Celebrities running the marathon!

Katie Holmes: NYC Marathon
















Oprah Winfrey : Marine Core marathon















Ronan Keaton : London marathon













Kate Lowlar : London marathon
















Puff Daddy : NYC marathon













Lance Armstrong : Boston marathon

Lance Armstrong : NYC marathon















Katie Price : London marathon















Gordon Ramsey : London marathon

Ryan Renolds : NYC marathon















Lisa Ling : Boston marathon















Kim Alexis : NYC marathon














Mario Lopez : Boston marathon













Niel McAndrew













Carrie Tollefson : Boston marathon












Al Gore













http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marathoners

Celebrities spotted running other races or just out running!

Matt Damon

Kate Hudson

George W Bush

Howard Stern

Bolt defies weather to run 19.59!

Monday 06/07/2009

Mokoena sets new African mark

What a night for South African athletics! A new African record of 8.50m for Khotso Mokoena in the long jump and two brilliant wins by Johan Cronje and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi in the 1500 and 800 metres provided South African athletics with a tremendous injection at the 28th Madrid Athletics Meeting on Saturday night.

Mokoena, who had an excellent series of six jumps, was the pick of the three. The fact that he was defeated by an unknown Australian, Fabrice Lapierre, was not of the greatest importance because he had the satisfaction of defeating the Olympic champion, Irving Saladino, of Panama and also breaking the continental record of 8.46m set by Cheikh Tidane Toure of Senegal in 1997.

"I am simply ecstatic," was the first response of his coach, Elna de Beer, conducting a coaching course at Magaliesburg.

"8.60m is now within his reach but that is not the main aim. To peak in Berlin at the World Champs is priority number one.

"After his three recent successive wins with 8.33m, there was no doubt in my mind that he was building to something special."

De Beer will be joining him within a few weeks after which they will make their final preparations for Germany.

The 24-year-old Mokoena opened with 8.24, then twice equalled the African record of 8.46 before closing with three jumps of 8.47 (wind-assisted), 8.50 (legal 1.3m wind-reading) and 8.43m.

He also eclipsed his national record of 8.39m, which he had established in Finland in 2006, and moved from fifth to fourth on the 2009 world list.

Australia's Lapierre caused the major surprise by winning the event with 8.57m while an erratic Saladino had to be satisfied with a best of 8.43m.

Mokoena also became the 21st athlete ever to jump 8.50m while Lapierre was the 20th.

Cronje, full of confidence after his recent personal best and IAAF qualifying time of 3 min 35.11 sec in Greece, had never been so impressive than in Madrid defeating a strong field with a time of 3 min 37.33 sec.

He was in third place and, after the pace-setters had left then scene, he just stormed ahead and won easily.

Cronje had just returned to Europe after spending two of the coldest weeks in Bloemfontein.
"He was a different person and trained with a new zest and urgency since his fine race in Greece," Coach DB Prinsloo told Sapa.

A rusty Mulaudzi, who had not been competing for a few months and then suffered a severe bout of flu, had stiff competition and had to pull out all stops before winning his race in 1 min 45.81 sec, the third best of the evening.

Jackson Kivuna of Kenya won the second 800m in 1 min 44.86 sec.

Pieter Smith, the only other South African at the meeting, also had a first race after a layoff due to injury and struggled to a fifth place in a very fast one-lapper won by David Gillich of Ireland in 44.77 sec.

Smith, the South African champion, clocked 47.53 sec.

WP Half Marathon team excels

The Western Province Athletics team to the SA Half Marathon Championships on Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 4 July 2009 won five individual and three team medals. In the process two Western Province records were bettered.

Lindikhaya Mthangayi was the first WP athletes across the line, winning the silver medal in a time of 61:32, bettering the WP record of 61:58 set by Makhosonke Fika in 2001.

The men’s and women’s senior teams both won bronze medals. The men’s team of Mthangayi, Zolani Ntongana (62:23), Avukile Ntongana (64:24) and Anthony Godongwana (65:29) returned the best WP senior result at the SA Half Marathon Championships in a number of years. The women’ team was Bulelwa Mtshagi (79:13); Thozama April (79:15); Novuyisi Seti (81:24) and Kirsty Weir (82:42)

Gold medals were won by Olga Howard (89:41) in the women’s 50-59 category and the women’s 40-49 team (Michelle Bartman (81:28), Joanna Thomas (83:39) and Elmarie Coetzee (84:04)).

The team’s other silver medals were won by Michelle Bartman in the women’s 40-49 category, her time also bettering her own WP record; Vladimir Kotov (73:59) in the men’s 50+ category; and Albertus Bok (82:35) in the men’s 60+ category.

Tuesday 07/07/2009

Armstrong primed to reclaim yellow jersey

For the first time since his last Tour de France triumph in 2005, Lance Armstrong is perfectly placed to reclaim the leader's yellow jersey in Tuesday's 38-km team time trial in Montpellier.

"Never say never," the seven-times winner said following Monday's third stage in which he climbed to third place overall after joining a decisive move led by the Columbia team.

The American finished only 40 seconds behind leader Fabian Cancellara and given the overall performance of his Astana team in the opening individual time trial in Monaco, with four of their riders finishing in the top ten, they will be strong favourites on a winding course.

Astana have left nothing to chance in preparing for what could be the first really significant moment of this year's Tour.

"We checked it four times and frankly it was not too much if you want to memorise it all," said team director Alain Gallopin.

Armstrong is familiar with Tour team time trials having won several with US Postal.

Their outstanding performance in the third stage to La Grande Motte made Team Columbia another outfit to watch, especially as they won similar stages on the Giro and Tour de Romandie.
A victory could put young German Tony Martin, currently 33 seconds behind Cancellara, in the spotlight.

American team Garmin-Slipstream, with specialists like Bradley Wiggins, David Millar and David Zabriskie, or Cancellara's Saxo Bank, should also be among the serious contenders.

Stadium builders to join NUM strike

About 70 000 construction workers are expected to strike tomorrow, halting work across the country, including on stadiums for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, after a court refused to ban the action.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said in a statement yesterday that it had won the case against the SA Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec), which had last week asked the court to prevent the union from embarking on a wage strike.

"Employers must expect no mercy from us, they must deliver 13 percent or we will strike until 2011," said Bhekani Ngcobo, the union's negotiator at Safcec.

World Cup organisers said last week that they would meet trade union officials to try to ensure that a strike did not delay completion of stadiums beyond target, but they would not interfere in workers' democratic rights to strike.

Officials have said previously that the 10 stadiums for the World Cup, half of them new, will be delivered on target by December, although there have been some reports that the Green Point venue in Cape Town might be delayed into next year.

After the collapse of prolonged negotiations with the employers organisation, the union called the strike to support its demand for a 13 percent wage hike. Employers have refused to go beyond 10 percent.

"The interdict wasn't granted," said Joe Campanella, the spokesman for Safcec, adding that the unions and employers were in fresh talks to find a resolution but declined to say if the employer organisation would revise its offer.

Companies likely to be hit by the strike include Murray & Roberts, WBHO and Group Five. Eskom's 4 800 megawatt Medupi power station could also be affected. Expansion work on the Richards Bay Coal Terminal could be delayed further, the union added.

Wednesday 08/07/2009

Bolt defies weather to run 19.59

Usain Bolt ran the fourth fastest 200-metre race ever in 19.59 seconds in sinking temperatures and heavy rainfall at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

It was one-hundredth of a second slower than what American Tyson Gay ran in May with fair weather and a breeze at his back.

But with the temperature in Lausanne dipping to 15 degrees Celsius and the track slowed by a downpour, Bolt showed he was back in top form a year after winning the 100 and 200 in world records at the Beijing Olympics.

"I'm in good shape, but I'm not fully ready yet," said the 22-year-old Jamaican, who was aiming to peak for the world championships next month in Berlin. "I still need to work on a few technical things."

Bolt said he was "not concerned with records," even though he was within three-tenths of a second of the 19.30 he posted in Beijing. The other faster time is Michael Johnson's 19.32 at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

LaShawn Merritt was a distant second in 20.41, while fellow American Shawn Crawford - the 2004 Olympic champion and runner-up last year - finished more than a second behind in fourth.
Bolt's teammate Asafa Powell won the 100 in 10.07 seconds in what he described as a "good race" given the conditions.

"These were the worst weather conditions for a race in my whole life," Powell said.

Still, Powell called it his best performance of the season and said Bolt's world record of 9.69 seconds was within his reach, even though he was nowhere close on Tuesday on the same track where he clocked 9.72 a year ago.

Mokoena triumphs in long jump

Khotso Mokoena continued his world-class form on the tracks of Europe at the 2009 Athletissima Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday night when he won the long jump with 8.05m.

It was another first-class performance as he defeated the world number one Dwight Phillips and Fabrice Lappiere of Australia, who beat him in Madrid a few days ago plus a host of other top jumpers.

It was a close run affair because Phillips finished second with 8.03m while Lappiere, formerly from Mauritius, had to settle for third with an eight metre jump.

It was Mokoena's - who pocketed a first prize of $8 000 - fifth international win of the year.
His winning jump of the evening was against a strong wind measuring two metres per second.
Three other South Africans also had reason to pat themselves on the back.

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi gained another good placing in the 800m while Bloemfontein middle distance star Johan Cronje, running more aggressively than in any part of his career, showed a clean pair of heels to numerous Kenyan and other established metric milers to finish second behind Antar Zerguelaine (3:37.15) of Algeria.

Under the conditions Cronje's time was a fine 3 min 37.50 sec with Bahraini Belal Mansour Ali third in 3 min 37.75 sec.

LJ van Zyl, Commonwealth champion and Olympic finalist in Beijing, finished third in a field that included some of the world's current best 400m hurdlers with a time of 48.94 sec.

