Reluctant Runner

I know I’ve said this before and you guys probably have November 1st highlighted in your diaries (yes Sally that’s you and Michelle and Team Flash) but I can’t stress enough how quick you are going to have to be off the mark.  The Comrades talk I went to last week, of the group that was there (they had to bring in more chairs to accommodate us all) roughly half were novices, that was just one talk at one club…

5,000 Novices is the limit (unless the 15,000 isn’t reached for previous runners) which isn’t much considering this is an international event – so here are the ways you can enter:

• Online at http://www.comrades.com/OnlineEntry.aspx
• Any Mr Price store – this is advised if you can’t access the website
• Hand it in at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg
• Pay at any Nedbank branch and then mail the payment confirmation and entry form
• By mail

Obviously for those of you who are not South African your options are limited, I wish I had alternatives for you because there is nothing more annoying than trying to get onto a website which is struggling to handle the traffic, although I’m sure the Comrades Association has made provision for this.  Also to you guys NOT in our time zone, if entries open at 12am South African time, then remember to make allowances for whichever time zone you are in.  I use this time converter thingy…

On Wednesday last week I went to one of the Comrades Road Show talks – I went to one before the first Comrades I did and I found it quite interesting.  If you have one in your area then I’d urge you to attend, even if it is just for some motivation, if not then here are a few interesting facts they parted with:

• The 2010 Comrades medal is 20mm bigger than the regular one (which still makes it the smallest medal I have) – if you aren’t sure what to do with another medal then make sure you read this.

• The Guinness World Records guys will be out to see if we set a new one for ‘The Most People Running an Ultra Marathon’ – so you will be part of that record, what a great bragging opportunity!

• Women traditionally only make up 18% of the field – so come on ladies, you know you can do it you grow human beings for heavens sake!!

• 17% of the field won’t finish – so make sure you train your body with running and train your mind by reading Reluctant Runner

• The average age in 2008 was 41 for Males and 40 for females – where are all the younger generations??  There are no excuses, I’m 28 and have a full-time job and I’m in a relationship (no kids but there are dogs, 2 of them) so get your bums into gear!!

• Wally Hayward was 80 years and 10 months old when he completed his last Comrades Marathon – again, there are no excuses!!

• If you fancy winning an entry  the Comrades association is giving away 10 free entries – all you have to do is sms 2010 to 38275, you can do this now before Novice entries open on November 1st.  Oh and sms’s cost R10 just to warn you.

The Comrades Medal is on the bottom left in the corner.

Novices, Noobs, Newbies, First-timers – whatever you want to call yourselves, I’m speaking to YOU!!

Over the past few weeks I’ve had some correspondence from people who are planning on making Comrades 2010 their first attenmpt at the Ultimate Human Race and to tell you the truth I’m flattered that there are some of you who are looking for any advice or just want to muffle those little voices which are saying “You’re crazy, you can’t do this”  – by reading my musings…

In light of this I’ve decided to create another section here on Reluctant Runner for those of you who are planning on doing the Comrades for the first time in 2010 – it will be called First-Timers (I know, so totally original), where I will be writing posts dedicated to the first-time runners of this amazing race.

So, if you have anything you’d like to contribue, questions about the race or if you just want a place to vent or if you need some motivation then feel free to do so here!!!