and waiting for me when I needed to make pit-stops, that is what I call running-friend-loyalty!!
• Dad for maintaining your title of Worlds Best Second
• Mom for being my greatest fan and for all your support
• Barry for flying down to surprise me on the route (and for sending all the race updates on Twitter) – sorry I couldn’t stop and chat
• Stuart the bus driver who did a fantastic job of getting us all over the finish line in under 11 hours

Thanks to everyone who donated, wished us well, followed us on the day, sat through blow-by-blow accounts of the race and supported us every step of the way.

I’m thrilled with the positive response I’ve had regarding this project, I’ll keep everyone updated from time to time on how the little guys and girls in Red Hill informal settlement are doing.

2 Comments / June 12th, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Fund Raising, Motivation, Race, Reluctant runner, Ultra-marathon

Comrades Marathon Numbers

The final stats from the Comrades Marathon are in!!

Of the 11 346 people who started the race (12 952 entered which means 1 606 people didn’t feel like running on the day) – 10 006 people ran (or crawled or dragged themselves) over the finish line in Durban.  That’s a whopping 88.1% finishing rate, for a race of this length I think that is pretty awesome!!

Women made up 17.5% of the finishing field, while men made up the remaining 82.5%

It also seems that at this stage people are starting to contemplate next years run… It is the 85th commemorative race and will be from Pietermaritzburg to Durban again (there has never been a consecutive “down” run) and because it co-insides with the 2010 soccer world cup they are expecting a record number of entries, resulting in the powers that be deciding to limit entries to 20 000.

Now I don’t know if this is an interesting marketing ploy but what is it about making something “Limited” that drives people (especially those who had said NO MORE), to start thinking about entering again,  barely 3 weeks after the race?  Actually what is it about an 89km race that has people coming back year after year…?

2 Comments / June 10th, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Race, Reluctant runner, Ultra-marathon

Running Theory

I have a little confession to make…  You know when I wrote about Ostriching and that as a running strategy it is probably sub-optimal - weeelllll…

Since January I have been keeping a log of all my training and race kilometres, I’d decided to do this just so that I’d know how off track I was, but as it turns out I only ever plugged data in, I never actually looked back to check how far off I was – yes, (head hung low) I was ostriching it because I had a sneaky suspicion that my training wasn’t anywhere near where it had to be.

Of course the story doesn’t end there…  The day before the race when I met up with other runners from my club, everyone was comparing how many kilometres they’d logged in training which ranged between 1 000 and 1 200km’s since Dec/Jan – I stealthily stayed out of these conversations because when I thought back to my training calendar I remember it being rather sparse…

SO, this weekend I decided to count up how much I actually did and finally go cold turkey on the ostriching,  an exercise which made me realize that luckily I did ostrich with this particular thing because as it turns out I had to round up - to 600km’s!!!!

No really, I’m not joking I even counted again to make sure which has lead me to start thinking about this whole training thing.  Do we train incessantly for the Comrades (or any longer race for that matter) to help our bodies or our minds?

My theory is that mental training is totally separate and has nothing to do with running or how much you have trained.  Sure if you know you can do a marathon then you’d be more confidant to tackle an ultra, what I’m talking about is the fact that on most of these races I’ve found that it is my mind which determines how well my race is going to go, not my fitness…

I’m going to think about this a bit more, what is your theory?

My Comrades medals for 2009

One Comment / June 3rd, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Marathon, Motivation, Preparation, Race, Reluctant runner, Running, Training, Ultra-marathon

Comrades Marathon Lessons

The things I learned doing the 2009 Comrades Marathon:

• This race doesn’t care how many training kilometres you have done, you either have a good day or a bad one – all you can do is make sure you get over that finish line.
• You have to (and I’m not joking here guys) HAVE TO eat at every single table!!  Keeping yourself from falling below that critical blood sugar level is an ongoing process (I had bouts of nausea all the time) which will last the entire race and which you need to address as they occur.
• The human spirit is stronger than muscle and bone and any kind of mental preparation.  If someone can finish the Comrades Marathon with a broken foot, a prosthetic limb, as a blind runner or someone suffering from a chronic diseases like Cerebral Palsy or Muscular Dystrophy - you can be assured that as a healthy, fit runner no matter how much pain you are in, there is something stronger at work that if you allow it, will carry you through to the end.
• Physical fitness makes up 40% of this race, mental fitness makes up 40%, pure determination makes up 10% and a sense of humour 10% - Don’t fool yourself into thinking that being fit is the answer; you will fail if you do…

Leave a Comment / May 28th, 2009 / Uncategorized

Comrades Marathon Race Dissection…

Standing in Pietermaritzburg at the start, I was feeling very calm and rather Zen like while the energy from the 12 825 runners around me was crackling with anticipation.  I was a little concerned that I was carrying more equipment than what I had planned on (3 skin temperature sensors which were stuck on with plaster, the 800g computer which was going to record my skin and core temperature throughout the race, a GPS and a heart rate monitor with accompanying watch), looking like a bit of a lab experiment.