Isa Phillips of Jamaica, who looms as the man to beat at the world championships, won again in convincing fashion in 48.18 sec with American Kerron Clement second in 48.51 sec.

Entering the final straight, Van Zyl was far behind and his strong sprint over the last 50 metres came too late to threaten the two ahead.

Mulaudzi seems to be on course for the IAAF Championships with a second place in the 800 metres in 1 min 44.97 sec, his second fastest effort of 2009.

It was only his second outing of the European season, and only fractionally slower (0.16 sec) than his winning time in the national championships at Stellenbosch in March.

Sudan's Ismail Ahmed Ismail won the race in 1 min 44.80 sec.

Wind could break up Armstrong, Cancellara

Wind might be Lance Armstrong's best ally in Wednesday's fifth stage of the Tour de France to Perpignan when the seven times champion bids for his first yellow jersey in four years.

Armstrong is second overall but has the same time as leader Fabian Cancellara and could blow the Swiss away as strong winds are expected on the 196.5-km seaside course which may favour splits within the peloton.

"We need to be very careful again tomorrow. But Cancellara will be on his guard too," Armstrong said after his Astana team's fourth stage time trial victory.

Olympic time trial champion Cancellara said his Saxo Bank team would defend the yellow jersey until the first mountain stage in Andorra on Friday.

"I'm already the Swiss who spent the most time in the yellow jersey and I'm very proud of it," he said. On Monday, taking advantage of a wind shift, the Team Columbia of Mark Cavendish split the bunch, dropping most of the Tour favourites except Armstrong and Cancellara.

Columbia should again be in the front for most of the day, hoping to lead Briton Cavendish to his third stage win this Tour and his seventh in all.

Michael Jackson's funeral under way in Los Angeles

Michael Jackson's funeral has begun with family gathered for a private service in Los Angeles, before his body is taken to the Staples Center for a public memorial.

His casket will occupy centre stage at the star-studded memorial show, where Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and Lionel Richie will be among the performers.

It has been suggested that Jackson's body will be transported to the Staples Center by helicopter to avoid crowds thronging the streets, and a SWAT team from the Los Angeles Police Department will provide an escort.

A motorcade of black limousines and Range Rovers, accompanied by the California Highway Patrol, swept out of the Jackson family compound shortly before 8am. Sections of the freeway were shut down at the height of the Los Angeles rush hour to allow them to pass.

The family were taken to the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills for the private funeral service. Jackson's children, Paris Michael, 12 Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, were not seen, but his parents, Joe and Katherine, were filmed walking into the building, along with Jackson's siblings.

Los Angeles Police Department chief Bill Bratton confirmed Jackson's body would be taken to the sports arena after family members paid tribute to the star.

He said: "My understanding is that Mr Jackson's remains will be moved to the Staples Center but we're not giving any details at this juncture."

The news added to the Jackson fever currently gripping downtown Los Angeles. Police blocked off roads and warned those without tickets to stay away.

It was not clear where the body would be taken after the ceremony, although it is likely to be taken back to Forest Lawn for burial.

More than one billion people are expected to watch the memorial service.

Thursday 09/07/2009

Voeckler takes stage with perfect move

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler timed his move to perfection to clinch a maiden Tour de France win after an early breakaway surprised the sprinters' teams on Wednesday.

Bouygues Telecom rider Voeckler attacked a group of breakaway riders with less than five kilometres to go in the 196.5-km fifth stage from Cap d'Agde to Perpignan and crossed the line seven seconds ahead of Russian Mikhail Ignatiev.

"I waited for so long for this to happen I had almost ceased to believe in my chances to win a Tour stage," Voeckler told reporters.

Briton Mark Cavendish won the peloton sprint to take third place, also seven seconds adrift of Voeckler, according to provisional results.

Swiss Fabian Cancellara retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after finishing safely in the pack and still leads seven-times champion Lance Armstrong by a fraction of a second.

American Armstrong and Astana teammate Alberto Contador of Spain had a quiet day.
"It was an interesting day. Everybody anticipated the wind with what happened two days ago," Armstrong told reporters.

"We stayed out of trouble."

Frenchmen Anthony Geslin and Voeckler, Belarussian Yauheni Hutarovich, Dutchman Albert Timmer, Ignatiev and Poland's Marcin Sapa broke away in the early stages and built a maximum gap of nine minutes.

Friday 10/07/2009

South Africans surprise on the track

Gladwin Sibabalwe Mzazi and Lungisa Mdedelwa, long distance track runners, caused a major surprise at the 2009 World Student Games in Belgrade on Tuesday when they snatched two of the medals at stake in the 10 000 metres for men.

Mzazi won the gold medal with Mdedelwa third after an exciting rush to the finish. Denys Mayaud of France came second with the three runners finishing within 0.88 sec. His time was 28 min 21.50 sec.

The race was almost a replica of the 2009 SA Championships in Stellenbosch when Mzazi snatched the silver medal from the Transkeian Mdedelwa, who was a close third.

On this occasion both athletes recorded personal bests - Mzazi with 28 min 21.44 sec and Mdedelwa 28:21.52.

At the previous Student Games in 2007, Stephen Mokoka, the current South African champion, surprised by returning home with the bronze medal over the same distance.

The medals are South Africa's first at this year's Games and the first time ever that two South African athletes have managed to win medals in the same event at the Universiade.

The 10 000m race came at the close of a most frustrating day when only one South African athlete had so far managed to advance into a final.

Brits strikes silver for SA

Stefan Brits, the 17-year-old Boland long jumper, won South Africa's first medal of the 5th World Youth Athletics Champions in Bressanone, Italy, on Thursday when he finished second with an excellent jump of 7.57m.

It was only 8cm behind SNA Supanara of Thailand who sealed his win in the second round of the competition with a fine 7.65m.

For the South African, who finished sixth at last year's World Junior (under-20) Championships, it was a true test of his nerves.

He started with a no-jump and at the end of the second round he was only in ninth place.
When lining up for his third jump he knew that he had to produce something special in order to stay in the last eight and also in the competition. He was up to the challenge and produced his best jump to move into second place.

Justine Palframan, 15-year-old 400m runner from KwaZulu-Natal, rated by many experts as one of the brightest prospects in SA women's athletics for many years, lived up to her reputation and convincingly moved into Friday's 400m final.

She was third in her semifinal in 54.90 sec which was the fourth fastest of the three qualifying races. The first two in each heat advanced automatically.

With the other athletes it did not go too well although Rikenette Steenkamp, the Pretoria 100m hurdler, ran extremely well and despite failing to qualify for the final, she had the satisfaction of recording a time of 13.61 sec, the fastest of her career.

She also moved into fifth spot on the SA all time list for under-18 girls.

In the 110m hurdles heats for boys Layne Scheffers and Werner Pretoruis both clocked times of 14.12 but only the former qualified for the semifinals because he was fourth in his heat against the sixth place of Pretorius.

Richmond Collins (100m) also came close to a place in the final but he was fifth in his race in 10.73 sec whereas only the first four advanced.

The well-fancied Jacques de Swardt also had the odds against him in the 400m semis. With a time of 48.29 sec he came nowhere close to his personal best of 46.69 sec and was eliminated after finishing third. Michael Kruger (48.89) was eighth in another race and suffered the same fate.

Other non-qualifiers were Happiness Mkhize (2:15.17) and Masabata Matoane (2:17.87) in the 800 metres; Michael van Aswegen (1:54.00) in the same event for boys; Mfumaneko Fadane who clocked 8 min 36.35 sec in the 3 000m heats; and Siyabonge Derison (1 500m) after an 11th place in his heat and a slow time 4:06.64.

Big incentives for SA runners!

Monday 29/06/2009

Back from last weeks illness ... but it's still brrrr cold!

I always struggled to understand why athletics is not "recognised" as a sport in this country until I took up coaching this month. I was forced to choose 2 of 5 sport electives namely soccer, rugby, cricket, netball and hockey. Already we are taught to go "where the money is".

It's no wonder WPA's athletic structure is in shambles wherein many accredited coaches are working as administrators and not as coaches because the demand for athletic coaches is too small. You have to be the "best" in the business before clubs like Nedbank, Adidas, Mr Price, etc will make you an offer. Now you wonder why SA did so bad at the Olympics! This country is ultra obsessed and doesn't follow the strategies implemented overseas. Most athletes here train while holding down a job and those that do take the small contracts offered, burn out or remain one of the top national runners.

Our athletes immigrate or train overseas because their support system is better. They have athletic programs and training camps that train specifically over 4 years for the Olympics and not within the last 6 months as what happens here.

This year the National Lottery gave a 400 million rand grant for SA's 2012 Olympic challange!

Hosting the big sporting events

The Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, World Cup of Motorsport, Women's World Cup of Golf, African Nations Cup ... If you think South Africa will have any trouble pulling off the 2010 Fifa World Cup, look at the country's track record for hosting major sporting events - and think again.

International events

1995 Rugby World Cup
1996 African Cup of Nations
1996 World Cup of Golf
1998 World Cup of Athletics
2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 President's Cup
2003-2008 Fina Swimming World Cup
2005-2008 Women's World Cup of Golf
2006-2008 A1 Grand Prix Durban
2006 Paralympic Swimming World Champs
2007 World Twenty20 Championships
2010 Fifa World Cup preliminary draw
Red Bull Big Wave Africa
Six-star rated surfing events

Homegrown internationals

Nedbank Golf Challenge
Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour
Giro del Capo
Cape Epic
Comrades Marathon
Two Oceans Marathon
Dusi Canoe Marathon
Surf Ski World Cup

Stumbled upon this rather lengthy Tribute to Arthur Lydiard

As an ardent Lydiard disciple myself, and having modelled my approach to coaching on the man who the American Runner’s World styled “All Time best Running Coach”, I believe that the incident that demonstrated the essence of the man more than any other, occurred in Finland in 1967. Much like South Africa distance runners of today, Lydiard found that despite the proud tradition of Finnish distance running, Finnish athletes had “gone soft, lost their toughness”. Always a coach to lead by example, on his second day in Finland on assignment to revitalise Finnish athletics, Lydiard accompanied the Finnish National Squad on a 30 km training run. Although nearly 50 at the time Lydiard beat all the Finnish squad but one.

