CAN RUNNING AT NIGHT MAKE YOU FASTER?
THERAPY AT YOUR FEET! How Running Beats Depression P52
LEAN & FAST!
A SUB-3 MARATHON AT 73! These Amazing Runners Will Inspire You!
DASH 'N DINE Quick and Easy Post-Run Meals
The Breakthrough Workout That Will Transform The Way You Run! Exper t Ti p s !
OCEANS GOALS Your First Half Smash A PB! The Perfect Race Plan
APRIL 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN EDITION
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CONTENTS The Best Two Oceans Tips... EVER! This year, learn how to run your first Half, smash a PB, run 20 Ultras... and fit real running into real life.
April 2018
46
68
FIND YOUR POWER Explosive exercises – feel lighter, run faster.
THE GOLDEN AGE Running later in life – and breaking records.
BY SAMANTHA LEFAVE
52
76
THERAPY AT YOUR FEET FIght depression, one run at a time.
WHO DO YOU RUN FOR? We’re the lucky ones – we can run. Time to give back.
BY SCOTT DOUGLAS
BY KIT FOX
62 GO WITH YOUR GUT Your gut bacteria can make you faster. Fact. BY HANNAH EBELTHITE
38
BY LISA ABDELLAH
PHOTOGRAPH BY DEAN VENISH
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 3
CONTENTS
6
Rave Run
12
Ed’s letter
14
The Loop
33
The Singlet He knows it all.
34
20
Social A petroleum engineer steps on the gas.
35
PERSONAL BEST 20
Night Moves Run in the dark – for faster pace.
22
COLUMNS 36
Dash And Dine
The Northern Runner That Race Photo BY LISA ABDELLAH
Going Straight Stand taller for physical, mental and emotional beneits.
26
Running really is psychotherapy.
It’s A Dirty Job... ...but it could mean you’ll PB in spring.
24
The New CouchTo-5K
82
22
Back Marker Chicago Hope BY PETER SAGAL
Quick and easy postworkout meals.
HUMAN RACE 29
Human Race Running Two Oceans – after being stabbed in the leg...
32
I Ran It Off! A tragic cycling accident leads to a running comeback.
26 4 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
RAVE RUN
LEOPARD TRAIL, BAVIAANSKLOOF Photographs and words by… Jacques Marais
Runner… Zane Schmahl
The Experience The word Baviaanskloof – from the Dutch for ‘Valley of Baboons’ – refers to a narrow and rugged gorge set within the Sarah Baartman district of the Eastern Cape. This World Heritage site is blessed with pristine natural grandeur and a landscape brimming with deep kloofs, mountain cascades, steep passes and extensive fynbos slopes. Baviaanskloof itself is just on 200km in length, and is embraced by mountain ranges to both the north and south. The valley is situated at a lower altitude than the inland Karoo basin to the north, resulting in intensiied rainfall iltering into the kloof, and therefore creating a lush landscape supporting a diverse variety of fauna and lora. There are dozens of potential running routes here, ranging from ininite Munga-style gravel roads to extremely technical hiking trails. The Leopard Trail is just one such of-road recce, with at least two days of exploration along this fourday hiking route. Expect a testing mix of singletrack and jeep track, with loads of shale and rock.
Best Time To Run The protected micro-climate makes the Trail runnable for most of the year, but you should expect mid-summer to kick into the high thirties every now and then. The daily average stabilises at 26ºC, but it still makes sense to bag those big runs early. Autumn and spring herald moderate weather, while winter can deliver severe cold fronts.
6 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 7
RAVE RUN
Getting There From Willowmore, take the N9 towards Uniondale, then turn left 3km from town at the sign to Baviaanskloof. Continue on this road for 31km to Nuwekloof Pass; after 7.4km, turn right to Cedar Falls. Drive for 7km to Cedar Kloof Basecamp.
Refuel At This is the back of beyond, so best you pack an emergency beer or two! That said, even Klowenaars are getting tourism-savvy, so you’ll spot a few funky farm stalls in the Baviaanskloof. Bavijaans Padstal is a good place, situated in the kloof itself, and it makes for a cosy halfway stop along the main dirt drag. Fresh roosterkoek is usually on the menu, and you can also buy light meals, ice, wood and drinks. There is also the lovely Tolbos Country Shop and Restaurant in Patensie. It’s been around since 1988 and delivers on proper ‘oldschool’ quality, plain and simple (tolbos.co.za). A little further into the Baviaanskloof you’ll ind Padlangs Restaurant, open seven days a week, with a unique ‘French farm’ ambience, and surrounded by citrus orchards – check it out at padlangs.net.
Other Activities The many attractions of Baviaanskloof are arguably best experienced along a multi-day MTB ride, with overnight stops at numerous self-catering farm cottages or campsites on route. Outdoor time in fresh-air paradise is a must at hideaway campsites such as Rooihoek, Geelhoutsbos and other natural gems. Should you feel a need for company when tackling this monster ride, look no further than the annual Trans-Baviaans 24hr 230km MTB Marathon – the ‘toughest single-stage MTB ride on earth’ – more info at transbaviaans.co.za.
PL ANNING A RUN-CATION? FOR MORE INSPIRING PL ACES TO RUN, VISIT RUNNERSWORLD.CO.ZA / TRAVEL.
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 9
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ON THE COVER
APRIL
2018 TWO OCE
DITION
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CAN RUNNING AT NIGHT MAKE YOU FASTER?
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THERAPY AT YOUR FEET! How Running Beats Depression P52
LEAN &FAST!
A SUB-3 MARATHON AT 73! These Amazing Runners Will Inspire You!
DASH 'N DINE Quick and Easy Post Run Meals
The Breakthrough Workout That Will Transform The Way You Run! Exp ert Tips !
OCEANS GOALS Your First Half Smash A PB! The Perfect Race Plan
APRIL 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN EDITION
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Runner – Kim Baas @ D&A Models wears Lorna Jane sports bra, Garmin watch, Asics shorts and Brooks shoes. Make-up by Colleen Paioni Photograph by Sean Laurenz
EDITOR’S LETTER
TRANSFORMERS SEEING MY YOUNGER SON START TO LOVE RUNNING IS WORTH BEING BEATEN.
O
N MOST SATURDAY MORNINGS, one of my biggest challenges is getting my 19-year-old son Nick out of bed to run the Rondebosch parkrun. For the last few months of last year it seemed I would lose the battle; but amazingly, he would usually emerge from his room, bleary-eyed and non-communicative, just in time for us to leave. Nick has always claimed to be ‘non-athletic’ – unlike his older brother, who loves riding bikes and does the occasional bit of running. But during the mock exams for his matric last year I convinced him that a 5K parkrun would be a great way to start the day, get oxygen into his brain, and help him concentrate later. Our first run was slow. The goal was to finish; and for Nick to understand that even if you’re slow at the parkrun, there will always
incredible 14 minutes. Although the waking-up-on-Saturday part is still touch and go, the transformation I’ve seen in my younger son is remarkable, and I’m immensely proud of him. Saturday mornings with Nick are now some of our most treasured times together, and we ‘reward’ our eforts with a round of cappuccinos and a decadent croissant on the way home, bathed in the glow of our mutual success. This last Saturday we pushed hard; and with 500m to go, Nick upped the pace, leaving me for dead and finishing a minute ahead. Being beaten never felt so good. I suspect that he has rather more talent than even he knows – his long strides are deceptively fast – but more importantly, he’s learned to love running, and I thank the parkrun for that.
“…Nick upped the pace, leaving me for dead and finishing a minute ahead. Being beaten never felt so good.” be someone slower. That’s the wonderful thing about the parkrun phenomenon – it attracts all shapes, sizes and abilities, and if you feel like hiding in the masses, you can. We ran and walked our first parkrun together. We took our walk breaks to recover, and as teenagers do, Nick made sure he was attached to his headphones and some of his best music. Fast forward four months, and last Saturday Nick took another six minutes off his PB, to cut down the time from his first parkrun by an
12 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
As I left for work this morning he came charging around the corner of our road on a training run – out of breath, but high on the endorphins of efort. He had got himself up early to run. MIKE FINCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @MikeFinchSA
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Now in South Africa Exclusively imported and distributed by Tifosi Sports. Available at Specialist Sports Stores in South Africa. Contact us: Info@tifosisports.co.za
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The Gallery
#INSTARWRUN We asked you to show off your running experiences. Here are three submissions that made us envious!
The Advice
Yes, running with music can make your workout feel easier. But according to research from Brunel University in London, listening to the right kind of music – specifically, 20 to 30 minutes of slow, sedate tunes – after a run can also speed recovery. Chill music can lower your levels of cortisol, a hormone released when we’re stressed, the study authors say. Look for songs that are 90 to 115 beats per minute, like ‘The Cascades’ by Fleet Foxes, ‘Appointments’ by Julien Baker, ‘Still Beating’ by Mac DeMarco, ‘Bleak Bake’ by King Krule, and ‘Freak’ by Lana Del Ray.
Running has taught me to love my brain, my body, and what both of them can do for me when I use them wisely – @charis_mlle
The Poll
11% NO, I RUN BY FEEL
89%
DO YOU RUN WITH A GPS WATCH/ACTIVITY TRACKER?
I run – what’s your superpower? It’s pure love. – @fathima_shaikh_motala
YES – I CAN’T RUN WITHOUT IT
Runner’s World reserves the right to edit readers’ submissions. All readers’ submissions become the sole property of Runner’s World and may be published in any medium and for any use worldwide. This month’s winning letter will receive a Phyto Pro Sport Chocolate 800g protein drink and a Phyto Pro 3-in-1 Energiser pre-workout drink, valued at R600. Phyto Pro ofers athletes a range of clean, plant-based nutrition products that support the body’s natural athletic ability and enhance the repair and regeneration process. Mango-lavoured Phyto Pro 3-in-1 Energiser increases endurance and mental focus pre-workout, and chocolate-lavoured Phyto Pro Sport helps build and repair muscles post-workout. Functional nutrition for functional itness. Write to: Runner’s World, PO Box 16368, Vlaeberg, 8018; fax 021 408 3811; or email rwletters@media24.com (letters must be no longer than 100 words, and must include your email address and telephone number).
14 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
Gear check! Looking to break 3:40 and get my C seeding for Comrades. – @dupreez.pierre
The Poll
Insta Of The Month
ARE YOU A PEANUT BUTTER LOVER OR HATER ?
81% WHO HATES PEANUT BUTTER?!
“Smile – it’s the best cooling system for your head & warning system for your heart.” @LUCK Y2 16MIYA
19% NOPE, NOT A FAN
The Question P H OTO G R A P H S B Y JA M E S G A R AG H T Y ( H E A D P H O N E S ); I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y I C O N I C B E S T I A RY / F R E E P I K ( M E N R U N N I N G )
WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT ANNOYS YOU MOST ABOUT RUNNING RACES? Old people passing me when I’m tired. – Mthobisi Mkhize The inevitable pre-race, post-cofee morning poo that doesn’t want to come when it needs to, only to rear its ugly head when you’re about to start the race! – Willem Haarhoff The phrase ‘You’re almost there!’ when you clearly aren’t. – Betty Diakos
Thinking you’re going to die if you push any harder during the race... and then inishing the race and physically feeling like you could have done better! – Kimberlee S Baltar
Spit, snot sniing and propelling. – Liné Nel The start! Having to weave through masses of people running slowly. – Jonathan Bestel APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 15
THE LOOP
THE INTERSECTION WHERE RUNNING AND CULTURE COLLIDE Momentous Authorities in Sierra Leone ban jogging groups, citing disorderly conduct. Locals believe the move is meant to limit group assemblies and free speech leading up to next year’s elections.
With heat stroke a concern during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan grooms 2 000 trees, hoping to provide more shade along the marathon route.
A Hood to Coast runner in the US steals a porta-loo truck, drives into a field where runners are resting, runs over a woman, and flees. A police unit finds him hiding in nearby woods.
Go!
Stop!
didas pairs with Parley ad fo r the Oceans to create a sh oe made from recycled astic, in an effort to reduce pla ollution in the world’s seas. po
‘Runner’, an alcohol-deliveryservice app, debuts in Toronto. Unlike a marathon, alcohol is delivered in under two hours. Ex-world championships runner Yumiko Hara is arrested in her homeland of Japan for shoplifting food and cosmetics valued at R285.
‘Going the extra mile’ at work gets easier at a London office building, with the installation oftop track.