As the gun went off and the crowd surged forward I remember distinctly thinking – I just want to make the most of today – and for the most part, I think I did.

The first 20km of the race was fine, I was running with a long-time friend Craig who was doing it for the first time and whose mom was running too (Lynda is 60 and was running with a broken foot, how is that for crazy).  I was a little concerned when 10 minutes into the race we could just not keep up with our mothers who surged off and left us to find our own pace with which to run.  Luckily we were caught by the sub-eleven hour bus because I had no idea about pace or the actual route.

Half-way came and so did Lynda suffering from very sore feet and not really loving the race.  Half-way also saw the first man crossing the finish line (in 5:23) which doesn’t do much for the confidence levels…

30km outside of Durban I felt a tap on my shoulder and found Ryan, my running charity partner just behind me, he’d decided to join the bus too, much to my delight because I didn’t actually think I’d see him until the end.

As we reached the lip of the notorious Fields Hill, 69km into the race with such a steep downhill and horrid camber that many runners have seen the end of their race at the bottom, you could hear a collective sigh come up from the group – Craig let out an audible moan since he’d been cramping on every downhill from around the half-way mark.  Stuart the pace-setter (or bus driver) gave us a very stern talking to as we started down – “Pass me here and you will not finish this race” he promised, luckily I had no intention of going solo at this stage, I’d already confessed to Craig that I would be sticking with this bus to the end and would propose marriage to Stuart when we finished…

With 10km to go, knowing that it would be the longest 10km ever, I had news from a fellow club runner that my mom had been throwing up and had fallen behind us.  Feeling pangs of guilt for not seeing her on the side of the road I resigned myself to the fact that my mom was a machine and would be ok with or without me going back for her, so I kept on going because really in a race like this, the most important thing you need to tell yourself is – “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will eventually get there!”

Hitting Durban city centre and a flat road to the end, Craig re-assumed his position next to me with Ryan just off to one side, as we made our way through the screaming spectators who were lining the streets.  Entering Kingsmead to a crowd that was going crazy as our sub-eleven hour bus was brought in 9 minutes ahead of schedule, Craig and I ran hand in hand over the finish line, with grins from ear to ear.

Craig and I at the first stop with my dad

Re-fuelling at about 15km to go

8 Comments / May 27th, 2009 / Uncategorized

Comrades Marathon Race Summary

3:34am – my alarm goes off although I’m already awake, not nervous just awake and ready for my day on the road.

4:30am – we head off to the start which is a 10 minute walk from where we spent the night.  I have to find the guys from the study I am part of so that they can fit me with the equipment I have to carry for the race, to measure my core and skin temperature.

5:15am – finally all the equipment is fitted (a few more gadgets that what I’d planned for but I didn’t care), we head to our seeding gate only to find them closed and being pointed to the back of the 12 000 strong crowd, luckily someone had forced a gap in the gate which allowed my mom and I to sneak into the space between E and F seeding (I was meant to be in F anyway).

5:20am – Chariots of Fire gets played over the crowd, everyone is silent waiting for traditional rooster crow which is followed directly by the start gun

5:30am – we are off, it takes 6 minutes to run over the start line and timing mat

10 hours and 52 minutes later, I am running through Kingsmead stadium hand in hand with my friend Craig (an old friend who was doing the Comrades for the first time and who ran with me all the way) with the biggest smile on my face and goose bumps all over my body…

This is just a quick summary, I will go into more detail tomorrow I just wanted to let everyone know that I finished – it was gruelling for sure, 89km is never NOT going to be hard but I had a great day and came off lightly with no blisters (not like last year) although there was some chafing from all the equipment I carried (just a small price to pay considering that some people are still limping 2 days later).

Chafe

3 Comments / May 26th, 2009 / Comrades Marathon, Injuries, Marathon, Race, Reluctant runner, Ultra-marathon