Lydiard could not have demonstrated the sorry state of Finnish distance running more eloquently. Nevertheless, his influence on the Finnish coaches was directly responsible for the re-emergence of Finland as a major force in distance running in the 1970’s, with Olympic immortal, Lasse Viren, the flag bearer of the Finnish revival, with his unprecedented 4 Olympic golds in the 5000 metres and 10 000 metres. Lydiard’s coaching principles also produced another generation of world class New Zealand distance runners in the late 1970’s, including world mile and 1500 metre world record holder, John Walker, and world 5000 metres record holder, Dick Quax.

The Finnish precedent has important lessons for South Africa. Like Finland we have an impressive distance running tradition which has fallen into decline. Lydiard came to South Africa with Peter Snell in 1964 and returned in 1979, sponsored by South African Breweries. It is not possible to gauge how much the golden age of South Africa distance running in the 1980’s is attributable to Lydiard’s influence. Not all the great runners of the 1980’s followed Lydiard’s schedules. It is nevertheless significant, as Gilmour’s biography points out, that Zola Budd, certainly the most celebrated athlete of the era, dramatically emerged as a world force, trained on Lydiard principles by her coach, Pieter Labushagne.

Long before Budd’s fateful clash with Mary Decker at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the two were being compared. In a Sports Illustrated article which appeared shortly after Budd’s meteoric rise, Zola’s exposure to Lydiard’s endurance-based system was contrasted with the demanding speed training imposed on Decker in her youth. Referring to Budd’s long Lydiard-style training runs, the article stated:-

“In this she was wonderfully fortunate. Decker, by contrast, has thrown at an early age into hard interval and speed training, voluminous racing. That resulted in promising marks followed by a host of injuries.”

From a South African perspective the destructive training techniques to which Decker was exposed as a precocious junior are still all too prevalent in this country. Excessive pressure on school children and the widespread use of interval and speed training gives South Africa athletics the unenviable distinction of having the highest junior burnout rate in the world. Budd was lucky to have a wise, well-read and well informed coach, who Gilmour records attended one of Lydiard’s seminars in South Africa in 1979.

Using an extremely pure version of Lydiard training I have coached athletes to an array of successes including a place on the South African 2000 Olympic marathon team, three South African senior distance running titles and four silver medals at various South African Championships and no less than 15 provincial athletes.

If it can work for me and scores of other Lydiard-inspired coaches it can work for you.

In twenty first century South Africa, the value of the Lydiard system is demonstrated no where as dramatically as the Wits Sports Academy training group in Diepkloof, Soweto. Their coach, Lungile Bikwani, is a devoted Lydiard follower and like the master, runs with his athletes. He has coached no less than seven South African representatives, including the most exciting junior in the history of South African distance running, Tshamano Setone, the Phalula twins (the first black women to win senior SA 800 metres and 1500 metres titles) and SA junior women’s 800 metres and 4km Cross Country Champion, Violet Raseboya, Abram Khumalo, Thuso Phaswana and Xolisa Tyali.

A telling incident occurred when Bikwani’s junior women athletes took 1, 2, 3 and his junior male athletes took 1, 3 in a development race in Port Elizabeth in 2004. A local official complained to Bikwani that they were depriving the local athletes of medals and prize money. Bikwani responded in a brusque manner reminiscent of the New Zealand master: “Your coaches obviously haven’t heard of Arthur Lydiard”. Predictably the Eastern Province contingent had not, and it showed in the poor results of their athletes.

With the appearance of Arthur Lydiard-Master Coach, now available on the Internet, the current generation of coaches, teachers and physical education instructors have no excuse of being ignorant of Lydiard’s training legacy. As Lydiard said in the biography, “There are champions everywhere - they just need to be properly coached”. Working with champion athletes is the reward that awaits those like Bikwani, who venture along the path Lydiard has so boldly and generously illuminated.

Two more 1 500m stars shine

The explosion in South African 1500m running continued at the Mondo Keien Athletics meeting in Uden, Netherlands, on Saturday when two more men clocked times below 3 min 40 sec for the first time.

Elroy Gelant (22) and Mthombisi Baloyi (24), both from Potchefstroom, took the first two places with respective times of 3 min 38.59 sec and 3 min 39.81 sec and brought the tally of South Africans below 3:40 to nine this year alone -- more than any time in one year.

Gelant, who is in very good shape and just hoping for a fast race, had a previous best time of 3:40.80 while Baloyi's former fastest stood at 3 min 40.06 sec.

A large contingent of South Africans competed at the meeting and did reasonably well.

Another middle distance runner, Molefe Molefe, finished eighth in 3 min 44.13 sec while Edwin Molepo won the 3 000m steeplechase.

Tuesday 30/06/2009

Profile of WPA licenced members

A very disturbing trend is the distribution of ages. In order to place the age distribution in context, the IAAF’s focus is on the following age categories (these are the ages for which World Athletics Championships are held): Youth (or u18, ages 16 & 17), Junior (or u20, ages 18 & 19) and senior (over the age of 16, but generally to the late thirties). World Masters Athletics (and South African Masters Athletics) caters for ages 35 and up.

The following appears from the WPA licence statistics:

Sub Youth -(220 (3%)
Youth – 142 (2%)
Junior – 151 (2%)
20-24 – 349 (2%)
25-29 – 417 (6%)
30-34 – 661 (10%)
35-39 – 934 (14%)
40-44 – 1001 (15%)
45-49 – 1037 (16%)
50-54 – 697 (11%)
55-59 – 466 (7%)
60+ - 438 (7%)
(Info not supplied – 14).

For the IAAF focus ages (16-35) there are only 1720 (26%) licenced athletes. For the WMA focus ages there are 4573 (70%) athletes.

Wednesday 01/07/2009

Five things we've learned from the Confederations Cup

1. South Africa is cold in June

2. Spain are beatable

3. Don't moan about the vuvuzelas

"Those African trumpets?" Xabi Alonso said with a look of genuine disgust. "They make a terrible noise. I don't think it's a very good idea to have them on sale outside the grounds. Here's a piece of advice for Fifa: they should try to ban those things. It's not distracting but that noise is a bit annoying."

It seems like an innocent enough comment. Why, after all, shouldn't Alonso complain if something irks him? But it prompted fury among South African fans and was, it seems, part of the reason why the home crowd got behind the US in their semi-final victory over Spain. "South Africa is a noisy country," blasted a leader in the Daily Sun. "Foreigners should get used to it." A letter in the same paper, meanwhile, accused Alonso of being a modern-day conquistador.

You may know that the idea they're connected to the myth that baboons are killed by loud noise is farcical. You may know that they've only really been around for four or five years. You may despair of people who tell you that they're part of African football (they're not: I've been to three African Cups of Nations and heard the drumming of the Beninois and the Ivorians, the trumpets and trombones of the Nigerians, even the banjo-playing of Ali, the grinning and omnipresent Tunisian, but I'd never heard a vuvuzela until a fortnight ago). You may be driven slowly insane by them. But it's probably best not to mention it.

4. Brazil are better than we thought

5. People are staggeringly friendly, but security is still a concern

Thursday 02/07/2009

Big incentives for SA runners

South Africa's top road runners will have an added incentive to break the stranglehold foreign runners have on major South African competitions when they compete in the Nedbank SA Half Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Apart from the prize money at stake, Athletics South Africa has announced lucrative incentives totalling R480 000 that will be available for South African men and women runners.
This is over and above the customary position prize money which is payable to all runners irrespective of their nationality.

The Championships also serve as trials to select a provisional team to represent South Africa at the IAAF World Half Marathon in Birmingham on October 11.

A new South African record for men or women will be rewarded with an extra R150 000, while men running a sub 61:00 time will net the first runner R75 000 the second R50 000 and the third R30 000.

For women runners to earn these incentives a sub 68:00 time will be required.

A sub 61:30 time for men will earn the first three runners R25 000, R15 000 and R 10 000 while a sub 62:00 will earn the first three runners R8 000, R6 000 and R4 000 respectively.

Women will have to record times of sub 70 minutes and sub 72 minutes respectively to qualify for these incentives.

For top placed junior runners under 62:00 (women under 76:00) R10 000 is available, men under 62:30 (women under 78:00) R7000 and men under 63:00 (women under 80:00) R5000.

"ASA is geared towards motivating its athletes to be top performers. We believe our athletes possess the talent to be amongst the best in the world.

"It is therefore our hope these incentives will help in breaking the monotony of foreign athletes dominating local races," said ASA president, Leonard Chuene.

Kenyan Coach preparing SA marathon runners for World Championships

Athletics South Africa is leaving nothing to chance in the preparation of the marathon athletes who will represent the country at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

The squad has for some time been training at altitude under the guidance of experienced Kenyan coach Danson Muchoki and according to reports from the athletes this initiative by ASA has been a great improvement from past preparations.

ASA has secured the services of Mr. Muchoki as part of its long term strategy to improve the standard of middle and long distance running in the country and to unearth new talent. He had a brief spell preparing the SA team for the World Cross Country Championships in Amman earlier this year and has since focused his attention to the preparation of the marathon squad.

The squad members will be competing at the Nedbank SA Half Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth this weekend as part of their build up to the World Championships.