A tow n in Spain replaces bulls white balls for an with giant g annua l ‘Running of the Balls’. Two p eople are seriously d after being run over injured by a 300-kilogram ball.
Writer Malcolm Gladwell challenges LeBron James to a one-mile race, prompting betting site Bovada to set up a prop bet. The NBA star is the favourite, but it’s unclear if the race will ever take place.
Frivolous 16 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y G E T T Y I M AG E S /G A L LO I M AG E S ( S H A L A N E , Y U M I KO, L E B R O N , M A LC O L M ) ; D E S I G N E D B Y O N LY YO U Q J/ F R E E P I K ( B OT T L E ) ; D E S I G N E D B Y JA N N O O N 02 8 / F R E E P I K ( T R E E ) ; S U P P L I E D ( S H O E )
Shalane Flanagan receives her 10 000-metre silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse is disqualified for a doping violation.
T R AV E L W I T H R U N N E R ’ S W O R L D
JOIN RUNNER’S WORLD I N E XOTI C CAM B O D IA AND RUN THE KHMER E M P I R E M A R AT H O N O R H A L F M A R AT H O N ! 7 DAYS, 6 NIGHTS R24 995 (PER PESON SHARING. INCLUDING FLIGHTS, ENTRY, B&B AND TRANSFERS) DATES: 31 JULY - 7 AUGUST 2018
EXPERIENCE ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST SCENIC M A R AT H O N S W I T H R U N N E R ’ S W O R L D , I N S T U N N I N G C A M B O D I A . F R O M T H E B U S T L I N G C A P I TA L O F P H N O M P E N H T O T H E A N C I E N T A N G K O R W AT T E M P L E S I N S I E M R E A P, T H I S I S T H E R U N N I N G T R I P O F A L I F E T I M E . (2 N I G HT S I N P H N O M P E N H , 4 N I G HT S I N S I E M R E A P)
L I M I T E D P L AC E S ! BOOKINGS CLOSE 27 APRIL 2018 C O NTAC T DAVE@ CAM B O D IA AN D B E YO N D.C O M
FOR FULL DETAILS, CHECK OUT W W W. R U N N E R S WO R LD.C O. Z A /CA M B O D I A
PERSONAL BEST
TRAINING 20 FUEL 26
TIME WEIGHS HEAVILY WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE MINUTES PASS AT A SNAIL’S PACE BY RICK PEARSON
P H OTO G R A P H B Y G A L LO I M AG E S / G E T T Y I M AG E S
EVER WONDERED WHY the second half of a marathon
feels like an eternity, or that final two-minute rep seems to stretch on forever? According to a new study, it’s because our perception of time slows down during intensive exercise. Twelve fit adults carried out a series of 20-minute rowing and 30-second cycling tests, working at light, heavy and maximum exertion. They were then asked to report when they felt they’d reached 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent of the allotted time. Participants accurately estimated when they
had completed 25 or 50 per cent of the time, but their later estimates during heavy and maximal exercise were shorter than the actual time. Lead researcher professor Andrew Edwards says: “A misjudgment in time could lead to a misjudgment in pace… This research underlines the importance of having a race plan that incorporates pacing and time. Something as simple as wearing and using a watch to monitor time during training and an event could help keep endurance athletes on track.”
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 19
PERSONAL BEST
TRAINING
NIGHT MOVES COULD RUNNING IN THE DARK BE THE SECRET TO HITTING A FASTER PACE? BY EMILY ABBATE
I WAS IN THE MIDDLE
of 10 pitch-black kays at 2am, decked out in relective gear and a safety vest for the second leg of my Ragnar Relay [320km relay over 2 days & a night – Ed]. Guided by a headlamp and with my breath providing a steady downbeat, I felt strong. While I was aware of the risks – inattentive drivers and unseen potholes – the dark enveloped me, pushed me to stay in the zone, and helped me
cruise at a pace that made me feel like Superwoman. So I had to wonder: was the dark actually making me faster? Maybe, says Dr Angie Fifer, executive board member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in Philadelphia. “When you run at night, there’s nothing to do but pay attention to your surroundings,” she explains. “It can make us more aware and focused, which provides a freeing sensation
P H OTO G R A P H B Y G A L LO I M AG E S / G E T T Y I M AG E S
that can help us to pick up the pace.” Abandoned streets can also encourage you to unleash your inner speed. “No-one is looking and judging, so in your mind you think I can just go, without inhibitions,” says Fifer. However, there’s no research that shows exercising in the dark actually makes you run faster, even if it feels that way. In one study, researchers examined cyclists through
four 20km time trials, paying attention to how visual cues inluenced how hard and fast they thought they were moving. The scientists realised that performing in a setting where you can only see things just before you approach them (like when it’s dark outside) yielded a greater sense of speed and efort. Despite the higher sensation of exertion, however, there was no diference in heart rate or cadence.
There are other worthwhile beneits to tackling dimly-lit miles rather than sun-soaked ones, though, says Danny Mackey, head coach for the Brooks Beasts Track Club. “Night runs can be advantageous on days you want to go slowly,” Mackey says. “Turn of the GPS and focus on making your run feel good, and you’ll be set up for the next pace-breaking workout.”
SAFETY CHECK USE THESE SIMPLE STRATEGIES TO LOG SHADOWED RUNS UNSCATHED.
Get techy. Leave the ’buds, but bring your phone: Having the bSafe app handy means a simple button push can alert friends of your location and that you’re in trouble if things go pearshaped.
Stick to known trails. The dangers of unexpected turns or a technical route outweigh the benefits of being one with nature. Save adventuring on new trails for well-lit weekend outings.
Light the night. Now’s not the time for black zip-ups and matching tights. Layer on bright clothing items with reflective bits, or hi-viz wrist/ ankle/waist straps.
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 21
PERSONAL BEST
TRAINING
FITNESS BY STEALTH
Cross examine A few cross-countr y runs will test your met tle and help you prepare for a road race.
THE TOE-GA ROUTINE ‘Toe-ga’, in case you’re wondering, is yoga for the feet. Seated or standing at your desk, kick of your work shoes, push your big toe down into the loor and raise the other four toes of the ground. It’s important to keep the ball of your foot in contact with the ground, rather than rolling your foot inwards. Aim to hold the position for 30 secs. Rest and repeat twice more.
90 IT’S A DIRTY JOB… LOOKING TO RUN YOUR BEST HALF OR MARATHON IN SPRING? GO CROSSCOUNTRY DURING WINTER BY RICK PEARSON
to Paula Radclife cut their teeth on the cross-country circuit, and as is clear from their success, embracing the mud can have great crossover gains for road running. Here are three reasons why it pays to get down and dirty at any time of year. In winter you’ll be cold, wet and muddy, but that’s part of the fun.
22 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
No doubt about it, crossc o un tr y i s h a r d o n th e body – and that’s why it works. “ Running crosscountr y not only builds your physical strength but also your mental strength,” says Tom Craggs, running coach with Running With Us (runningwithus.com). “It teaches you how much pain you can tolerate – often, that’s a lot more than you think you can.’” Boost your VO2
Short in duration but heavy in effort, a cross-country run is similar to a VO2 max session. These sessions – designed to improve the rate at which your body
can transport oxygen to your muscles – are ideal for runners. “Cross-country is fast and furious,” says Craggs. “I encourage my runners to go of fast and get themselves in a position they can try to defend. That’s very diferent to a road race, but that’s why cross-country is so exciting: it’s unique.” Forget your splits
Cross-country is racing in its purest form. “It breaks the ‘GPS’ and ‘personal best’ mindset,” says Craggs. “It encourages people to run on feel rather than on pace. A nd unlike many other races, it’s a team event – you run to help your team, not just yourself.”
P H OTO G R A P H B Y G A L LO I M AG E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S
EVERYONE FROM Mo Farah
Get tough
The average number of minutes adults in the UK spend exercising each week – less than half the time they spend on the toilet (over three hours!).
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The Medoc Marathon in the South of France is famous, not just for its sheer popularity, but also because it really is one of the most unusual marathons around. Dress up, drink wine and explore the most famous vineyards of France! Join us for the whackiest and booziest Marathon, the 2018 Marathon du Medoc. The theme for this year’s race is “Fun Fair Carnival”. PACKAGE INCLUDES t t t
Return lights excluding taxes 3 nights accommodation Race entry and return transfers
ITINERARY Friday, 07 September 2018: Arrive in Bordeaux and make your way to the hotel in central Bordeaux, where your race entry will be waiting for you. Saturday, 08 September 2018: Today is the day. Grab the fancy dress costumes and experience a marathon like no other! After an early breakfast a coach transfer from the hotel to the start will pick you up from 06.30am. The Medoc marathon is expected to start at 9:30am. Afterwards there will be a transfer back to the hotel. The evening is free for you to explore and celebrate (and taste more wine!) Sunday, 9 September 2018: You will have today to either recover or enjoy the sights of Bordeaux. Monday, 10 September 2018: Depart for home.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JACQUI REID Cell: +27 (0) 83 300 9607 or Email: jacqui@gosportstravel.co.za TERMS & CONDITIONS Prices are per person sharing (excluding taxes). All prices are subject to change due to currency luctuations, rate increases and availability. T&C’s apply.
PERSONAL BEST
TRAINING
GOING STRAIGHT GOOD POSTURE BOOSTS CONFIDENCE, WELL-BEING AND YOUR RUNNING. PHYSIO SAMMY MARGO (SAMMYMARGOPHYSIOTHERAPY.COM) SHARES HER TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU IN GOOD STANDING BY RICK PEARSON
BBC
Meetings
“Sitting at your desk, make sure you BBC – put your Bottom into the Back of the Chair.”
“Sitting in one position for long periods affects your posture. Stand during meetings and to make phone calls.”
Work station Walk tall “Ensure your work station is ergonomically sound, and think about investing in a standing desk. Make sure your screen is at arm’s length and at a comfortable height for your eye line.”
Handbag “Women often overfill their handbags, which can throw their backs out of alignment. Empty your heavy bag of unnecessary items.”
“Imagine there’s a wall behind you; this aligns the ear directly over the shoulder joint, making you stand straighter.”
Bed sense ‘If your mattress is over eight years old, it will have deteriorated by 75 per cent and may cause you to have bad posture while you sleep. If this is the case, think about investing in a new one.’
30.8 MILLION This posture-training device attaches to your back and works with an app. Upright Go emits a gentle vibration when you slouch, prompting you to sit or stand with correct posture. It can also be put into ‘tracking mode’ to record posture data without vibrating. Upright Go, R925 + shipping, amazon.com
24 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
CHECK YOUR RUNNING FORM
Are you looking straight ahead, not downwards?
To ensure you’re running with the right posture, conduct a regular checklist, says ‘The Run Doctor’, Ed Kelly (therundoctor.co.uk). “ Start from your head and make your way down. Asking these questions will help to make good running posture a habit.”
Is your chest slightly raised so that you’re running tall?
Are your shoulders relaxed or tense and up near your ears?
Are you leading from your belly button? Is your cadence nice and snappy or are you dragging your feet? Are your feet striking underneath your body rather than out in front?
P H OTO G R A P H B Y G A L LO I M AG E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S ( X- R AY )
NO SLOUCH
THE NUMBER OF SICK DAYS ATTRIBUTED TO MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS (INCLUDING BACK AND NECK PAIN) IN THE UK EACH YEAR, COSTING THE ECONOMY APPROXIMATELY R227 BILLION. COUGHS AND COLDS ACCOUNTED FOR THE MOST SICK DAYS (34 MILLION).
PERSONAL BEST
FUEL
DASH AND DINE THESE QUICK-AND-EASY POSTWORKOUT MEALS PACK THE PERFECT BLEND OF NUTRIENTS TO HELP YOU RECOVER.
Tuna Melt Crackers s Tuna is high in muscle-building protein, and itts omega-3 fats will help reduce post-run aches.
BY MATTHEW KADEY ½ cup rocket ½ cup roasted red pepper 85 grams (½ tin) dolphinfriendly tuna 2 rye crackers, such as Ryvita 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice cheddar or ¹⁄3 cup grated g Swiss cheese
i ken Caprese Chicke et Pita Pocket A carb-protein hit slows bone breakdown after hard exercise.
Spread pesto inside pita pockets. Stuff with chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
26 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
microwave crackers on high for 30 seconds, or till cheese has melted. For an extra kick (and to rev your metabolism), add a few drops of chilli sauce.
