100BEFORE40

2 - the Cape Gate Vaal Marathon, 1 March 2015 Having failed to finish my first ever marathon under 4h00, I set out to accomplish that mission as soon as possible. I spent a lot of time on the road working on my speed. Like any other novice, I went about it the wrong way. I spent many hours running as far, and as fast, as I could, hoping to improve my time. Any experienced runner will tell you that this is a recipe for disaster. Well, I did not need an experienced runner to tell me this. Disaster struck. I ended up with all sorts of over-use injuries and spent a lot of time consulting with medical practitioners. I made very good friends with my chiropractor. I even went for a cortisone jab, just to get back on the road. I spent a lot of time on the sidelines waiting patiently for my next marathon. It was not until 3 March 2015 that I managed to run my second marathon. This time I was a man on a real mission. I had studied the course and read a lot on how to pace my...

1- the Soweto Marathon, Soweto, South Africa,2 November 2014 “The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”  I will never forget the above words (by  ―  John Bingham, No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running)  stuck on a big board as I was struggling going up one of the last few hills on the Soweto Marathon, 2014 route. I had been walking for about 3 kilometers. I had nothing left in the fuel tank. I had started believing the legend around the Marathon distance. Legend has it that the first man ever to run the Marathon distance, Pheidippides, ran about 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message of the Athenian army’s victory over the Persians. He arrived in Athens, shouted “Nenikikamen” (“Rejoice we conquer”) and collapsed and died (https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Legendary-Runner-of-Marathon-Pheidippides) I had sprinted the earlier downhill parts of the race. I was comp...

from (failed) goalkeeper and wicket keeper to comrade I grew up fancying myself as a “ball games” guy. I never thought of running as a true sport. Most sports require running. You cannot play football, hockey, rugby, basketball, cricket, you name them all, if you cannot run. To me running was just part of the minimum skills required for any sport – of course chess or darts are obvious exceptions to this. I hated the first term of the year at school. For us, at Dandamera Primary School, the first term was all about athletics. Athletics meant running. Nothing else. Ball games would come later in the year, during the second term. I was perpetually ill during the first term of each school year. I even self-diagnosed myself an asthmatic. My mother did not help matters either. She would pay the school a visit at the beginning of the year to remind the teachers that I was an asthmatic and should not take part in any running activities. Back then parents ran schools, not careerist...