South Africa’s leading women marathon athlete, Tanith Maxwell, said, “It's been a brilliant opportunity to make use of the international acclaimed training set up at Potchefstroom's High Performance Institute (HPI). The initiative by ASA has put marathon training and marathon running on a new level with exciting prospects for South Africa .”

“In saying that, I must admit that it is challenging being the only female representative. The men have developed into a very strong and positive team and they have been brilliant in their support towards me”.

“I hope that this initiative by ASA would encourage other SA women marathon runners to represent South Africa and hopefully we will be able to field a SA women’s team in the future.”

Meanwhile Coolboy Ngamole who took a three months leave from work and who recently came up tops in the Southern Region half-marathon championships in Comores in April said, “So far so good no problem everything is perfect. Environment, training, facilities and food are perfect. I am aiming for a 62 minutes in Port Elizabeth . If it's my day, I'll win.”

Johannes Kekana had this to say: “The training is good. So far no complaints. The World Championships is the main focus. Anything under 64:30 at the SA Half Marathon Championships will be fine, anything better is a bonus.”

Poppy Mlambo who has been roped in to partner with Maxwell in her preparations also had this to said: “The group is supportive and the spirit is high, I just wish I was part of this team to the world champs. The way the training is going, I can see myself running under 75 minutes in Port Elizabeth . I am aiming for the podium.”

South African long distance runner Norman Dlomo said: “The Kenyan coach knows what he's doing and he knows how to take us where he wants us to go. It is just unfortunate that I am not going to the SA Half Marathon Championships. I was expecting a good performance there but I have a knee injury.”

Chris G

Friday 03/07/2009

Dibaba pulls out of Oslo Golden League meet

Ethiopia's triple Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba will miss Friday's Golden League meeting in Oslo after suffering a minor injury, her manager Mark Wetmore has announced.

Dibaba's absence is a blow for Bislett Games organisers who were billing this second Golden League meet as a showdown between Dibaba and her compatriot Meseret Defar for the world 5 000 metres record.

"She (Dibaba) picked up a minor injury in training on Tuesday which I was only made aware of yesterday (Wednesday)," Wetmore reported.

"I don't think it's serious and Tirunesh will certainly compete in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin (next month)," he said adding that the middle distance star would race somewhere later this month "but we don't know where yet".

The past two seasons have seen hotly-contested battles between bitter rivals Dibuaba and Defar in Oslo.

Two years ago it was 25-year-old Defar who set a blistering pace in cool conditions, slicing eight seconds off her previous best to set a new world record in 14min 16.63sec.

Last year it was the turn of 24-year-old Dibaba, who pushed the record even further (14min 11.15sec) under a warmer 24 degrees celcius.

Despite Dibaba stealing the show at the Beijing Games, winning both the 5 000m and 10 000m, with Defar claiming just a bronze over 5 000m, it is the latter who leads 12 to 11 in their head to heads.

Warm forecasts for the Norwegian capital on Friday evening could however favour the Olympic champion as well as countryman Kenenisa Bekele, also a double titleholder over the same distances at last year's Olympics.

Bekele's thoughts, however, will not be on his world 5 000m record (12:37.35), but a simple victory to put him closer to the one million dollar jackpot awarded to the winner of all six legs of the Golden League series.

If he succeeds, Bekele could share the prize with Russian polevaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who has a margin on her rivals, and American Sanya Richards, who has dominated on the track at the start of this season.

The middle distance looks set for a battle with Sudanese 800m specialist Abubaker Kaki and Kenyan Augustine Choge lining up for the Dream Mile (1609 m).

Kaki holds the two fastest times over the distance, while Choge won the 1,500m in the opening event in the Golden League series in Berlin, with his 3min 29.47sec the best performance over the distance in three years.

In the javelin, Finland's Tero Pitkamaki will be hoping to keep his form after winning the curtain-raiser in Berlin, with his leading rivals Norway's double Olympic champion Andeas Thorkilden and Latvia's Vadims Vasilevskis.

The sprint events have however been hit by scheduling problems which have ruled out the Americans and triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt. But former world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica is set for the date.

Drogba given lengthy European ban

Didier Drogba will miss at least four European matches after being banned for his reaction to Chelsea's Champions League semi-final defeat by Barcelona.

The striker was banned for six games, with two suspended for two years.

Team-mate Jose Bosingwa was banned for three European games, with a further one-match ban also suspended.

Chelsea have three days to appeal and assistant coach Ray Wilkins told BBC Sport he was sure a decision would be made on Thursday.

Both players were found guilty of making insulting comments to the referee by Uefa at the end of the game at Stamford Bridge on 6 May where Barcelona scored an injury-time equaliser which eliminated the Blues from the competition.

Terry urges Chelsea to appeal against Drogba ban.

The club was also fined £85,000 for the improper conduct of its players and the throwing of missiles by their fans.

"They're severe, we do play in an emotional game and it was an emotional evening," Wilkins, speaking about the punishments, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Top 10 marathon women!

Monday 22/06/2009

Being struggling with Anatomy for the past 3 weeks. Being a number person, science is something I just don't get. "help, I need somebody, help ... anybody!"

Top 10 marathon women

Paula Jane Radcliffe

(born on 17 December 1973 in Davenham, Cheshire, England) is a British long-distance runner and current world record holder which she set in a time of 2:17:18 in the Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2002,[9] breaking the previous record by a minute and a half.

Radcliffe's distinctive "nodding" action while running has made her instantly recognisable to British viewers. She is not known for her sprint finish and instead relies on setting a punishing pace from the start in order to pull away from her opponents and open an unassailable gap.

Catherine Ndereba

Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba[1] (born July 21, 1972) is a world class Kenyan marathon runner. She won the Boston Marathon four times and silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008.

Ndereba broke the women's marathon world record in 2001, running 2:18:47 at the Chicago Marathon. In 2008, Ndereba was described by a Chicago Tribune sportswriter as the greatest women's marathoner of all time.[2]



Mizuki Noguchi

Mizuki Noguchi (Japanese: 野口みずき, born July 3, 1978) is a long-distance athlete (track and field) from Japan who won the 2004 Olympic Marathon on the 22 August 2004 in Athens.

To secure the gold medal Noguchi overcame a top-class field which included world record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, and the 2003 world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya.

Irina Mikitenko

Irina Mikitenko, née Volynskaya Russian: Ирина Волынская (Микитенко), born August 23, 1972 in Bakanas, Kazakh SSR) is a German long-distance runner of Kazakh descent. Her most significant success to date is victory in the 2008 Berlin Marathon in 2 hours 19 minutes 19 seconds.

On November 2, 2008, Mikitenko won the jackpot prize of 500,000 $US of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) for the best performer of the five top events in New York, London, Chicago, Berlin and Boston in the last two years. After twelve competitions she was in a tie with Ethopia's Gete Wami with 65 points each, but was awarded the prize, because she had needed only three races to four of Wami, her predecessor in the 2006/2007 series.

Deena Kastor

Deena Michelle Kastor (born Deena Michelle Drossin on February 14, 1973 in Waltham, Massachusetts) is an American long distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. Kastor's most noted accomplishment is winning the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.






Naoko Takahashi

Naoko Takahashi (高橋尚子, Takahashi Naoko?, born May 6, 1972 in Gifu, Japan) is a Japanese long-distance runner competing mainly in the marathon. Best known for her victory in the women's marathon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. At the 2001 Berlin Marathon, Takahashi became the first woman to break the 2 hour 20 minute barrier while setting a world record. That record was broken just one week later by Catherine Ndereba. In the women's marathon event (and not counting multiple records set by the same athlete), she still holds the 7th best time and the 3rd best Japanese marathon performance behind Yoko Shibui (2:19:41) and Mizuki Noguchi (2:19:10). She is related to former Morning Musume leader Yoshizawa Hitomi. She announced her retirement in October 2008.[1]

Kara Goucher

Kara Goucher (born Kara Grgas on 9 July 1978 in Queens, NY) is an American middle and long-distance runner.

When she was 4 years old her family (mother Patty and sisters Kelly and Kendall) moved to Duluth, Minnesota after her father was killed by a drunk driver on the Harlem River Drive. [1]. When her mother remarried, Kara took her stepfather's name, and was known as Kara Wheeler. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, fellow American runner Adam Goucher, and is coached by American running legend Alberto Salazar.

Goucher announced September 10, 2008 she would make her marathon debut at the New York City Marathon on November 2, 2008.[5] She finished in third place in a time of 2:25:53 becoming the first American on the podium since Anne Marie Letko was third in 1994.

She won the 2009 Lisbon Half Marathon [6], and placed third in the 2009 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:32:25.

Joan Benoit

Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the year that the women's marathon was introduced. As a result she was the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics she won the first Olympic women's marathon in a time of 2:24.52 in hot and smoggy conditions, more than a minute ahead of her rivals; again despite surgery, this time arthroscopic surgery on her knee 17 days before the trials earlier that year. The athletes behind her were Grete Waitz, Rosa Mota and Ingrid Kristiansen, all marathon legends in their own right.

Grete Waitz

Grete Waitz (born October 1, 1953) is a former Norwegian marathon runner who won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She also won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland.

When were you first diagnosed with cancer?

In April 2005. I finished a run and felt unusually sluggish. What seemed a standard trip to the doctor, led to the unimaginable. My doctor called me three hours later with my blood work results and told me I had cancer and had to begin treatment immediately.

Constantina Diţă-Tomescu

Constantina Diţă (formerly Constantina Diţă-Tomescu [1] born on January 23, 1970 in Turburea, Gorj County), is a Romanian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She won the women's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 44 seconds. At 38 years of age, she became the oldest Olympic marathon champion in history.

Previously the oldest man to win an Olympic marathon was age 37 and the oldest woman was age 30. She lives and trains at altitude in Boulder, Colorado, and was married to her coach, Valeriu Tomescu, until they divorced in 2008.