Chee Avocado Bagel Bagels a cottage cheese vide the rotein ideal car combo for repairing muscle an restoring glycogen. e avo’s vitamin C l ens oxidative st following to h workouts. ½ ½ ¼ ¼ 1 1
avocado, slic bagel, toaste cup cottage c ese tsp. smoked p rika thick slice tom small handful b l leaves Flaky sea salt, to taste
Fan or lightly mash av ado on bagel half. Spre with cottage cheese an sprinkle with paprika. with tomato slice, basil, and touch of flaky salt.
F O O D S T Y L I N G B Y BA R R E T T WAS H B U R N E
1
1 pita pocket, halved 2 Tbsp. pesto ¾ cup sliced rotisserie chicken, skin removed ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes ¹⁄3 cup mini mozzarella pearls (bocconcini) 2 basil leaves, torn 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Stack equal amounts of rocket, roasted red pepper, and tuna on top of crackers. Add lemon juice and top with cheese. If desired,
Biltong Chickpea Snack Mix Replace the salt lost through sweat with biltong and chickpeas, and fight muscle inflammation with the antioxidants in tart cherries. 30 grams beef or ostrich biltong ¼ cup salt–roasted chickpeas (chana) 2 Tbsp. roasted almonds 2 Tbsp. dried tart cherries 1 Tbsp. roasted pumpkin seeds Shred biltong, then toss all ingredients in a bowl.
Curry Egg Salad Cucu umber Boats Cucumber is packed water to help with w you re ehydrate, and the cu urcumin in curry has an nti-inflammatory prope erties for faster recov very.
Ricotta Fig Toast The creamy cheese is high in protein, while figs help replenish potassium for better muscle function. ½ ½ 1 1 2 1 1
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MITCH MANDEL
cup ricotta cheese tsp. vanilla extract tsp. orange zest thick slice whole-grain toast dried figs, sliced Tbsp. shelled pistachios tsp. honey
2 ¼ 1 1 ½ ¹⁄8 1
hard-boiled eggs, peeled cup plain Greek yoghurt Tbsp. chopped almonds tsp. Dijon mustard tsp. curry powder tsp. cayenne Salt and pepper to taste small cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise
In a bowl, mash together eggs, yoghurt, almonds, mustard, curry powder, cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Scoop out seeds from cucumber halves and stuff with egg salad.
SNACK WITHIN 30 MINUTES OF FINISHING YOUR RUN TO SPEED RECOVERY. Stir together ricotta, vanilla, and orange zest. Spread mixture on toast and top with sliced figs, pistachios, and honey.
AP APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 27
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News, Trends, and Regular Runners Doing Amazing Things
KNIFE POINT A DOMESTIC DISPUTE ALMOST ENDED JOHN KAGONA’S ULTRA-MARATHON CAREER. THIS IS THE STORY OF HIS RETURN TO RUNNING – AND RELATIONSHIPS. BY LISA ABDELLAH
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JETLINE ACTION PHOTO
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 29
I 30 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
In the two years 40-year-old ultramarathoner John Kagona had lived with his girlfriend Natalie*, not once had she been violent towards him. He had no reason to believe that one day she would stab him in the leg, and stop him from doing what he loved: running. The chances he’d even heard about cases of domestic violence against men were slim, because they aren’t as widely reported as those against women. Men are less likely to talk about their experiences, due to pride, lack of support, and a fear they won’t be taken seriously. For Kagona, it happened four
years ago, in the living room of the rented home he shared with Natalie in the Vaal Triangle. It was daytime, and there were no other people in the house. The two, already having relationship problems, had argued over her whereabouts; and in the heat of the row, she ran into the kitchen and picked up a kitchen knife. Brandishing the blade, she sat on the couch in the living room and told him that if he wanted to go outside, he’d have to go through her first. Then she swore that if he tried to, she would stab him.
The comeback John Kagona runs his 10 th Two Oceans Ultra, having overcome a horrific leg injur y that threatened to end his running career.
HUMAN RACE
“Let me go through,” said Kagona, thinking she was joking. But when he tried to pass her, he felt a searing pain. Natalie had driven the cold metal into his upper right leg. “I don’t think she intended to sabotage my passion for running,” he says. “In the heat of the moment, she must’ve stabbed the closest body part to hand. “I told her I was going to call the police and an ambulance, but she burst into tears. She told me she hadn’t intended to stab me.” Kagona didn’t call anyone, because he felt sorry for her when he saw her tears of remorse. And as he watched the blood flow from his leg, knowing who had caused it, it broke his heart. He allowed her to treat the wound. Had she hit a femoral artery, the wound could have been fatal.
Kagona knew he couldn’t trust Natalie anymore, and he ended their relationship. “I believed that if she was capable of stabbing me, she could just as easily kill me,” he says. Recovery
Kagona didn’t seek medical treatment. He bandaged the wound; but the extent of the damage was such that he couldn’t bend his right knee. To sit down, he first had to bend his left knee, and then lower himself down to the chair, keeping his right leg straight. The pain was so bad that he worried his leg might even have to be amputated. Not only had Kagona’s injury dashed his hopes of representing his province at the SAS Marathon; it threatened to end his marathon career altogether.
“I believed that if she was capable of stabbing me, she could just as easily kill me.”
* N OT H E R R E A L N A M E .
“Here in my province, not many people do running,” he says. “I’d been running since school, and I’d always loved putting my province on top. So, it was painful for me not to be part of the Griquas Athletics team.” It took Kagona nine months to recover from his injury, and it afected his daily life. He used to run 20km to work in the morning, and then back home again in the afternoon; now, his injury forced him to take a taxi. When he couldn’t aford the fare, he limped – painfully – all the way to his workplace. That was non-negotiable: he had to earn a living. After a year, Kagona returned to running – at first, for only 20 to 30 minutes, interspersed with walking, and provided he felt no pain. Then he tried running for an hour, and later an hour and a half, to see if his leg would allow him to go any further. “I felt happy to overcome my traumatic experience and be able to run the Two Oceans Ultra for the 10th time in 2016,” he says. “It meant my career wasn’t over.” But Kagona hasn’t approached training and racing in the same way since the incident. More determined than ever, he powers through hill, speedwork and endurance sessions, and has achieved faster times at races. He has returned to running a stronger athlete. “This year, I plan to bring home a silver medal at the Two Oceans,” he says. “I’ve been training at 3.50-3.56/ km, because I want to feel strong enough to run 56km at 4.00/km.” Kagona’s experience has also changed the way he feels about relationships. He understands that problems are best resolved by calmly talking them through, no matter what mistakes have been made – that way, no-one has to get hurt. By sharing his story, he hopes others will come to see that too.
P H OTO G R A P H B Y J O H A N R O U X
Winning way Kagona accepts his prize at the 2018 Kloppers Marathon in Bloemfontein.
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 31
HUMAN RACE
RUN IT OFF
I RAN OFF 46KG!
32
HAVE YOU RUN OFF SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT AND CHANGED YOUR LIFE? SHOW US YOUR BEFORE-AND-AFTER USING #RWIRANITOFF ON INSTAGRAM OR TWITTER, OR EMAIL YOUR STORY TO RWLETTERS@MEDIA24.COM.
THE COME BACK KID RUNNING HELPED TANIKO RETURN FROM A TRAGIC CYCLING ACCIDENT.
THE WAKE-UP
In 2013, I broke my back in a cycling accident. A motorist took a chance at a robot on Klip River Drive, and I ended up T-boning her car. She probably saw, and heard, my body roll along the side of her car; and yet she chose to carry on driving. The impact had crushed my L2 and L3 vertebrae, so I spent the next three days in ICU, followed by one month at home and four months wearing a back brace. I wasn’t able to walk around the supermarket, let alone exercise. Over the next two and a half years, I piled on weight. When I could no longer stand the pain in my lower back, I sought the help of a chiropractor, Doc Marty, who helped get me to the point where I could start exercising again.
it by ive minutes, until I was able to walk comfortably for 45 minutes. Then I decided to try running, under the guidance of my work colleague Ian, who is an avid runner and cyclist. My biggest challenge was that I have Crohn’s disease (an inlammatory bowel disease), which limits the amount of healthy eating you can do, purely because you’re unable to digest raw fruit and veggies, red meat, nuts and oats. It’s also an autoimmune disease, which means my body attacks itself. I lost my gallbladder in October 2016, and I had to have openstomach surgery. Those irst walks on the treadmill happened just two weeks after my surgery, when I still had 30 staples in my stomach. THE REWARD
I ran my irst 5-K in January 2017, and around 20 more races that year. For someone who never thought she would ride a bike again, let alone start running, every race I do is a massive achievement. Other women have told me I inspire them, because I motivate them to overcome just about any obstacle that stands in their way. – AS TOLD TO LISA ABDELLAH
The Singlet Because running isn’t just about string vests.
TAKING NOTES
T-SHIRT SAVVY
My dad is always giving me tips about form when I’m running. It feels like he wants me to take notes or something!
Is it cool to wear the T-shirt parkrun organisers give you for running 100 runs? I’m superproud, but my mates rip me about it.
– NICK, NEWLANDS
– NARIKE, FISH HOEK
There’s only one thing more annoying than someone trying to give you advice on a run, and that’s trying to remember it all. Your dad is
I’m on the fence with this one. Yes, you should be proud – but is it really necessary for everyone
THE SHAKE-UP
I started walking on the treadmill each day for 10 minutes; and every second day I increased
Taniko Gough
P H OTO G R A P H S S U P P L I E D
Age: 34 Home Town: Kensington, Johannesburg Height: 1.75m Occupation: Salesperson at a cycling wholesaler Time Required: 10 Months Then: 123kg Now: 77kg
“Make a joke of it – ‘Should I bring along my notebook next time?’” probably well-intentioned, but suggest to him that one tip is about all you can remember, and make a joke along the lines of ‘Should I bring along my notebook next time?’. That should make him think more carefully about delivering a continous stream of advice. Not that advice from an experienced runner shouldn’t be valued!
else to know that? Running achievements – PBs, races, parkruns done, whatever – should be just about you. But on the other hand, whenever I see someone wearing a 100 or a 50 parkrun shirt, I get inspired to try and earn one myself. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I have my own!
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 33
HUMAN RACE
SOCIAL
1
STEP ON THE GAS A PETROLEUM ENGINEER ADDS FUEL TO HIS LOVE FOR RUNNING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. BY PENNY TREVENA
What phone do you use to take your Instagrams? Samsung Galaxy Note 5
2
Where’s your favourite place to run? The world is my track – I don’t have a favourite place as such. When travelling, often the irst thing I pack is running gear. I’ve found that running is a great way to meet new people and discover new places.
3
Tell us about your Insta name. My wife nicknamed me Dexter, after the cartoon 4
character in Dexter’s Laboratory, as I was studying physics when I met her. ‘Nerd’ is because I often do and say nerdy things! ‘87’ is the year I was born. What’s the story behind your top-three most-liked pics? Where did you take them, and why?
Instagram 1: This picture was taken shortly after sunrise on Diaz Beach in Mossel Bay. Running on the beach is always a refreshing change from the road. Instagram 2 & 3: These pictures were taken at Intaka Island in Century City. My wife and I decided to end a busy, stressful week with a jog along the canals that border the scenic wetland and bird sanctuary. Instagram 4: This was taken during an earlymorning speed session on an athletics track near my home. I love doing track sessions as they help build speed, allowing me to push myself beyond my limits. What inspires your running photography? The running and itness community inspires me, and I started Instagramming to make my own positive contribution. Favourite Distance To Run 21.1km.
NAME: Sulaiman Jacobs INSTA NAME: @Dexter_nerd87 HOMETOWN: Parow, Cape Town OCCUPATION: Petroleum engineer for PetroSA.
34 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
What’s your favourite time to run? Early morning. To run 10-15km, I try to be on the road by 5:30am.
P H OTO G R A P H S S U P P L I E D
AGE: 31
How long have you been running? Seven years.
HUMAN RACE
THE NEW COUCH TO 5K THIS PSYCHOTHERAPIST GETS HER PATIENTS TO LACE UP – TO HELP THEM GET BACK ON THEIR FEET. BY JENNY MCCOY DURING HER RUN THERAPY SESSIONS, SAREMI LETS PATIENTS SET THE PACE.
NINE YEARS AGO,
Sepideh Saremi barely recognised herself. As the primary caregiver for a family member battling cancer, she was dealing with depression and anxiety. In search of healing, Saremi started therapy, and running. Session by session and kay by kay, she built herself back up. Together, these were catalysts
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW SCOTT
for a big change: Saremi gave up her content development job at a start-up to go back to school – to be a therapist. At the University of California, Los Angeles, she studied links between exercise and mental health, and had an epiphany: why not combine therapy and running to amplify their benefits? After joining a private practice
in 2014, Saremi tested her ‘running therapy’ theory. She held al fresco, on the go sessions that allowed patients to get outside and move; but more importantly, the sessions helped them to open up. “Running is non-threatening and comfortable for people,” says Saremi, who is also a certified running coach. “It’s much easier to do than sitting on a sofa with somebody you
just met.” Today, the 33-year-old has her own practice – Run Walk Talk – and about 25 per cent of her patients are therapy runners. Sessions include a 10-minute warm-up, 30 to 40 minutes of running, and a 10-minute cooldown. There’s no hard science that says running therapy is more efective than the couch; still, Saremi suspects neurochemicals released during exercise play a factor. “Endorphins can help you tolerate physical pain – and it may be a similar efect with emotional pain as well,” Saremi says. And she isn’t the only therapist seeing results with the unconventional treatment. Other exercised-based practices have implemented similar methods, and see the act of running as a metaphor for emotional progress. “We’re literally moving forward,” says Emma Bennett, a therapist who provides running therapy to mothers. “We’re engaging in motion that feels productive and powerful.” Moving forward is important to Saremi, too. With her practice of the ground, she hopes to develop a certification process for running therapists and implement it. “There are people who would, never in a million years, sit on a therapist’s couch,” she says, “but they would consider running therapy.”
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 35
HUMAN RACE
THE NORTHERN RUNNER
36 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
THAT RACE PHOTO THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW YOU THINK YOU LOOK AND HOW YOU ACTUALLY LOOK. BY LISA ABDELLAH
I WAS PROMPTED to enter my race number into a little box on a website; and when I did so, a message popped up. It said: ‘3 images found’. Yesss! I’d done well in a 15-K race, and the possibility of bragging-rights-worthy evidence was too much to resist. I’d smiled like Kate Moss when I’d spotted the photographer.
meltdowns and tantrums if I didn’t hit my target pace, in the form of dramatic tears and utterances of woe. Or worse, if I’d paused my watch and forgotten to press ‘resume’ after a speedy repeat – which (duh!) meant the entire workout ceased to exist. Adding to my impression of stark raving lunacy, I would blow my nose on my T-shirt in full view of innocent bystanders. After the last of four brutal repeats, I would stumble, lurch and make violent puking noises. And yeah, you guessed it: my face was the colour purple, and then some. It’s a wonder the police didn’t take me in for being drunk and disorderly. One day it rained. Heavily. I was the only person stupid enough to run on the Promenade that day. If the wave that crested the wall and drenched me from head to toe could talk, it would’ve told me it was a bad idea. Even more stupidly, I then returned to the embarrassing running photos… gym, having forgotten I was wearing white While I was training for my race, I reckon running kit; underneath which was the most there was a strong possibility I became hideous floral underwear, à la Bridget Jones’ known as Lisa the Local Looney. Diary. Kate Moss wouldn’t have After all, I wasn’t running to been seen dead in those… socialise; I was training for a time You’ve every right to goal, and that involved gruelling wonder why the hell I bother. workouts – with gruesome Because the truth is, you don’t consequences. look good when you’re running Most mornings, I could be – you look so dreadful, in fact, seen running back and forth on that the best photographer in the Sea Point Promenade, talking the world couldn’t make you to myself like a crazy person. I Lisa Abdellah look good. is a badass runner would mutter things like, “You But you sure as hell look in the morning, a got this!” good when you’re not running. freelance journalist “I haven’t got anything!” Fact: lean and healthy runners by day, and at said a startled dog walker once, look better at parties than nonnight she likes to clutching her handbag. runners – and they feel more like think she’s a wine Later would come the connoisseur. Kate Moss. the loo while he was watching The Goonies, and had paused the film when Sloth was midsentence. I looked more like a dead animal Kate Moss would chuck over her shoulders for a night out. You see, running isn’t all PBs and lean limbs. Sometimes it can get ugly. Which is further illustrated by the series of unfortunate events that led up to those
“ You don’t look good when you’re running, but you sure as hell look good when you’re not.”
P H OTO G R A P H B Y S I M O N KAT Z ( R AC E I M AG E )
(He’d been sitting in a rather dangerous place, might I add; smack-bang in the middle of the road, where it was likely he’d be kicked in the head by thousands of oncoming runners.) His attention won, I proceeded to sort of levitate off the ground, gazelle-like, calves stretched out in a perfect stride. Yeah, that’s right: I looked like I belonged in my top-15 position. As it turns out, I looked exactly the ruddy opposite, in every single picture. The photographer had snapped when I landed, and he’d captured the impact that ricocheted through my entire body in all its glory. Baggy skin hung down from my face, which was the colour purple. Congealed sweat lined my gaping mouth. It was like the photographer had needed
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 37
T H E
B E S T
Two Oceans Tips... Ever! How to run your first Half, smash a PB, run 20-plus Ultras… all while juggling parenthood, a career and a training programme. Real runners share their first-hand advice. By Lisa Abdellah
JA N E K LEY N H A NS , 29
The Half First-Timer Jane Kleynhans is busy. The 29-year-old from Cape Town juggles a demanding career as a management consulting analyst in Centurion – which involves long working hours, and frequent travel – with a social life. She runs to relieve stress, but fitting it in isn’t easy. “I started running two years ago, with my younger sister Emma and her boyfriend
40 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
Spencer,” she says. “The reason I carried on was that I enjoyed feeling fit, strong and motivated to excel in other areas of my life.” Kleynhans would love to be able to run every day, but that’s not possible when she’s travelling – at the time of writing, she had flown four times in one week. Sometimes travel leaves her so exhausted, she plumps for rest instead. She prefers to do parkruns, 10-K and 15-K races; but if she must work late, she feels it’s safer to use a treadmill. “My sister has been begging me to do the Half since last year. I didn’t do it then, because I thought I wouldn’t be able to accomplish it,” she says. “This year she sent me the entry form, and my competitive nature kicked in. If she can do it, I can do it, I thought. And besides, who wouldn’t want to run one of the most beautiful races in the world?”
Kleynhans’ First-Timer Guidelines IT’S MIND OVER MATTER. It’s amazing what you can accomplish once you put your mind to it. I’m not the perfect runner. I’ve worked hard at it, but I’m not a natural. You don’t have to be to take part in the Half. You do need to train, but anyone can do it.
DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP. It will be tough – the wind can be unpredictable, and there are hectic hills. Don’t be a slave to your pace watch; just keep moving forward, and focus on inishing.
NOR AH EJUMU, 31
The Ultra First-Timer There was once a time when women weren’t allowed to participate in long-distance races at all. As Norah Ejumu prepares for her first Two Oceans Ultra, she is an inspiring example to any woman who doesn’t feel confident enough to start running. The 31-year-old buyer’s assistant, originally from Uganda and now living in Johannesburg, admits she started running later in life because self-doubt had held her back previously. “I was always the last to be chosen by school
stranger to cat-calling and harassment. “I choose safe running routes – past schools, in leafy suburbs, and close to shopping centres where there are lots of other people, or in areas where I know there are security guards,” she says. At the start of the Ultra, Ejumu expects she will experience a mixture of anxiety and excitement; and at the end, she will feel accomplished, knowing she has worked hard to achieve something she would previously have thought was too diicult.
Norah’s Nuggets For Newbies STOP IF YOU NEED TO. Understand the difference between aching muscles and an injury. TRUST IN YOURSELF. Have faith in your training. You will finish the event. FOLLOW A TRAINING PLAN. They are written by experts, and structured the way they are for good reason. You can always spot the runners who haven’t trained, because they try to push themselves more than their body can handle on race day.
“My classmates called me butter fingers, because I was always dropping the ball!”
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y J E T L I N E AC T I O N P H OTO
sports teams, and I had terrible hand-eye coordination,” she says. “My classmates called me butter fingers, because I was always dropping the ball!” But when Ejumu started running in matric to lose weight, she realised she was stronger than she’d thought. Besides improving her health, finding out that provided she trained hard, she could run – and that she enjoyed it – was amazing! Ejumu started with a 5-K, and then progressed to a 10-K, a half marathon and a marathon. “Why stop at that, if I can continue to grow and improve as each year passes by?” she says. One of the challenges faced by woman runners is safety. Unfortunately, Ejumu is no
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T S E PI S O N Z AYO, 3 3
The PB Chaser To run 56km in under four hours, you have to maintain a blistering pace of under 4.15 min/km. Tsepiso Nzayo, a 33-year-old language practitioner and comedian from Bhisho in the Eastern Cape, only started running in 2017. How does he plan to get from zero running to a silver medal in such a short time? Nzayo was initially inspired to start running after reading Kabelo Mabalane’s book, I Ran for My Life. But good running
breaks the morale of the team. “Training with a teammate who is not as fast as me is equally advantageous, because it teaches me to run more slowly and use diferent muscles.” Conditions might not be perfect on race day. Training in varying conditions proved a wise move for a windy race Nzayo ran in Port Elizabeth. It meant he could approach the race strategically: he dropped his pace when he faced the wind, and picked it up
“I enjoy doing speedwork with a group of track-and-field athletes, because that’s their speciality.” technique didn’t come naturally; Nzayo had to learn it. This speedster follows a highly structured training programme that includes hill repeats, race-pace workouts, speedwork, time trials and long runs. He avoids tar as much as possible, preferring to run on a track, gravel roads, sand dunes and grass. “I enjoy doing speedwork with a group of track-and-field athletes, because that’s their speciality. They’re faster than me over 100m, 200m and 400m, and I have to push myself to keep up with them,” he says. “It also holds me accountable, because even if I want to give up, I can’t, in case it
Tsepiso’s GetFaster Tips P H OTO G R A P H B Y D E A N V E N I S H
DON’T RACE EVERYTHING. I ran the Heroes Marathon in Umtata last year, and I hadn’t had time to prepare, because I was busy with my comedy show, Tsepiso and Friends. As a result, it was tough, and I
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again when he ran with the wind at his back. And races aren’t often in the shade. Sometimes he purposely runs at the hottest time of the day, to get used to running in the heat. Nzayo shares his expertise with others. In Grahamstown, where he used to live, he started a movement: #RunWithTsepiso. His group of runners would meet at five every morning. Some were new runners, and Nzayo would run with them at their pace and motivate them to keep it up. Even though he doesn’t live in Grahamstown anymore, the hashtag still exists, and those runners have graduated to the half marathon.
was reduced to walking.
TRAIN SMART. Put in the mileage, and follow a structured training programme that includes hills and speedwork, because that’s what you’ll need during a race.
BE CONSISTENT ON RACE DAY. If you want to run at a pace of
4:10/km, make sure you can maintain it. RESPECT THE HILLS. That’s where lots of runners tend to mess up. Some of the best race times I’ve achieved have involved walking. Walk while you’re still feeling fresh; don’t wait until you get tired.
W E N DY SE L L E R , 39
The Working Mom Sometimes, life throws you a curveball. Wendy Seller is a 39-year-old mom of two boys who runs two custom-design businesses from her home in Johannesburg. She had just finished a marathon, after recovering from a niggling compensation hip injury, and she thought she could do anything. But then Seller woke up one Sunday morning with a sore neck; and over the next few days, she noticed swelling around her neck and chest. At first, she thought nothing of it, expecting it would clear up. It didn’t. On Thursday afternoon Seller was diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in her jugular and carotenoid vein, which meant there was no blood flow or oxygen in her neck, or in her left arm, all the way down to her elbow. “My doctor explained that my life was hanging by a thread,” recalls Seller. “I had emergency surgery on the Friday morning, and 20 days later one of my ribs was removed to prevent the vein from becoming blocked again. Despite her shocking ordeal, Seller made a pact that nothing would stand in the way of running, because it gave her so much pleasure. She also has an amazing support system. “My two boys – 10-year-old Diego and sixyear-old Rocco – were the reason I chose to
“…every medal I bring home is for them. They know I run every race for them.”
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Diego and Rocco keep her busy, and running her businesses is demanding. She juggles a lot, and relies on help from family and friends. “I used to run at 4am, but now my circumstances have changed,” she says. “Now I must run when my kids have gone to school – sometimes I’m joined by other moms. If I’ve got someone to look after the kids in the afternoon, I go out for a run, and although I have learned to enjoy running alone, on occasion, I also manage to train with the allwomen running group Catch Me If You Can.