The top 10 female marathon times :










Thursday 25/06/2009

Being off sick again after having trouble concentrating and constantly being tense at work.

Physical symptoms of anxiety

Anxiety is more than just a feeling. As a product of the body’s fight-or-flight response, anxiety involves a wide range of physical symptoms. Because of the numerous physical symptoms, anxiety sufferers often mistake their disorder for a medical illness. They may visit many doctors and make numerous trips to the hospital before their anxiety disorder is discovered.

I experienced 7 of the 10 symptoms listed.

Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:

Pounding heart
Sweating
Stomach upset or dizziness
Frequent urination or diarrhea
Shortness of breath
Tremors and twitches
Muscle tension
Headaches
Fatigue
Insomnia

Symptoms of an anxiety attack include:

Surge of overwhelming panic
Feeling of losing control or going crazy
Heart palpitations or chest pain
Feeling like you’re going to pass out
Trouble breathing or choking sensation
Hyperventilation
Hot flashes or chills
Trembling or shaking
Nausea or stomach cramps
Feeling detached or unreal

Dopers curtailed my career - Malherbe

The careers of four South African sprinters could have taken entirely different directions had it not been for a doping offender at the 1999 World Athletics Championships in Seville, Spain.

That's the view of Arnaud Malherbe, a member of South Africa's 4X400 metre relay team which finished fourth in the final, setting a national record 3:00.20.

Last year, Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the victorious US team, admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs when he testified against his former coach, Trevor Graham, at Graham's trial during the infamous Balco scandal.

And on Monday - almost ten years after the race - Athletics South Africa (ASA) announced the South African quartet would be awarded the bronze medals for their performance in Seville.

But joint South African 400m record holder Malherbe believes his career and those of his teammates could have been far more lucrative had it not been for drug cheats.

Malherbe, Hendrik Mokganyetsi (who shares the South African record of 44.59 seconds with Malherbe), Jopie van Oudtshoorn and Adriaan Botha never experienced the glory associated with stepping on a podium at a global championship.

But Malherbe said he hadn't really thought about that. What really bugs him is that drug cheats stunted his career.

"That year, I was ranked ninth in the world," Malherbe said on Tuesday.

"Ahead of me in the rankings there were four guys who later admitted to drug use, which means I would have been ranked fifth that year.

"The money would have made a big difference, but apart from that, the following year I might have been invited to every Golden League meeting and I would have been racing against guys like Michael Johnson every week.

"Maybe the SA record would be 43-something instead of 44-something now. It would have made a huge difference to all four of us and probably would have extended our careers."

But Malherbe, who commended ASA on organising the medals so soon after he and Mokganyetsi had suggested an investigation into the matter, isn't going to let it bother him that he never stood with his teammates on the bottom rung of the podium.

"There's no point in having regrets," he said, " that's beyond our control. I did everything I could and I raced as hard as I could."

And while Malherbe won't have the medal placed around his neck in a packed Estadio Olimpico, he has finally achieved the one thing he felt was missing from his illustrious career.

ASA general manager Molatelo Molehopo said on Tuesday the quartet would receive their medals at a ceremony although a date has yet to be decided.

"From my personal standpoint, I had quite a long career, and we came close so many times to winning a medal at a major international championship," Malherbe said.

"I felt like that was the only thing missing from my career, so I'm very pleased."

Friday 26/06/2009

Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50 (1958 - 2009)

Michael Jackson had been planning to start a series of comeback concerts in London and had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. Promoters of the shows said in March that he had passed a lengthy physical examination.

Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50.

Richards impresses in Berlin opener!

Monday 15/06/2009

Richards impresses in Berlin opener

American sprint queen Sanya Richards ran the fastest women's 400m of the season at Berlin's Golden League opener in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday to throw down the challenge to Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu.

With the world championships to be held here in Berlin in August, Richards blitzed around Berlin's Olympic Stadium track in 49.57secs to show Britain's Beijing champion Ohuruogu what she has to beat to claim world gold.

I came here to run fast, I didn't even go shopping before the race, so I saved all my energy for this race," joked the American.

"I am really forward to coming back in August and leaving Berlin with gold."
Richards made no secret she was disappointed to lose to the Brit in Beijing, but 24-year-old Richards has been world number one since 2005 and is eager to underline her consistent form with the world crown here later this summer.

A share of the million dollar jackpot is up for grabs for any athlete in the ten jackpot events who win all six Golden League meetings.

Kenyan middle-distance runner Pamelo Jelimo was the outright millionaire winner last season, but one-lap specialist Richards is on track to become only the second woman to capture a piece of the Jackpot for a third time.

World high-jump champion Blanka Vlasic is already out of the running after she was beaten by local hero Ariane Friedrich, the European indoor champion.

To the crowd's delight, Friedrich leapt 2.06m to set a new German record and claim victory in a bitter defeat for Vlasic who also lost out to the 25-year-old in Brussels' Golden League meet last year to be denied her share of the jackpot.

While triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt passed over his chance to claim a share of the million dollar jackpot, opting to run 10.00secs in Canada over the weekend, his training partner Daniel Bailey took the men's 100m here.

"I came here to win this race, so I can't be disappointed," said Bailey after his win.

"I came here sick and I am recovering from 'flu, so my time is alright.

"The track feels fast and I am sure I can go faster at the world championships."

Large field expected in NYC Marathon

A field of more than 40 000 is expected to participate in the 40th running of the ING New York City Marathon on November 1.

New York Road Runners announced the largest field ever on Wednesday. For the second consecutive year, the marathon attracted more than 100 000 applicants for the five-borough race.

Race director Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners, says "breaking the 100 000-applicant mark again, in the midst of a recession, speaks volumes" to the importance of running in people's lives.

Thursday 18/06/2009

Mokoena makes it three wins in a row

Khotso Mokoena, South Africa's leading athlete, made it three in a row when he won the long jump at the 48th Golden Spike IAAF Grand Prix in Ostrava, Czech Republic, before a large excited crowd on Wednesday night.

It was not only his third successive win in Europe but he also recorded exactly 8.33m for the third time in a row and once again missed his own national record by six centimetres.

The victory jump, achieved in the second round, was his only legal effort of the competition.
Apart from Mokoena's fine win by 14cm from Frenchman, Sadim Sdiri, three South Africans also qualified for the World Championships in Berlin in August.

Samson Ngoepe caused a major surprise when he lowered his personal best in the 800 metres to 1 min 45.17 sec. while former world junior champion javelin thrower, Robert Oosthuizen, managed the entry mark for the first time with a distance of 81.18m.

He finished third behind Mark Frank of Germany (83.51) and Tom Goyvaerts of Belgium (82.25), and with Ngoepe brought the tally of South African qualifiers to 13.

Sunette Viljoen, Commonwealth champion in the javelin, achieved her second qualifier of the year by finishing fourth with 61,13m in the midst of four of the best women in the world.

She managed a throw of 58.61m in the opening round but had to wait for her final effort before she unleashed her best ever throw outside South Africa and managed to finish ahead of the German star, Steffi Nerius.

Ngoepe recorded his fine win in the 800m B-race before the main programme started and earned him a fifth place overall on the day.

The A race was won by David Rudisha of Kenya in a fast 1 min 44.09 sec.

Ngoepe, who is running better in every outing, had won two 800m races during the last eight days with times of 1:46.47, on June 9 in Sweden and 1:46.22 in Leiden, Holland, last Saturday.

His special effort in Ostrava was only his second race below 1 min 46 sec and will surely enable him to start with Mbulaeni Mulaudzi in the World Championships.

Thuso Mpuang, African 200m champion, failed to get close to his best form, in both sprints. He first managed only 21.14 sec in the 200m and then also finished last in the 100m B-race clocking 10.68 sec.

Wouter le Roux, 2009 SA champion, ran well in the 400m hurdles and was well placed until the closing stage of the race when he struck the final hurdle to finish seventh in 51.70 sec.

Friday 19/06/2009

Wrote and passed the WPA coaching exam along with the experienced Jagrunners.

Slept late this morning after feeling very run down yesterday. Today I look like crap and can't stop sneezing. So much for tomorrow's league race, crosscountry and coaching administration duties!

Our under 11 and 15 girls are keeping the Titans XC flag flying high!

Van Zyl qualifies for Berlin!

Tuesday 09/06/2009

10 seconds of fame

It's the biggest 10 second event in sports, and has been since Jim Hines cracked the 10 second barrier, running 9.95 seconds in the 1968 Olympic final. This record stood for 15 years, until Calvin Smith ran 9.93 seconds in 1983. Since then, the sub-10 second times have come thick and fast. Six sprinters finished in times under 10 seconds at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo: Carl Lewis (9.86), Leroy Burrell (9.9, Dennis Mitchells (9.91), Linford Christie (9.92), Frank Fredericks (9.95) and Ray Stewart (9.96). The fastest current time is 9.69 seconds, set by Usain Bolt at the Beijing Olympics.

Source : SA Sports Illustrated

May 23rd - 24th May 2009 - Double Comrades - 20hrs 30 mins

Comrades is South Africa's (possibly the worlds) best known road ultra. Its a 90km (56 miles) race from Durban to Pietermaritzburg (Up run) or the other way round (down run). Although there is an up year and a down year there is nothing but hills in this race and I mean hills!

I wanted to do something slightly different - I ran both ways. On the afternoon of the 23rd May I ran the 90km to PMB - 9hrs 50 minutes (up run) had a quick massage, something to eat then set off with everyone else at 5.30am on the main event Comrades Marathon running back to Durban (down run). I did this in a time of 10hrs 40 minutes making me the first female to have completed a Double Comrades - 180km (112 miles).