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y J E T L I N E AC T I O N P H OTO
become healthy and start running in the first place. They motivated me to get back on my feet as quickly as possible. Every medal I bring home is for them. They know I run every race for them.” Under the guidance of a coach, Seller began to walk five days after her surgery, and monitored her heart rate carefully. Though she has a way to go before she catches up to where she was before, she has since made a safe return to running. Following a programme isn’t always easy –
“At weekends it’s easier, because my boys sleep over at their gran’s house, and then there isn’t the added pressure of rushing home after a long run or race.” Due to recovering more slowly than she anticipated, Seller will run the Two Oceans Half this year, and she plans to line up at the start of the 50th Ultra in 2019. She will push through the pain, and she has vowed not to give up. She wants to show her children that if you set your mind to something, you can achieve it with glory. “That’s how you should live the rest of your life,” she says. “If one of my clients asks me to create something by 2pm the following day, I’ll work all night to design something beautiful that they’ve never seen before. The sense of achievement when that person tells you they love what you did is the same as when you cross the finish line at a race.”
GILBERTH HOW BURG, 53
The Long Ranger
Seller’s Sage Advice For Working Moms DON’T MAKE EXCUSES. A legitimate excuse, such as injury or lack of sleep, is fine. Otherwise, find time to run in the 24 hours that you have. N E V E R G I V E U P . If there’s something standing in your way, push through it. There will always be someone who will be inspired by you.
When Gilberth Howburg runs his 20th Two Oceans Ultra this year, he’ll have raced a whopping 1 120km just in OMTOMs. What has prompted him to run so many, and what’s the secret to his longevity? The 53-year-old firefighter from Kraaifontein, who does duty at Cape Town International Airport, used to watch the Comrades and Two Oceans on television. In 1998, he saw Thompson Magawana – who established a course record for the Two Oceans that has yet to be equalled or bettered – flying over Chapman’s Peak. One day, I’ll run it, Howburg promised himself. He recalls his first Ultra, in 1995. The furthest he had run before was 42.2km, so lining up at the start felt like a new frontier. He remembers feeling nervous, but fit – after all, he is a firefighter. The weather was cool, and the cheering crowds at the finish line were much closer than they are today. “I felt like the Queen of England, waving!” says Howburg. One of reasons Howburg has been able to run so many Ultras is his passion for running. “For me, it’s the people and places,” he says. “Some runners you only see once a year at big races; others you see more frequently. But we’re all part of one big community. “I’ve noticed places I might not have if
Howburg’s Lessons For The Long Haul INVOLVE YOUR FAMILY. Even if they don’t run, ask them to come and support you, so that they can feel part of it too. REMAIN HUMBLE, otherwise running will humble you. Don’t think that if (like me) you’ve run the Two Oceans Ultra 19 times, it automatically makes you Mr or Mrs Know-It-All.
I hadn’t been running there. I even bought property in Langebaan, because it became one of my favourite places to run.” Howburg has become in tune with his body. “I’ve had the odd torn muscle, but nothing serious,” he says. “I decided not to race Two Oceans in 2015, because I had flu. To have run it regardless would’ve done more harm than good. “I’d run every day if I could, but rest is equally important. If you don’t listen to your body, your body will make you listen, sometimes putting you out for three or four weeks.” Nowadays runners have heart-rate monitors, fancy shoes and watches that you need a degree just to understand; but Howburg isn’t tempted by any of that. The only thing that’s worth spending money on, he says, is a decent pair of running shoes. When he runs his 20th Ultra and is awarded his double-blue number this year, Howburg also hopes to smash a PB. To achieve that, he has focused his eforts on speedwork, hill repeats and strength training.
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Adding the right explosive exercises to your workout can make your next run feel lighter and faster than ever. BY SAMANTHA LEFAVE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN PUSHNIK
W
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IMPROVING
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JUST SAY NO TO THESE COMMON PLYOMETRIC MISTAKES. Skipping stability work. Before you can leap on a leg, you have to be able to stand on it, Santucci says. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll get hurt. That’s why, before starting any plyometric program, he recommends adding balance moves, such as single-leg deadlifts and lateral lunges (with and without weight), into your workouts. Once those moves are mastered, start adding plyos. Thinking every jumping exercise is plyometric. “Plyometrics may involve jumping, but not all jumps are plyometric,” Rosante says. One common mistake he sees: squat jumps. Lowering into a deep squat and jumping as high as you can means your feet are in contact with the ground for too long; the muscle tension dissipates so you have to generate force to jump. Instead, perform a depth jump (right) to practise building eccentric strength and keeping ground contact light and speedy. Doing a million reps. More doesn’t always mean better. Going gangbusters on your rep count means you’re probably overtaxing type II muscle fibres – the
ones used for fast, explosive moves like sprinting – which will actually make them less effective at firing, Santucci says. Instead, keep your reps in the 6 to 10 range, and focus on fully extending the muscle each time. Sticking with the same four exercises. Being too committed to moves means you’re waiving more muscle-boosting benefits. After four to six weeks, there isn’t much left to gain from doing the same moves, Santucci says. Make sure you’re constantly switching up exercises, reps, and rest periods. Doing so will also stave off boredom. Taking on too much. Just because you can do weighted step-ups like it’s no big deal, it doesn’t mean you’re ready for weighted hurdle hops. If you’re new to plyos, start with simple jump training – skips, bounds, and low hurdle jumps – and build from there, Rosante suggests. Perform one jump at a time, focusing on form. “It may sound boring and tedious, but if you want to get the real benefits, you need to train correctly,” he says. Those who are ready for more can progress to jumps in succession, then move on to leaps, med-ball throw variations, and depth jumps.
H A I R & M A K E- U P B Y J E S S I CA P I N E DA
your run times, the obvious come to mind: speedwork, hills, strengthtraining. What is often overlooked? Power. Adding the right mix of plyometrics – explosive, energy-honing exercises – to your training can make your usual kays feel like you’ve switched to warp-speed mode. “Plyometrics are great for converting strength into speed and explosive power,” says Adam Rosante, strength and performance coach and founder of the Montauk Barbell Club. The movements help runners cover more ground with each foot strike, reinforce minimal ground contact, and promote full extension with every stride, like when you’re running all-out, he adds. But most people don’t understand what these movements truly are. “Plyometrics involve a fast, highintensity, involuntary eccentric contraction of the muscles and tendons, followed by an immediate, powerful concentric contraction,” Rosante explains. “It’s based on the stretchshortening cycle: When a muscle tendon is placed in an involuntary forced stretch, it will contract with greater force.” Think of it like a rubber band. If you pull it, then quickly let go, it flies super-fast, says Kenny Santucci, personal trainer and programme director at Solace. “It’s about stretching [the muscle] to its furthest extent, so it can shoot the furthest.” There are a lot of exercises that may look plyometric – box jumps, squat jumps, jumping lunges, for example – but don’t fit the true definition. “In order for a movement to be plyometric, it has to be executed in less than twotenths of a second,” Rosante says. “This is the amount of time in which your body can experience the shock that elicits the involuntary stretch, and use the accumulated energy for the returned
DO IT RIGHT action. Any longer, and your body will use effort to perform the return movement instead.” Let’s think about that, because twotenths of a second isn’t a lot of time. (It probably took you longer to read ‘twotenths’.) How can you perform an entire exercise that fast? Minimal ground contact, Rosante says. Think of stepping off a box, and the instant your feet hit the ground, immediately exploding back up. The key to doing that well is a small number of good reps. You shouldn’t feel as though you’re totally exhausted after doing plyometric movements – they’re not a conditioning tool, Rosante says. But you’re likely to feel a sense of fatigue the next day, because each rep is harnessing all of your power. Even though they’re not body conditioners, plyo moves can quickly make over your running. In a recent study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 24 men – none of whom regularly performed plyometrics – went through traditional, resistance, or assisted plyo programmes three times a week. After a month, they’d slashed seconds off their sprint and agility times, regardless of which style of training they did. And in a separate review of studies by the Singapore Sports Institute, athletes who did a minimum of one month of twice-weekly plyometric workouts – regardless of gender or running level – increased their running economy and performance. Santucci says plyometric-based training is also critical for runners who tackle high weekly mileage. “It builds up durability,” he says. “When you run for miles on end, you want to overprepare the muscles, joints, and ligaments to take that beating, and the best way to do it is to put them under tension with plyometrics.” Of course, that doesn’t mean you should randomly throw plyos into your training. To ensure that your workouts are high-quality (and to reduce your risk of injury), it’s best to do exercises that are the toughest on your central nervous system, like plyometrics, first. That’s why Rosante suggests doing the workout he designed here at the beginning of a strength-training day, before a run, or on its own for a quick power session. Then give yourself a 48- to 72-hour break from plyos – your body needs that much time to fully recover. And you’ve totally earned it.
C LOT H I N G : AT H L E TA S P E E D L I G H T TA N K; AT H L E TA T R A N S C E N D E N C E B R A ; AT H L E TA H I G H R I S E C H AT U R A N G A T I G H T S ; AS I C S DY N A F LY T E 2 S H O E S
GET EXPLOSIVE Perform each move – explosively! – for 3 sets of the prescribed reps. Rest for 1 minute between sets, and 2 to 3 minutes between moves.
DEPTH JUMPS
Stand on a raised platform, such as a box or bench, toes on the edge. Step out and drop straight down.
(Do not jump.) When you hit the ground, immediately jump straight up. Land softly. Do 6 to 8 reps.
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PRO TIP! HURDLE HOPS
DEPTH JUMP INTO MED-BALL THROW
E Set up four to six
As you jump up, your back should arch slightly.
Stand at the edge of a raised platform, holding a medicine ball with an underhand grip. Step of the platform and drop straight down. As
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soon as your feet hit the loor, jump up and throw the ball as high and far behind you as possible. Do 6 to 8 reps.
Set up ive hurdles as shown. Stand behind the irst hurdle, lower into a quarter-squat, and perform a series of
forward and lateral hops over the hurdles as fast as possible, making minimal ground contact. Do 4 to 6 reps.
I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y C H A R L I E L AY TO N
25- to 30-centimetre hurdles in a straight line, one in front of the other. Leave about a metre of space after each. Lower into a quarter-squat and explosively jump over each hurdle, making minimal contact with the ground, and moving as fast as possible. Do 4 to 6 reps. To increase the difficulty, move the hurdles either closer together or further apart.
M ULT I - D IR EC T I O N A L HUR D L E H O P S
“If you find you’re dropping into a deep landing [a low squat], it’s likely the box is too high,” Rosante says. His rule of thumb: Your platform height should be no more than 30cm higher than your maximum ver tical jump.
C LOT H I N G : R H O N E S C O U T C R E W N E C K S H I R T; R H O N E M A N U E V E R 7 ” S H O R T S ; N I K E A I R ZO O M VO M E R O 13 S H O E S
ANKLE JUMPS
Stand tall with both feet together. Bend knees slightly and jump straight up. While in the air, pull your toes towards your shins,
REACTIVE MED-BALL THROWS
emphasising lexion at the ankle joint. You won’t jump very high, due to limited knee involvement. Do 6 to 8 reps.
Stand with knees bent, prepared to catch a medicine ball. Get a partner to drop the ball directly into your hands from 60cm
above. Catch the ball and immediately jump up, throwing the ball as high and far forward as possible. Do 6 to 8 reps.
RUNNING LEAPS
From standing, take a few approach steps, keeping your body as low as possible, then leap of your left leg. Land on right leg and
immediately push of again as quickly as possible (it should look like an exaggerated running form). That’s 1 rep. Do 6 to 8 reps.
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Running puts everyone in a better mood. But for some of us, the kays are a real aid for depression and anxiety.
Therapy at Your Feet By S cot t Douglas
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Most Tuesdays, I run early in the morning with a woman named Meredith. For such close friends, we’re quite different. Meredith is a talkative social worker who draws energy from crowds. I’m an introverted editor who works from home. Meredith runs her best in large races and loves training with big groups. I’ve set PBs in solo time trials and tend to bail when a run’s head count gets above five. Meredith is a worrier, beset by regrets and anticipated outcomes, who has sought treatment for anxiety. I have dysthymia, or chronic lowgrade depression. We like to joke that Meredith stays up late as a way of avoiding the next day, whereas I go to bed early to speed the arrival of a better tomorrow. We do have one key thing in common: we run to bolster our mental health. Like all runners, we relish the short-term experience of finishing a run feeling like we’ve hit reset and can better handle the rest of the day. What’s not universal is our recognition that without regular running, the underlying fabric of our lives – our friendships, marriages, careers, odds of being something other than miserable most of the time – will fray. Running is our medicine. Meredith and I discovered this decades ago, and now researchers and practitioners are starting to catch up. Studies show that aerobic exercise can be as efective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression (and with side effects such as improved health and weight management, rather than the bloating and sexual dysfunction associated
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with pharmaceuticals). In countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, official guidelines include exercise as a first-line treatment for depression. Although US guidelines have yet to change, some psychotherapists now conduct on-the-run sessions with willing patients [see ‘New Couch to 5K’, p35]. How does moving the body change the mind? A wealth of work – both in the lab and with patients – shows that there’s more to it than endorphins, the well-known opioids the body produces during certain activities, including exercise. The emerging, more sophisticated view of running’s ability to improve mental health also takes into account long-term structural changes in the brain, as well as subjective states such as mood and cognition. Science continues working to
explain the theory behind what we runners already know from practice. RUNNING CHANGES HOW YOU THINK Unlike many with the condition, I’ve never been majorly incapacitated by depression. Most people would consider me productive, accomplished, even energetic, given a lifetime running odometer of 170 000-plus kilometres. My dysthymia has two main components: weltschmerz, a German word meaning sadness about how reality doesn’t live up to one’s hopes, and anhedonia, or a diminished ability to experience pleasure. Life often feels like waiting out a series of not-horrible, not-fun obligations. Sometimes things seem so pointless that I watch myself not caring that I don’t care. For example, I once received a group email that a book I’d co-authored had made the New York Times bestseller list. That’s a big deal in publishing. As if from outside my body, I observed myself writing an exclamationmark-filled reply-all response, thanking and congratulating those of us who worked on the book. As I typed, I really thought, Yeah, fine, whatever. Is this actually going to lift my life on a grey Tuesday in March? That it’s possible to be outwardly active but internally askew can mask just how common depression and anxiety are. In any one year, about 10 per cent of the US population would meet the diagnostic criteria for depression, and about 20 per cent for anxiety. (The two often co-exist.) The incidence of these conditions in runners is probably similar; a 2017 review of research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found no difference in depressive symptoms between what the researchers called “highperformance athletes” and non-athletes. All levels of runners are afected, with elites such as Olympian Adam Goucher and Western
‘What Running Does for Me’ Four different takes on how lacing up can boost mental health.
P H OTO G R A P H : C O U R T E S Y S T E P H E N C R A N E
In any one year, about 10 per cent of the US population would meet the diagnostic criteria for depression, and about 20 per cent for anxiety. The incidence of these conditions in runners is probably similar.
States 100-mile champions Rob Krar and Nikki Kimball having spoken publicly about their depression. Of course, everybody gets sad and worried at times. What distinguishes those feelings from clinical depression and anxiety? In the short term, therapists often look for significant changes in emotions, behaviour, and psychological functioning. They also focus on how symptoms such as feeling agitated, threatened, and uncomfortable (for anxiety) or joyless, lethargic, and apathetic (for depression) interfere with people’s everyday functioning. “I look at how these things afect activities of daily living, like sleeping, going to work, interpersonal relationships,” says Franklin Brooks, PhD, a clinical social worker. “There’s a profound diference between ‘I’m having a bad day at work’ and ‘I’m having a bad day at work and I’m not going to get out of bed tomorrow because of it.’” That classic depiction of depression sounds like what Amelia Gapin, 34, a software engineer and marathoner from New Jersey, has experienced. “I’ve had episodes where
for six weeks, two months, I couldn’t even get myself out of bed,” she says. “During the weekends, it was wake up and take a couple of hours to move myself to the couch.” The sentiment is echoed by Ian Kellogg, 22, a 14:43 PB 5K runner at Otterbein University in Ohio. “When I fall into depression, more often than not I don’t run. I can’t find the energy or willpower to get out the door, even though I know my training is suffering and that just half an hour will make me feel better.” Others have found a way to use running as a solution to overcome this form of depression. In June 2015, Pati Haaz, a finance professional from Kendall Park, New Jersey, had a miscarriage while two months pregnant. She became severely depressed, and started missing work. “I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to go out of my house,” she says. “It was that feeling that there’s no point in continuing. I had no motivation to do anything other than take care of my kids, which was more an automatic duty.” Guilt over being depressed – “feeling like I’m the worst mother in the world” – compounded the situation.
Get the Best Boost HOW LONG TO GO Most studies find significant mood boosts after 30 minutes of running. But any run is almost always better than no run; if you’re having a tough day, start with a flexible route that you can shorten or lengthen as feels best. HOW HARD TO PUSH The greatest post-run mood-lifting comes after running at 70 to 80 per cent of your maximum heart rate, or a conversational pace, research indicates. Still, pushing through a hard workout can provide a needed sense of accomplishment, and one you can apply to other areas of life when things feel overwhelming. And if you’re struggling to just get out the door, give yourself permission to run slowly. A study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that symptoms of depression improved more when the subjects worked out at a self-selected intensity, compared to exercising at a prescribed moderate intensity.
IT SHOWS ME WHO I AM. / Stephen Crane, 42, stay-at-home father I started running in 2015 because I was gaining all my weight back after gastric bypass surgery. My daughter said, “You had that surgery so you could be more active with us, and you aren’t. I want to run a family 5K with you, but I don’t know if you can do even that.” That day, I tried to run around the block. Six months later we did a 5K. At one point during the race, I noticed the look on my daughter’s face, and for the first time I felt like I was leading my family in a positive direction. Soon after, I went off the antidepressants I’d been on for years. From a young age I’d always counted myself out before I even started. Running was the first thing that made me realise that my perception of myself was holding me back, and setting running goals has shown me how much I can accomplish just by believing in myself. I started running because I didn’t want to break my daughter’s heart. I didn’t know it would save my life.
How Do You Know If Running Is Enough?
overwhelmed with anxiety and depression, shifting from the big picture – all the frustrations, worst-case-scenario thinking – to the in-the-moment task of doing something that approaches a goal, like running a six-kay loop with two hills, will kick off a positive feedback loop that continues throughout the run and takes our thinking and emotions out of the trench of negativity,” says psychologist Dr Laura Fredendall. These changes in mood and thinking are more accessible for runners. In a 2008 study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, ultra-marathoners, moderate regular exercisers, and nonexercisers walked or ran for 30 minutes at a selfselected pace that felt somewhat hard. After the workout, everyone’s mood had improved, but that of the ultra-marathoners and moderate exercisers did so about twice as much as that of the sedentary people. Also, the ultra-runners and regular exercisers reported greater vigour and less fatigue after the workout than before, while the non-exercisers felt the same. That’s because runners can hold a good pace for a long time without going anaerobic, allowing for the physiological processes that lead to improved mood, according to Dr Panteleimon Ekkekakis, a university professor who is a leading figure in the field of exercise psychology. “In sedentary people, their ventilatory threshold – the point at which exercise is no longer purely aerobic – is very low,” he says. “So they get up off the couch, they take a few steps, they’re already above their ventilatory threshold. If you’re a regular runner, you have the cardio-respiratory fitness to sustain an exercise intensity that’s associated with a feel-better efect.” A CHEMICAL ROMANCE What causes that feel-better efect? The quick answer you typically hear is endorphins, but focusing on the nebulous ‘runner’s high’ ignores crucial changes in brain structure and
IT PUSHES MY LIMITS / Heather Johnson, 43, marketing/business development professional I had my first panic attack when I was 13. At that age, I had many physical symptoms of anxiety – racing heart, sweating hands, shakiness, dizziness, and diarrhoea. As an adult, I experience fewer physical symptoms but more racing thoughts, rumination, and an insatiable need to know everything that is dangerous and how to avoid it. I started running in 1998, the year that I stopped using alcohol as my crutch to manage my anxiety. Running is the best cure for the swirling thought-storm in my head, because it continually exposes me to anxietyprovoking environments where I get to practise abating negative self-talk, push through my fears, and accept the unknown.
P H OTO G R A P H S : C O U R T E S Y H E AT H E R J O H N S O N ; R AC H E L L I N K / U N D E R A R M O U R ( D É S I R )
It’s a failure of neither running nor the runner to consider additional treatment for depression or anxiety. Just as a good training programme includes several elements, studies have found better outcomes when exercise is combined with talk therapy or medication. “I think it comes down to how well you’re functioning,” says psychiatrist Dr Brian Vasey. “Are you able to do what you need to do, and experience life to the depths that you would hope, just with running?” If you’re considering medication, know that in general, research finds no boost in, and no detriment to, performance. Anecdotally, runners report a range of responses: some lose interest in pushing that last few per cent in races after going on an antidepressant, while others find their running reborn, thanks to renewed energy and better overall functioning. Discuss all possible side effects with your doctor.
Haaz started seeing a therapist, who asked about her pre-depression hobbies. The 43-year-old said that she was a runner who before becoming pregnant, had planned to run her first marathon that autumn in New York. The therapist encouraged her to resume running. Haaz decided she needed the goal of finishing a marathon to overcome the inertia that depression had introduced to her life. “If I was running for the sake of running, I would have stopped with my normal 10-K run,” Haaz says. “But in marathon training, I was doing 25, 30, 35 kilometres, things I’d never done before. I was able to carry this sense of accomplishment into other areas of my life.” Even her shortest runs helped Haaz think differently. “If I was driving or working or waking up in the middle of the night and thinking about the things that were making me sad, it would just make things worse – it would become like a spiral, and there was no end to it. But when I was running, I would think about those same things, and somehow I was able to process them diferently. I would start my run with all these negative thoughts, and after a kilometre or two, they were gone.” Five months after her miscarriage, Haaz finished the New York City Marathon in 6:38. Reframing ruminations – thinking differently about hashed-over topics – is one of the main appeals of running for those of us with mental health issues. Cecilia Bidwell, 42, an attorney who has anxiety, puts it this way: “When I’m running, the thoughts come in and out, and I’m not worried,” she says. “I can think about things objectively. I realise that things I think are a huge deal aren’t, in the scheme of things.” The effect carries through Bidwell’s stressful workdays. “When I’ve gone for a good run in the morning, if things are going haywire at 2pm, I handle them a lot better. I’m not creating crises, and wondering Why am I here?” The more immediate cognitive focus of a typical run also helps. “When we’re
“When I’m running, I can think about things objectively. I realise that things I think are a huge deal aren’t, in the scheme of things.”
thinking patterns that running can induce. Endorphins entered the runner’s lexicon in the 1970s when it became known that these chemicals, which bind to neuron receptors in the brain, are released at higher levels during a run. Several studies found that higher blood levels of post-run endorphins correlated to improved mood. In 2008, German researchers used PET scans, an imaging study often used to check for cancer, on triathletes’ brains while the athletes ran for two hours. They found high levels of endorphins in the prefrontal cortex and other parts of the brain associated with mood, and that these levels aligned with the athletes’ reports of euphoria. But endorphins aren’t everything. As part of his research into human evolution, David Raichlen, PhD, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, has measured pre- and post-run endocannabinoid levels in runners, dogs, and ferrets. Endocannabinoids are substances that bind to the same receptors in the brain as THC, the primary substance responsible for a marijuana high. Raichlen says there are two leading theories on why running causes increased levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids. First, when humans became hunter/gatherers close to two million years ago, they became more active; the release of these chemicals, which act as pain relievers, may have evolved to allow longer, faster movement. In this scenario, the feel-good aspect is a by-product. Second, higher levels of these chemicals while active could have motivated continued movement, which would lead to getting more food, and ultimately, higher survival rates. Raichlen says the two mechanisms might have worked in tandem. Whatever the original mechanism for these evolutionary adaptations, they’re especially helpful for modern runners with mental health issues. It’s nice to run for an hour and go from being in a good-enough mood to a better one. It’s a fundamental shift to go from being miserable to content, thanks to an infusion of feel-good substances. “I’ll finish a
run and be like, Wow, this is how most people feel all the time, ” Bidwell says. A short-term mood boost because of endorphins and endocannabinoids is one thing. (Granted, one much-appreciated thing.) But where running really helps with mental health is over time, thanks to a change in brain structure. A review of research published in Clinical Psychology Review concluded that “exercise training recruits a process which confers enduring resilience to stress”. This appears to occur because regular running produces the same two changes that are thought to be responsible for the effectiveness of antidepressants: increased levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, and neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons. Neurogenesis occurs primarily due to a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which has been called ‘miracle food for the brain’. “It helps neurons fire and wire together,” Fredendall says. Much of this happens in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that’s often shrunken in people with depression. “MRI scans have shown that even after a six-month exercise intervention, there’s a visible increase in the size of the hippocampus,” Ekkekakis says. As Ekkekakis notes, you have to be fit to really get the daily benefits that can lead to structural changes. Of course, you also have to get yourself out the door, which can be especially diicult if you’re depressed. But success in running on an especially tough day makes it easier to get out the next time. And it can spur another key mental health benefit of running. I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN Levels of chemicals in the brain are only part of your mental state. There’s also cognition, or mental processes. Cognition includes not just straightforward thinking (‘I should run long today, because a blizzard is coming tomorrow’) but also more involved phenomena, such as how you think about your thoughts.