Van Zyl qualifies for Berlin

LJ van Zyl, Olympic finalist in the 400m hurdles, became South Africa's 11th A-qualifier for the World Championships in Berlin in August by finishing second in the 400m hurdles at the Jozef Odlozil Memorial athletics meeting in Prague on Monday with a fast 48.78 sec, a time well inside the required Berlin entry mark of 49.20 sec.

Sunette Viljoen, Commonwealth champion, enjoyed a very good meeting finishing second in the javelin with a fine last throw of 60.99m and the best of her career outside South Africa.

Local heroine, Olympic champion and world record-holder, Barbora Spotakova, won the contest with a huge best effort measuring 68.23m.
Viljoen, who had qualified for Berlin early in the year, also had a good opening throw of 60.24m.
Running in lane five, the 23-year-old Van Zyl, easily accounted for the apparent main threat, Danny McFarlane of Jamaica but did not reckon with David Green of Great Britain who surprised everyone, to snatch victory in a personal best 48.62 sec.

Van Zyl had reason to feel pleased with his performance and first run below 49 sec this year.

His previous best of 2009 was his 49.68 sec in Germiston three months ago.

Ramaala still hungry for national titles

Following the boost in confidence he received from a superb performance at the London Marathon in April, Hendrick Ramaala has set his sights on regaining the South African half-marathon title.

Ramaala was, at one stage, one of the best half-marathon runners in the world - he won silver medals at the 1998 and 1999 World Half-Marathon Championships - but his focus has since changed.

He made his debut over 42,2km with a fifth place finish in 2:09.43 at the 2000 London Marathon and the classic distance was bumped to top spot on his racing agenda.

Ramaala's real breakthrough came in 2004 when he became the second South African - after Willie Mtolo - to win the New York Marathon, and the following year he was pipped at the post after a sprint finish with his old rival from Kenya, Paul Tergat.

At the 2006 London race he was third, only 14 seconds behind winner Felix Limo, in 2:06.55 which remains his career best time.

But last year was the worst performance-wise in Ramaala's distinguished career. He was tenth in London in 2:11.44 and at the Beijing Olympics he limped home in 44th place in the slow time - even in the tough conditions - of 2:22.43.

The 37-year-old, however, returned with renewed vigour to finish fifth at the London race in April in 2:07.44 - the second fastest time of his career.

And while Ramaala knows he can't compete against the best in the world over 21,1km any more, he hopes to continue challenging for national titles at shorter distances while he focuses on improving his performances over the full marathon.

"I believe I can win a major marathon in the next two years," Ramaala said on Monday.
"I will keep trying hard and I will carry on until the 2012 Olympics. We'll see what happens after that."

Ramaala will line-up at the start of the Nedbank Matha Series Half-Marathon in Nelson Mandela Bay, which incorporates the South African Half-Marathon Champions, on July 4. Last year, he was second at the nationals behind Stephen Mokoka.

"I'm still recovering from London," Ramaala said. "My hamstrings were shattered after that race so I'm not in my best shape.

"But I know at my best I can run under 62 minutes and the nationals are still four weeks away so I will push to get myself in that kind of shape."

Ramaala won't line-up at the World Championships in Berlin in August, but he will run a marathon later this year - probably in New York or Chicago.

And if he can use the shorter races at home to get himself back to his best, he could prove to his critics that he still has what it takes to beat the best in the world. He certainly believes it himself.
Thursday 11/06/2009

Cronje a qualifier, LJ a winner

South African athlete Johan Cronje ran a superb race at an international meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece on Wednesday night to become the third South African athlete to reach the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in the 1500 metres.

Cronje, who throughout the race had a battle with Kenya's Gideon Gathimba and Bahrain's Bilal Mansour Ali, finished third in a personal best time of three min 35.11sec to join Juan van Deventer and Peter van der Westhuizen as South African athletes who have reached the A qualifying time of 3:36.20s for the World Championships.

Gathimba won the race in 3: 34.72s with Ali second in 3:35.05s. Tshamano Setone lost contact with the leading group early in the race and finished in 3:42,26s.

In Bydgoszcz, Poland, LJ van Zyl had sweet revenge against Britain's David Greene in the 400m hurdles when he narrowly beat the Briton into second place.

Van Zyl produced another scintillating run and set his best time this season of 48,71s. Greene was awarded the same time.

Meanwhile, at the Folksam meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, Samson Ngoepe won the 800 metres in 1:46.47s to better the IAAF B qualifying standard for the World Championships.

Bolt wins Laureus World Sportsman Award

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for his record-breaking performance in the Beijing Olympics.

Bolt became the first man to win gold in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400-metre relay in world record times in the same Olympiad.

He received the award from Laureus World Sports Academy member Michael Johnson on Wednesday, the eve of the Festival of Excellence track and field meet in Toronto.

The other nominees for the award were: Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps; Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal; motor sport racers Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi; and Portugal and Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Friday 12/06/2009

Keen competition expected at Youth Champs

Some 150 athletes from 11 of the 14 Southern Region countries will be in action in the Southern Region Youth Track and Field athletics championships which will be held at LC De Villiers Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Championships will be the last opportunity for athletes to impress the selectors to make the final team to the IAAF World Youth Championships, which will be held in Bressanone, Italy, in July.

The competition serves as a prelude to the World Youth Championships and fireworks can be expected from the competing athletes.

South Africa have selected a strong team of 24 boys and 20 girls for the event and they will make a strong challenge in their bid to top the medal table.

Included in the team are a number of athletes who are ranked amongst the top ten in the world.

Jacques de Swart is ranked third in the 400m, Mfumaneko Fadane is fourth in the 3 000m, Stefan Brits, fifth in the long jump, Simone Meyer sixth in the discus and Justine Palframan is ranked 15th in the 200m and seventh in 400m.

"We are grateful to South Africa for stepping in to host these Championships which were originally scheduled for Namibia. The Championships moved to South Africa after the Namibian Federation was suspended by the IAAF at the end of April because of internal squabbles," said president of the Southern Region athletics, Leonard Chuene.

"We are also pleased with the eleven member countries who have entered to compete in this event and I am confident we will continue to see an improvement in the standard of athletics in the Region," concluded Chuene.

The Championships will start at 9 am and the last event will take place at 4.40pm.

Titans silver lining!

Titans spotted doing Comrades 2009!

Two 1 500m runners qualify for Berlin

Monday 01/06/2009

I'm starting to develop small white spot on my chest, arms and back. Family and friends who haven't seen me in a while all commented about my excessive weight loss.

Why white spots skin? Top treatment for white spots skin

1, Why white spots skin?

Pityrosporum orbiculare, the yeast that causes tinea versicolor (white spots skin), is present in small numbers on normal skin; regular washing rids the skin of dead skin cells as well as excess yeast. But it can grow in great amounts during the summer months when humidity sky-rockets or when a person\'s immune system is weakened and interfere with the normal pigmentation of the skin; resulting in unsightly spots in both light and dark colors.

Teens and young adults, regardless of skin color, are the usual victims of white spots skin, and those with oily skin may be more prone to it than those with dry skin. In tropical countries, where humidity and temperature are persistently elevated, people of all ages can suffer from these spots all throughout the year.

2, Symptoms of white spots skin

Flat spots that range in color from white to pink to tan and brown appear over the upper arms, chest, back, neck and face. They vary greatly in size, from as small as four to five millimeters in diameter to large areas of confluence. Scaling may not be readily evident, but scales may easily be obtained by scraping the affected areas. A mild itch may be present, particularly if a person is sweating or feels hot. When the spots involve the neck or face, it can be very disconcerting.

3, Top treatment for white spots skin

If you believe you have white spots or any discolorations of the skin, see a dermatologist. The appearance of the skin is often all that is required to clinch a diagnosis, but microscopic examination of the fine scales can be performed if necessary. When viewed under a special light or chemical preparation, the presence of the yeast can be confirmed. Besides, there are some tips for treatment as follows:

The reasons for Leprosy/Leukoderma(white spots) is excess heat and non-perspiration through certain parts of the skin and less functioning of liver.

As more and more toxins gather under that part of skin, the nerves ending at that place become dead and numbness is found on that particular part of the skin and the colour of the patch changes to white.

When this is not treated at the right time and when proper nourishment is not taken or when the Adrenal glands are not functioning properly, the other ends of the nerves situated in the hands or feet get affected and their deterioration starts.

Later on when lymph glands work less, these affected parts of the hands and feet become septic and pus starts oozing out and then other parts of the body, especially nose, etc. are also affected.

Two 1 500m runners qualify for Berlin

Two South African 1500m runners, Juan van Deventer (26) and Peter van der Westhuizen (24), qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August with brilliant performances and personal best times at an IAAF Grand Prix meeting in New York on Saturday night.

Finishing second and fourth respectively they clocked times of 3 min 34.30 sec and 3 min 35.33 sec behind Leonel Manzana of the United States (3:34.14) who just managed to hold off the tall Van Deventer who placed seventh in last year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

Henoh Legesse of Ethiopia (3:34.42) separated the South Africans.

Van Deventer improved his time in fourth place on the SA All Time list but Van der Westhuizen escalated from 13th to fifth.

He is enjoying a sensational season and has improved his fastest time since the beginning of the year (3:41.17) by almost eight seconds.

The IAAF A standard for Berlin is 3 min 36.20 sec. Both these two SA stars were beaten by Johan Cronje at the 2009 SA Championships.

Ramaala’s rant rejected

Hendrik Ramaala’s recent claims that he is owed money from SASCOC have no substance.
Ironically, Ramaala was the only athlete in a select group to financially receive funding from SASCOC in 2008.

SASCOC CEO Tubby Reddy confirmed that South African Sports National Governing Body had attempted to get Ramaala and several other prominent athletes additional funding in January 2008, pre the Beijing Olympics, but it proved unsuccessful.

SASCOC officials, 18 months ago, met individually with the athletes listed below in an effort to secure funding over and above the support they were getting from their federations and lottery funding.