IT EASES MY ANXIETY / Alison Désir, 32, founder of Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women Growing up, I was really active, but I didn’t come to distance running until 2012. I was going through a bad period of depression: my father was seven years into a dementia diagnosis; I had graduated with a master’s degree but couldn’t find a job; my boyfriend was cheating on me. One of my friends was training for a marathon. He was not what I would call a typical runner – he was an average-looking black guy, not a tall, skinny white guy – and he made it seem like it was possible. I decided I would take the leap and sign up for a marathon. The programme gave me a concrete plan that promised I would achieve a certain set of results. And I started to apply that approach in my life. I got my discipline back, I got a job. That first marathon experience not only helped me mentally and physically, it got me back into society. I haven’t suffered from depression since then. As for my anxiety, there’s something about running that allows me to see different possibilities and come to different conclusions. There are also times, if I’m particularly anxious, that I’m able to home in on my breathing or a mantra and just not think about anything. It’s like meditation.
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“Perhaps the additional benefit of exercise compared to antidepressants lies in empowerment, that sense that I’m taking control.” IT GIVES ME FOCUS / Grayson Teng, 23, nursing student
In 2013, when I needed to be getting good marks to be accepted into a nursing degree, I was slacking off. I thought, I was clever in high school, I’ll be fine. But the bad marks kept coming. I was convinced I’d ruined my one big dream, to become a nurse. I started having feelings of apathy, isolation, guilt, shame, and worthlessness. Overall, I just felt numb. I’ve been a runner since high school. When I was really depressed, I reminded myself how good running makes me feel. I found if I could just get outside and run on trails, get some sunlight and fresh air and nature, I’d feel better – free, rather than trapped with my negative thoughts, and serene, focused, and clear. I’d finish a run and think, I know what I have to do to get things done. Let’s get started. So I turned to running to get back on track at varsity. Now I run 40km a week. I consider it preventive, as a way to keep those negative feelings from overwhelming me again.
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YOU DON’T HEAR ABOUT THE GOLFER’S HIGH Is there something uniquely effective about running for managing mental health? Or can any form of exercise provide similar relief? The short answer is that nobody knows for sure, and definitive research comparing the mood-boosting properties of various ways of working out is unlikely, because of the increase in complexity. “Such a study would have multiple arms – optimal intensity, duration, or frequency of different forms of exercise – so you go from a study costing R10 million to R30 million,” Ekkekakis says. “The amount of government funding available is simply not at that level.” (According to the World Health Organisation, depression
is the leading cause of disability and poor health worldwide, but on average only three per cent of government health budgets is spent on mental health issues.) It is safe to say that purposeful exercise is better than incidental physical activity. A study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found improved mood in people after they worked out, but not after daily-living activities such as climbing stairs. Aerobic exercise seems more effective than something like lifting weights. In fact, a review of research published in Preventive Medicine found that people with low levels of cardiovascular fitness were at greater risk of developing depression. When I asked Raichlen about running compared to other activities, he began by citing more studies on endocannabinoids, and talking about “mechanical pain” and “analgesic triggers”. Then the practical runner in him took over. “It’s easier to get yourself into a reasonable intensity by running compared to other sports,” he says. “It’s not too difficult to get in the right zone and stay there. And you have more control over your speed than in something like cycling, where efort is dictated by topography or even traic lights.” That’s been my experience over the last nearly four decades. When I’ve been injured, and switched to cycling or pool running, the workouts themselves are like proverbial castor oil – I do them because I know I need them, not because I think they’re enjoyable. The net that keeps me from plummeting starts to fray and sag. When running is going well, the net is taut and strong. A few times a month, usually while cruising along a wooded trail speckled with morning light, I’m overcome with a sensation best articulated as simply ‘yes’. Yes to the moment, yes to whatever is in store the rest of the day, yes to life itself. If I could bottle that feeling, I’d eventually forget what it’s like to be depressed.
P H OTO G R A P H : C O U R T E S Y G R AYS O N T E N G
Contributing editor Scott Douglas’s latest book, Running Is My Therapy, is out this month.
A hallmark of depression is self-defeating, absolutist thinking – ‘everything is harder than it should be’, ‘there’s no pleasure in my life’, ‘it’s always going to be like this’. I’ve learned that lacing up and hitting the roads is my best way to break free from such thoughts. On a daily basis, running reminds me that I can overcome apathy and torpor. Seeing that small victory, I can convince myself that progress is possible on meeting professional goals, or not feeling lonely so often, or figuring out how to aford retirement. “The subjective experience of seeing yourself do something can make you feel better,” Fredendall says. Ekkekakis says cognition is key to understanding another aspect of running’s efectiveness. “If you take antidepressants and they make you feel better, the psychological attribution is external – patients believe that the reason they get better is because of the drug they take,” he says. “With exercise, the attribution is internal – the reason I get better is that I’m doing this thing, I’m putting in the effort. That’s where perhaps the additional benefit of exercise compared to antidepressants lies – that sense of empowerment, that sense that I’m taking control of my situation.”
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The latest research shows that boosting your GUT BACTERIA could be the key to your next PB; while RUNNING, IN TURN, CAN IMPROVE YOUR DIGESTIVE HEALTH. Hannah Ebelthite, co-author of The Gut Plan Diet, explains how to get the most from this vital relationship.
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Words by Duncan Craig Illustrations Gallo Images/Getty Images
You are a walking – or running – bacteria colony. There are around 100 trillion microbes, mostly bacteria, living in and on your body, the majority in your large intestine. Bacteria outnumber your own body cells by about 10:1. And their genes outnumber your genes by over 100:1. Collectively, they form your microbiome. But what, exactly, do they have to do with running? Quite a lot, surprisingly; because these microbes in your gut are not only essential to your ability to digest food – they also provide vital nutrients and enzymes, and are involved in metabolism. They can alter the way you store fat, how you balance your blood glucose levels, and how you respond to hormones signalling hunger and satiety. Your microbiome also protects you against pathogens (agents of disease), controls hormones, and trains your immune system. (In fact, your gut has the largest number of immune cells and the largest number of hormone cells in the body). And crucially, you can influence how well it does these things. Everyone’s microbiome is unique, like a fingerprint. We pick up our mother’s microbiome during birth. Then, as we go through life, it’s in flux, moderated by diet, lifestyle, stress, medication, exercise, and even factors such as exposure to animals and dirt. Only in the past decade have we had the knowledge and technology – rapid genesequencing techniques – to identify different strains of bacteria and what their function might be. We know if your microbiome is out of balance, then digestive and weight issues, low mood and low immunity can result. While it’s unlikely to be a straightforward cause-and-effect situation,
research has also found links between poor gut flora and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, depression, anxiety, autism, asthma, allergies and respiratory tract infections (RTIs). “The real secret to how our bodies respond to different foods lies in our microbes, not our genes, as was always thought,” says Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and author of The Diet Myth (W&N). “It’s why some people store carbs as fat more easily than others, why some runners do better on a high-protein diet, and why some are predisposed to obesity. As we come to understand the complexities of this, we can do a lot more to tailor our diets and improve all aspects of our health.”
Can bacteria boost my running? “A lot of runners come to see me because they’re not getting the results they want, but can’t work out why,” says Sarah Danaher, a clinical and sports dietician based in Northern Ireland. “And one of the first things we’ll do is work on boosting their microbiome.” Danaher is not alone in taking this approach; the expert consensus is that the right balance of gut flora can improve running performance. The exact mechanisms are yet to be fully understood, but it’s likely we’re looking at a host of indirect efects that equal a performance benefit. Research at National Taiwan Sport University, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, looked at the effect of gut microbes on exercise performance in mice. The study found those with normal gut bacteria fared better in a timeto-exhaustion swimming test, while those sterilised to have no gut bacteria performed the worst. The researchers suggest metabolism and antioxidant response may be key. Last year, a large review by scientists at Shanghai University of Sport, published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, looked to identify more closely the relationship between endurance
APPLE & CINNAMON PANCAKES Bananas and apples are rich in prebiotic ibre to feed friendly gut bacteria. If you need a sweetener, try maple syrup. Makes 6 pancakes. 90g gluten-free oats 55g almonds 250ml unsweetened almond milk 1 medium banana 2 apples cut into chunks Drizzle of maple syrup/honey 1 tsp cinnamon Coconut oil/butter to grease the frying pan 1/ Whizz oats and nuts in a blender until a ine lour forms, then add milk, banana and cinnamon, and blend to a batter. 2/ Stew the apple in a pot until soft, adding a little water if needed and more cinnamon to taste. 3/ Heat and grease a pan, ladle in about a sixth of the batter. Cook for 2-3 mins each side. Set aside and repeat for each pancake. 4/ Serve 2-3 pancakes per person, topped with apple, natural yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup/honey.
THE TOP
10 FOODS TO EAT IF YOU WANT A HEALTHY GUT
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1 / GARLIC
2 / BANANAS
3 / ASPARAGUS
A nutrient-packed prebiotic with an antioxidant punch, plus allicin, which has been linked with improved circulation, heart health and boosting immunity.
These prebiotic powerhouses feed your gut while topping up your potassium, making them the perfect pre- or post-exercise snack for runners.
Rich in the prebiotic ibre inulin, plus folate, antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, and vitamin K. The less you can cook it, the more ibre it retains.
4 / NATURAL YOGHURT Full of probiotic ‘live’ bacteria. It’s thought probiotics can boost bacteria numbers, and also improve the function of what’s there.
exercise and the microbiome, particularly at what role a healthy microbiome might play in adaptations to exercise. The review looked at 33 papers published since 2007 and concluded that the microbiome may play a key role in controlling oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, as well as improving energy expenditure, hydration and metabolism during intense exercise. “We know a healthy microbiome has a positive effect on immunity and inflammation, as well as energy release,” says Spector. “This will benefit the runner in both the short and long term, contributing to a better run as well as improved recovery and faster fitness gains.” With better immunity, runners are also less likely to sufer from respiratory tract infections, as well as tummy bugs and other GI problems that can trash our training.
What about the other ‘runs’? While we runners spend plenty of time thinking about the digestive perils of our sport, like those dreaded mid-run bowel rebellions, research suggests that in the longer term, exercise can produce a healthier, more diverse microbiome; and with this, all the knock-on efects on not just digestion but also
mood, immunity, chronic disease risk and more. A recent study published in the journal Gut, which compared 40 professional athletes with ordinary, healthy men, found that the athletes had a significantly higher diversity of gut microbes, including bacteria associated with lower rates of obesity and obesity-related disorders. This provides evidence for the efect of exercise on the microbiome – although, as Spector points out, the reelationship is likely to be complex, and influenced
5 / FERMENTED VEGETABLES (PICKLES) Lacto-fermentation involves soaking vegetables in their own juice or brine and allowing bacteria to grow.
6 / JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES These knobbly, prebiotic roots can be used any way you’d use potatoes but have a lower glycaemic index (GI), so they ill you up for longer.
7 / KEFIR A probiotic live yoghurt drink made by fermenting keir ‘grains’ with dairy or plant/nut milk. Add to smoothies, soups and fruit; it’s great with lemon as a salad dressing.
8 / NUTS AND SEEDS Our microbes feed of the fatty acids and polyphenols in nuts (and olive oil). Polyphenols help the microbiome to diversify and lourish.
9 / MISO
10 / KOMBUCHA
A paste made by fermenting soya beans, barley and brown rice that has prebiotic and probiotic qualities. Use in savoury dips, dressings and soup.
A fermented tea drink with a vinegary taste. Can be home-brewed using black or green tea, sugar and a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).