Reddy: ‘We indicated to them categorically that we were trying to secure these funds from lottery after discussion with the Chair of the Distribution agency for Sport at the NLDTF. We indicated that we would let them know once we have confirmation from the lottery on this ruling.

‘We made the application and was informed that it was approved by the Agency but unfortunately was turned down by the Lotteries Board.

‘On learning of this we indicated this to the athletes and in marathoner Hendrik Ramaala’s case we even went further and allocated him R100 000 towards his preparation over and above the monthly Opex grant. As an Opex (Operation Excellence) athlete he benefited from SASCOC an amount of R310 000 which was separate to whatever support that ASA (Athletics South Africa) gave him from their Lottery allocation.

‘The athletes spoken to in this regard who were told that we were attempting to secure these funds were: Khotso Mokoena, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, Ramaala, LJ Van Zyl, Alwyn Myburgh, Justin Robbesen, Ryk Neethling, Roland Schoeman, Suzaan van Biljon, Lyndon Ferns, Gerhard Zandberg, Donovan Cech, Ramon Di Clemente and Shaun Rubenstein.’

Reddy said much had changed in the last 18 months, and singled out the funding secured for the athletes included in the provisional Olympic and Paralympic squads.

This week in Johannesburg SASCOC released the squad of provisional Olympic and Paralympic athletes for London.

‘We have put our faith in the respective Federations as this is a programme designed to benefit each Federation,’ said SASCOC president Gideon Sam.

‘Funds have been made available from the National Lottery to specifically prepare our Olympic and Paralympic campaign and that includes the funding of the two respective provisional squads.’

All the athletes will be interviewed individually and the financial support, among all other necessary support, will be confirmed to them on completion of their Games’ build-up plan.

Celebrity Runner Lance Klusener

He is aggressive, powerful and an in-your-face kind of competitor. You wouldn’t picture him having the patience to grind out a half marathon. But he has. Find out why Lance runs.

Big-hitting cricketer Lance Klusener was one of the most dangerous batsmen to ever play the game but has traded his competitive streak for the joy of running. Klusener and his wife, Isabelle, recently completed the Old Mutual Two Oceans Half Marathon in 2:14.

For Klusener, his newfound love for the sport has as much to do with spending time with his wife as it does with having a good time.Klusener became a fan favourite among South Africans following his heroics at the 1999 World Cup. His career average of 41.1 in one-day internationals, combined with his strike rate of 89.9, made him one of the most dangerous batsmen to ever play the game. He was voted Man of the Tournament during the 1999 World Cup and was voted Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2000.

He currently spends most of his time on the golf course and has just completed a season in the Indian Cricket League where he plays Twenty20 for the Royal Bengal Tigers.But in running, Klusener shrugs off any suggestions of a competitive nature, aims to break the two-hour mark in the half marathon and believes that runners may even drink more beer than cricketers…

You are known for your aggressive batting and fast-medium seam bowling. Does your competitive side come out when you’re running?

No, my competitive streak is on the golf course at the moment. I accompany my wife when she runs her races. It’s nice to run along with her. She trains hard and runs as hard as she can and I try to keep up. I’m not too motivated to try to run anything super fast right now. One goal we have is to run the 21 in two hours or less. We didn’t manage it this year but it took us about 10 minutes just to get over the starting line. But we had a great time and we’ll certainly be back.

Have you done any other road races?

The half marathon is the furthest I’ve been. We’ve run a few locally organised races here in Durban. We haven’t ventured too much further than 21. I think further than that is a different league. To run further and still be able to walk the next day would take some serious training.

Any other races on your calendar?

Not as yet, actually. I think we’ll do a couple of local races where we won’t have to travel too far. Maybe Maritzburg or Durban, but there isn’t one we’ve pencilled in so far. We really enjoyed ourselves at the Two Oceans. It was a great experience for me and we had an excellent time. We went to register at the expo, went to the Waterfront, did all the tourist things and then enjoyed our run. It was quite nice to be able to do that.

Who drinks more beer, cricketers or runners?

I think I’m going to have to say runners (laughs).

What’s better, hitting six sixes in an over or running a 10km personal best?

Obviously for me, it’s my business to hit sixes and I’ve got the ability to do that. Whether I can run a fast 10K, I’m not sure I can. I haven’t got too competitive with running times, but I certainly enjoy the sport and running with everyone else. The jokes and the laughs that come in the back of the pack is great fun. I enjoy that.

Which sportsman do you most admire?

Mmm, you know, I play a lot of golf with (1985 Wimbledon finalist) Kevin Curren, and I followed his career for a long time. He lives here in Durban and I must say I have fond memories of sitting back and watching him play as a kid. I admired the way he played Wimbledon and other tournaments. Ja, I’ve got a soft spot for Kevin. Cricket wise, we played a lot of our cricket here with Malcolm Marshall and he was just a fantastic cricketer. I think if you can look up to a lot of people and take a little bit from everyone then that’s the way to go.

What’s in your fridge?

Fresh fish I caught this morning. My hands are full of fish. I’m trying to fillet it and everything. I think the next person to speak on this phone is going to have a smelly phone (laughs).

What can you not live without?

I think the sea, hey. It’s nice to have the sea around. I can go fishing and relax and the family enjoys it. It’s a nice day out for everyone.

So how does running a half marathon compare to a round of golf?

With a bad round like today, I’d run any day. But I’m a keen golfer and I’m trying to take it reasonably seriously. For me, the best part of a race is when you get over the finish line. It’s like going to gym, when you get in the shower, that’s the best part. And certainly with running it’s a good achievement for me to run a race and be able to walk the next day. It’s something we’re going to do a lot more of, I think.

Do you still enjoy playing competitive cricket?

Yes, I play in India. The Twenty20 gives us old dogs a chance to keep playing.

What do you think of the recent IPL tournament in South Africa?

I think it’s fantastic. It’s so nice to see guys like Gilchrist and Hayden and guys that, you know, gave up a little while ago. It’s nice to see them back and hitting the ball. It’s like they haven’t dropped the bat. I’ve enjoyed that.
















Tuesday 02/06/2009

Wittstock starts well in Germany

Four South African athletes, Estie Wittstock (400m), and three of the fastest 1500m runners of 2009, rendered an encouraging showing at the 45th Annual Athletics Festival in Rehlingen, Germany on Monday.

Wittstock (29) won one of the two 400m races in 52.34 sec while SA champion Johan Cronje, underestimated his own strength after an almost 2 month lay-off and had to settle for second place in the metric mile in 3 min 40.01 sec.

Kenyan William Biwott was an easy winner in a fast 3 min 37.08 sec.
Pharson Magagane of Limpopo, a bright new face on the SA athletics scene, and Tshamano Setone, a versatile 22-year-old Johannesburg star, who excelled as a junior, followed Cronje past the winning post in third and fourth positions. Their respective times were 3 min 41.13 sec and 3:41.50.

Wittstock, who had been sidelined by a series of injuries, recorded her second fastest time since 2006. Morne Nagel, who had not been competing since 2008, started his season over 400 metres with a time of 48.01 sec, third in his race and seventh fastest overall.

Wedneday 03/06/2009

Mariah jets in as the stars come out to play at Sol's hotel

One of my friends, Sieraaj and his colleque Clayton were fortunate to meet Mariah as she flew in to attend the launch of Sols new One and Only resort. I'm no longer a HBF member so missed the twitter she posted on the internet.












Thursday 04/06/2009

Prize money at over $7 million for Worlds

The international athletics federation will offer more than $7 million (€5 million) in prize money at the world championship in August in Berlin.

The top eight finishers in each individual event will get between $60 000 (€42 230) for the winner and $4 000 (€2 815) for the eighth-place competitor.

Prizes for relay events will range from $80 000 (€56 310) to $4 000 (€2 815) per team.
The IAAF will pay out a total of $7.3 million (€5.14 million). The top six men's and women's marathon finishers will split an additional bonus of $142 000 (€99 950), with the winners getting an extra $20 000 (€14 080).

In addition, any world record will be worth $100 000 (€70 390). The IAAF said 202 of the 213 member federations have declared their intention to participate at the August 15-23 championship.

SA's fastest man may soon face Bolt

South Africa’s fastest man, Simon Magakwe, dreams about running against the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt and that will become a reality very soon.

Over the next six weeks, Magakwe will join Bolt at the starting block. But he won’t be competing with the world champion -- Magakwe will be learning about real speed from the Jamaican lightning bolt.

Bolt surprised people across the world last year at the Olympic Games in Beijing when he won the 100m in a world record time of 9,69 seconds and then went on to set up a new world record in the 200m (19,30 sec).

Decision-makers at the Jamaican Athletics Federation were moved and impressed when they heard the story of Magakwe. The speedster is so poor that he arrived at the South African meet in Stellenbosch with his clothes in a plastic bag and won the 100m at the SA senior event in second-hand running shoes.

His winning time was 10,21sec. It was the first time in almost ten years that a South African athlete set such a fast time.

Only eight South African athletes have been faster over 100m.

Jamaica’s athletics authorities contacted Leonard Chuene, chairperson of Athletics South Africa (ASA) and invited Magakwe to join Bolt and his training mates as they prepare in Jamaica for the World event in Berlin.

An ASA official said that Magakwe couldn’t stop smiling after he met Bolt. “It looked like he had stars in his eyes.”

There is a good chance that Magakwe will at least run once against Bolt in an official race.

There are plans for Magakwe to take part in a few races in Europe in July.

It is quite unbelievable how quickly Magakwe’s life has changed since March.

The athlete from Carletonville does not have much. His only income is the bit of money that he makes by taking photographs for ID books.

There is no money for running shoes. Fortunately, Hezekiel Sepeng, the Olympic medal winner, heard of his dilemma and gave him a pair of shoes three years ago.

Thirty-Six in a Row...

Mention the word Comrades and the club Jeppe in one sentence and most runners will ask you if you know Barry Holland. The man is an icon when it comes to the Comrades Marathon and rightfully so, as he has run 36 consecutive Comrades Marathons.

That’s right. It is as incredible as it sounds.I met Barry at Doppio Zero in Bedfordview to discuss how he has managed to achieve this amazing feat. At an age (57) where most people are starting to consider retirement, Barry has the strength and character of a young man just starting out in life. When considering the silver, Barry gets a spring in his already large stride.

I have recently had the privilege of running several training runs with Barry and can confirm that he is one of the most approachable runners on the road. Nothing is too small for the big man. He openly shares his experiences and gives advice that has the potential to change many people’s running lives. I sat down for a coffee and prepared to find out more about Barry.

How old were you and what influenced you to start running?I first decided to run Comrades at 18 but got bored with all the training, so I didn’t do my first one until I was 20. As a Durban boy, you are destined to run Comrades. It’s in your DNA. I started running with Regent Harriers. It was not an official club; just a famous group of people that ran from Regent Place in Durban.

Did you ever dream you would go on to run 36 consecutive races and what has kept you coming back?No, I never thought I would. I just loved it so much that it became a way of life. The training and camaraderie have been the biggest factors. The Comrades is actually a pain on the day but getting there is great. I became a victim of having done a down run, then being challenged to do the up. Then, I went on to get five. Before I knew it, I was chasing my green number at ten and so it went on!

This year is your 37th. How has your training been and what time are you aiming for?

Training has gone exceptionally well this year, better than the last few. I will run under eight hours.

How many more do you think you have left in you?

Difficult question. I am definitely going to do 40; that’s a given. I will go to 42 so I can run my wife’s 20th with her. From there, it’s up to the big man upstairs.

Could you imagine ever watching Comrades on TV?

No, I was running Comrades before TV came out, so I have never watched the race and I have no desire to watch it.

What is your most memorable Comrades and which would you like to forget?

Phew, that’s quite hard. A bunch stick out. Must be my 6:29:22 in 1991. It was as fast and as far as I could go in my talent limit and I achieved what I could do with the talent I have. Most memorable is also the famous Holland roll, when I fell over. It was captured in a series of photos of me getting over the line and trying to stop my watch as the officials signalled for the medics. It made the front page of most newspapers around the country. In terms of a horrible run, my last attempt at a silver in 2007 sticks out. It was the realisation that in all likelihood, the days of running a silver were potentially over for me. But never say ‘never’. I am getting a bit madala now and it’s getting harder, but who knows?

Any special medals?

I was the first guy at Jeppe to get ten silvers, which are all framed. The rest are scattered all over the place.

Are you racing the clock or the course?

Both. Only the top ten race just the clock. The rest is you against the course and the clock combined. You’re always fighting the course but you should set yourself a time goal. It is always your personal achievement you’re chasing.

You’re not built like a traditional ultra-distance runner.

At 6ft3 with a strong frame, how have you managed to stay healthy and get to the start line every year?A couple of factors contribute to it, like genetic luck. You can’t choose your parents; you get given the genes you get. I think I am biomechanically sound, which is just luck. I also take a good rest after Comrades every year. Most runners come back too soon. Comrades is exceptionally damaging, especially the down run. I throw my takkies in the cupboard for two months after each race. Also, I have always been a very sensible runner. Every time I have been injured, I can relate it back to a specific incident of stupidity and have learned to avoid these errors over the years.

Have you ever had a bad injury and thought you might not make it to the start line?

One year I picked up a calf injury in January at the Johnson Crane 21. It was caused by not warming up and starting too fast with Bradley. I tore my calf. Linda Oliver (physio) treated me and told me to take three weeks off, which is very hard in the peak of Comrades training, but I was sensible and listened and made it to the start. Listening to professionals and your body is key!

You have 22 silvers. This means performing at the highest level for over three decades. At 57, do you think there are more silvers out there for you?

My first silver was in my fourth Comrades and I got the last one about five years ago. If I am honest, the answer is no, but I never say never. With the bunch of guys I run with at Jeppe, I’m always being pushed and challenged, so let’s see.

You must have met some real characters on the road in your training and racing days. Who sticks out and why?

Malcolm Marsh; he was such a tough runner from the mounted police in Rhodesia. I ran Two Oceans with him where he ran his PB for 21km, 32km, the marathon and Oceans all on the same day. I didn’t think he could do it, as the Oceans silver is so tough. It’s a real man’s silver. Theo Jackson was the ultimate character. He was the founder of Jeppe and a very close personal friend. He made sarcasm an art form. He was one of the funniest guys you could ever meet, with a super sharp brain and was very quick to give nicknames to everybody.

My nickname was Long Street, the blind detective in an old TV series. I am blind in one eye, so Theo was quick to christen me. I enjoyed racing Clive Gilman, an incredibly talented athlete. He was a Trident (rowing Springbok). We ran silver at Oceans together, Comrades together and sub 2:50 marathons together. He had the most fantastic style I have ever seen on a runner. He taught me a great lesson – learn to give your pressure and pain away to the crowd. This helped me through many bad patches on the roads over the years.

How many kilometres do you train in an average preparation for Comrades?

Roundabout 2 000km from January to race day, plus another 1 000 in the off-season.
This means you have run over 110 000km over the last 37 years, all without a major service!I reckon I have completed my fourth trip around the world. The circumference of the world is only 25 000km.

This year is a down run. What are the key sectors of the race for you?

Comrades is fascinating, because down and up are so different. On the down run, the first half is very forgiving. The hardest section is from the back of Inchanga to Hillcrest; from Hillcrest to Pinetown is the most amazing racing country. If you have it in your legs, this is the section you’re going to run your time. It’s all downhill. On the down run, Comrades starts in Pinetown.

It’s 70km of warm up and 20km of racing. You have very tired legs at this point and it’s a matter of survival. It’s very sore from Pinetown home.

You have a very successful professional life. What effect has running had on this?

I think a great effect from the perspective of the discipline you have to have in long distance running is transported across to business life and you have to have discipline in business life to be successful.

What do you enjoy most about running these days?

The stuff in the mornings. It’s great. I really love helping guys. I enjoy writing the programmes, keeping guys motivated and improving. I love it. I tried to retire one day after 32 Comrades. I said, that’s it, had a big ‘snot en trane’ session and got a great 3 litre bottle of Meerlust wine from my club. When it got to the 11th hour, I couldn’t do it. I just didn’t know what to do with myself. I got irritable. Comrades was just too much a part of my life. I have never opened the wine but reckon I deserve it after my 40th.

You have a wealth of experience. Any words of advice for somebody considering taking up the sport and wanting to run their fi rst Comrades?

Come and run at Jeppe.

Any races you still want to run?

I would love to run Boston. I’ve never been there so it’s still a box that needs to be ticked.

Barry Holland certainly is on a roll; long may it last.

Well done Comrades runners!

Wednesday 27/05/2009

Not so long ago I mentioned that my blog wouldn't be updated as often as before.

I enjoyed the coverage of the mens race wherein the top 3 changed positions, but it was Leonard's priceless expression when the Zimbabwen Stephen Muzhingi passed him after he thought he had another win in the bag!

Big congrats to the Titans runners that did exceptionally well this year at Comrades! Spotted quite a few on tv. Some ran pb's while John collected a silver :-)













Enjoyed my first run, since Two Oceans, in Darling on Saturday. Took a tumble about 13km into the race and bruised my left knee in the fall.












Athletes suffering, heart attacks suspected

By mid-afternoonon Sunday, one athlete has been air-lifted to hospital along the route of the Comrades marathon and another, who completed the race, has also been taken from the medical tent at Kingsmead Stadium to hospital, both with suspected heart attacks.

There is a steady stream of athletes being stretchered into the medical tent but, thankfully, most of them are just suffering from exhaustion, dehydration or cramp.

Chief Medical Officer Jeremy Boulter said they did not have updated information on the two patients taken to hospital at this stage as they were being kept busy with the constant flow of stretchers arriving at the tent.

Extensive medical, emergency, first aid and physiotherapy facilities, sponsored by Netcare 911, are available along the route and at the finish.

There are fleets of ambulances, rapid response vehicles and paramedics ready to respond as well as a dedicated emergency helicopter.

Friends spotted doing the Comrades!













Friday 29/05/2009

Capetonian last to cross Comrades finish line

Jerry Mboweni of Cape Town was the last runner to cross the finish line of the gruelling 89km (55mi) Comrades Marathon on Sunday May 24, 2009. The race is run every year between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.

According to iol, Mboweni, who came in 10 006th place, dedicated his run to Jesus Christ in celebration of having overcome an 11-year heroin addiction.

Mboweni’s wife, Vanessa, was very proud of her husband, who, she said, had worked extremely hard. This was his first attempt at the famous marathon and, according to his wife, a dream come true. His time was 11hr 59min 59sec and the race is closed after 12 hours.

The marathon was won by Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi – the first Zimbabwean ever to win the race – in a time of 5hr 23min 26sec. The women’s race was won by Olesya Nurgalieva from Russia in a time of 6hr 12min 11sec.

Koula is a champion!

Koula, alongside legendary Comrades Champion Bruce Fordyce, kicked ass at this year's Comrades - not only did she run her third Comrades, but she passed the finish line in her best time yet. Congrats also to the team who managed to raise over R70 000!















Mzungo uploaded his Comrades photo's!










Cuan uploaded his photo's with the "Mr Price" comrades runners












KleinZ1 uploaded his comrades photo's of the female winner and runner up!











Edgemead uploaded their Comrades photos!












Chris Bloom uploaded his comrades photo's!