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PECAN PIE ENERGY BALLS Homemade energy balls are easier to whizz up than you think. This recipe makes 10-12 and they keep in the fridge for up to ive days. Wrap a couple up and pop them in your belt for long runs. They're easy to digest on the go and tastier than gels.
by the healthy diets followed by elite sportspeople. Other studies in Spain and at the University of Colorado in the US have found increasing moderate-exercise frequency in humans has a beneficial effect on gut bacteria, increasing the strains Similar results have diversity of beneficial strains. been found in rat and mice studies. “We don’t know enough yet to prescribe certain types of exercise; suice to say that there’s an all-round benefit to being active,” says Spector. And it’s a two-way street: run to boost your microbiome, boost your microbiome to improve
gastroenterologist and authorr of Take Control of Your IBS (Vermilion). “Marathoners often complain of loose bowels – not just when running, but all the time. It’s often the case that they have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), perhaps without knowing knowing, and vigorous exercise makes it worse.” IBSisatrickyconditionforrunners, as stress is also a common trigger. “So if going for a run de-stresses you, then it can be a helpful part of treatment,” says Whorwell. “But if you’re stressed out before a race or a hard training session, that can aggravate IBS. Moderate running is usually fine for IBS, and may
your adaptation to running. That may not sit comfortably with runners who find themselves doubled up with cramps during or after a run, or who spend the hours before a race in the queue for the portable toilets. But building a better microbiome is the best approach to these gut gripes, too – whatever their cause. “Runners are known for gastrointestinal issues, particularly those who push themselves harder for distance or times,” says Professor Peter Whorwell, consultant
even help it. If you have constipation, more vigorous exercise (faster or longer running) can be useful. If you have loose IBS, it’s best avoided.” As a runner, your digestive system may be particularly sensitive to the physical jolting of running, or you may be sensitive to the specialist drinks or food you’re taking on board to fuel your efforts. “Avoid products containing fructose or artificial sweeteners, known to cause upset,” says Whorwell. “Adjust your meal timings, and try self-
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80g dried apricots 100g toasted pecans 4 tbsp gluten-free oats ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp ginger (ground) ¼ tsp cloves ¼ tsp nutmeg 4 dates FOR COATING: 1 tbsp chia seeds 1 tbsp lax seeds 1/ Toast the pecans, then add to a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds, then add all the dry ingredients. 2/ Mix until combined and add the dried apricots and dates. Pulse together until you get a sticky dough. 3/ On a plate, mix the chia and lax seeds together. Roll into 10 balls, then roll the balls in the seed mixture and refrigerate.
hypnosis and meditation to calm nerves.” Running has also been linked to ‘leaky gut syndrome’. “This is a controversial area, but the condition does exist,” says Whorwell. “The gut can become more permeable after an infection, and let potentially harmful food antigens and bacteria into the bloodstream. This can also happen due to stress and (it’s thought) exercise – although only in the short term.”
Could probiotics be the answer? Research published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology suggested that taking probiotics – supplements containing live bacteria – not only reduced gut permeability, but increased the time it took runners to fatigue when training in hot temperatures. Another, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found distance runners given a probiotic supplement for a month reported less than half the number of days of respiratory symptoms than a control group. Other research has suggested that probiotics may help reduce inflammation, oxidative stress and gastrointestinal illness in active people. So they have an indirect rather than an ergogenic efect. However, many experts question whether probiotic supps can really ofer a ‘magic bullet’ to the guts – at least for now. The diiculty is knowing which strains of bacteria a pill or powder contains, and which your microbiome lacks, in what amounts, and if they can survive the journey to your gut. “Because everyone’s microbiome is unique, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supplementing,” explains Spector. “In the future, we can expect bespoke probiotic medication; and my goal is formulations to fight obesity or other diseases.” For now, though? Save your money and concentrate on your diet first (see ‘The top 10 foods to eat if you want a healthy gut’, p68).
How can I boost my microbiome? “Whether you want to deal with digestive issues or low immunity, or simply get yourself in the best possible shape to run better, show your microbes some TLC – and the benefits will cascade from that,” says Danaher. But how, precisely can you apply that TLC? I wrote The Gut Plan Diet with nutritionist Amanda Hamilton to give people a practical guide to reaping the benefits of all the latest guthealth research. We know a healthy microbiome is plentiful and varied, so how do we increase our own diversity? We devised a 21-day plan designed to boost your digestive system, increase the number and diversity of your gut microbes, and guide you into better eating habits for life. Here are some guiding principles you can take from it: GO FOR VARIETY. Our bodies thrive on real food and diversity. Yet the Western diet, based around processed convenience food and drinks, is very limited. Many of us eat as few as six or seven meals on rotation and fail to get our five – or should that be 10? – a day of fruit and vegetables. Danaher says a common problem is runners
SQUASH, QUINOA & CHICKEN POT Rich in gut-boosting proteins. Replace the chicken with tofu or extra chickpeas if you prefer. Makes 2-3 portions. 300g peeled butternut, diced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp ground cumin ½ onion, chopped 140g chicken breast, diced (optional) 300g tinned tomatoes 300ml water 200g tinned chickpeas Grated zest of 1 lemon Juice of ½ lemon 8 cherry tomatoes 80g dry quinoa Chopped coriander Sea salt and pepper 1/ Heat the oven to 200°C. Put the butternut in a roasting tin, coat it with 1⁄2 tbsp oil and bake until tender (around 30 mins). 2/ Heat the remaining oil in a casserole dish over a low heat, add the cumin and onion and cook until softened (about 5 mins). 3/ Add the chicken and fry until golden (about 10 mins). 4/ Now add the tinned tomatoes and water, cover and simmer for 30 mins. 5/ Add the remaining ingredients (except coriander). Season, cover and simmer for 10 mins. Stir in coriander and serve.
following faddy diets, and therefore cutting out foods their microbiome needs. “The surest route to an abundant and diverse microbiome is a diverse diet,” Spector agrees: “Runners can be guilty of getting into certain, limited dietary habits they think work for them. Branching out and enjoying a much wider range of foods is a very good start.” From a weight-loss/management perspective, research shows that dieters who eat a greater variety of healthy foods are more likely to lose weight and fat long term, and less likely to develop metabolic syndrome (associated with type 2 diabetes and heart disease). So, choose a rainbow of fruit and veg, try new foods and flavours, and eat seasonally. Each time you prepare a meal, think, What else could I add? Then up the diversity with some sprouted seeds, some extra veg, a side dish of pickles. CHOOSE UNPROCESSED. ‘Variety’ doesn’t mean extra wings with your delivery pizza. Processed foods, takeaways and ready meals do our guts no favours. Very often high in sugar, salt, trans or saturated fats, additives and preservatives, they’re also much lower on the nutritional scale than real foods. Refined, white starchy carbs such as white flour, bread, pasta and rice ofer much less for the microbiome than their whole-grain alternatives. Avoid them, and you automatically avoid foods such as pastries, cakes and biscuits. Sugar suppresses beneficial bacteria and can allow unhealthy microbes to take over. Artificial sweeteners are equally unhelpful to gut health. “I can see why runners go for instant-fix glucose-based drinks, gels and bars,” says Spector. “But trying to wean yourself of processed energy foods and onto real food for fuel will benefit your digestion, overall health and performance.” FEED YOUR GUT. What you eat doesn’t just feed you; it feeds your microbes, too. Make sure your diet includes plenty of prebiotics. These are foods made up of a form of indigestible fibre. They end up in the large intestine, where they provide a feast for waiting microbes. Think of them as fertiliser that helps your friendly bacteria to grow. Fibrous fruit and vegetables are top sources, as are whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds. (Whorwell does caution that some people with IBS need to follow a lower-fibre diet without fermentable carbs. If you react to these sorts of foods, ask a dietician about the FODMAPS diet, which avoids them.) GE T FERMENTING. Fermented food and drinks contain live bacteria and yeasts – probiotics that survive the digestive tract and help to increase the population and activity of the microbiome. There are many ways to enjoy fermented products, and they’re becoming more fashionable as the health benefits are more widely reported. Get your fill of natural yoghurt, kefir, fermented vegetables or pickles, and kombucha. Even aged, unpasturised cheese and red wine have their benefits. The Gut Plan Diet by Amanda Hamilton and Hannah Ebelthite is out now (R169, takealot.com).
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 67
The Golden Age A new breed of older runners
are rewriting the record books and redeining our
understanding of age and
athletic performance. Their stories – and the latest scientiic developments – will inspire you to keep going in the long run. 68 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
THE GOOD OLD DAYS: SERIAL MASTERS RECORD-BREAKER ED WHITLOCK IN FULL FLOW.
APRIL 2018 RUNNERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WORLD 69
“If the conditions and my preparation had been ideal, and if I had paced the race better, I could have run a lot faster – perhaps even 20 minutes faster. That would have brought me under three and a
It’s the sort of post-marathon musing you might expect to hear from any welltrained marathon finisher anywhere in the world. But this isn’t a keen 30-something lamenting a mistimed taper. Ed Whitlock is five years short of his 90th birthday. The British-born Canadian national used to surprise competitors in races, recalling bemusement and frustration on fellow runners’ faces as he eased his slight frame past them. Not any more. Now he’s too well known – his ‘notoriety’, as he calls it, built on a series of incredible age-group records from the mile to the marathon. Whitlock is still the only septuagenarian to have run the latter distance in under three hours (2:55, when he was 73, for the record). And in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October last year, aged 85, he became the oldest person to run a marathon in under four hours. Though, as we know, Whitlock believes it could and should have been a lot quicker. “Runners come up and say, ‘You’re an inspiration’, and I never know how to respond,” says Whitlock. “I don’t see myself as anything particularly special. I’m perplexed by all the attention, really.” That drive for self-improvement is something Whitlock shares with 73-yearold Lavinia Petrie, another superstar of the Masters scene – the series of age-compartmentalised national and international races for runners aged 35
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and upwards. A naturalised Australian, who moved Down Under from Britain in the 1960s, Petrie has shown a Bolt-esque dominance of the W70 category (women aged 70-74) in recent years. Five golds from five events, across track, road and cross-country, at the 2015 World Masters Athletics Championships in Lyon. Then, at the same championships the following year, in Perth, victory in the same five events, each in a quicker time than the year before. Like a good cabernet sauvignon, the Melbourne-based pensioner is improving with age. Among the world records she currently holds in the category are 44:09 for 10K, set in 2014. When she broke the world halfmarathon record in Bendigo, Victoria, the same year, it was by a margin of nearly three minutes – a time of 1:37:38. “It’s got to the stage that every time I step out, people expect a world record. I feel inside my body that I can improve on what I’ve done so far. The perfect race is still ahead of me,” she says. Petrie is keeping a wary eye on Angela Copson, though. This month [April], the runner from Northamptonshire, UK turns 70, moving the Melburnian’s suite of records into her sights. Copson already holds the British marathon record for both the W60 (3:14:51) and W65 (3:17:10) categories, and last year became the oldest woman to run the distance in under 3:30 at the Greater Manchester Marathon (her time was 3:24:54). “She’s probably going to smash all my records,” says Petrie.
(Left) Bob McAdam (96) with trainer Gina Muaau during the Turkey Day 5K in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in December last year, when he set a world record for his age group; (Right) Ed Whitlock (85). After his record-breaking marathon last year he was asked by the Toronto Sun how he felt: ‘Not too bad. No diferent really to how I’ve felt after marathons in the past. My legs are a bit stif.’
WO R D S : D U N CA N C R A I G . P H OTO G R A P Y: E VA N KA F K A ( P R E V I O U S PAG E A N D M A I N I M AG E T H I S PAG E ), CO U R T E SY O F G I N A M UA AU
half hours,” says ED WHITLOCK .
You’d think this trio is at the extreme end of the Masters running scale, but all are comparative whippersnappers measured against Bob McAdam. In November last year, the 96-year-old smashed the world 5K record for his age group – 95-99-year-olds – having prepared for the race by training on the treadmill at his retirement home in Colorado, US. McAdam’s time of 48:19 was almost two minutes faster than anyone his vintage had ever run. One young girl posed for a selfie with the former gym teacher at the finish; when he was her age, the Second World War was yet to break out. Yet, as with Whitlock, it was nagging dissatisfaction that took hold at the finish line. ‘I walked bits of it. I know I can do better. Maybe get it down to 45 minutes,’ he says. A year older than McAdam is the evergreen Charles Eugster, a dapper retired dental surgeon who took up sprinting at the not especially common age of 95. He holds the M95 world 200m indoor record (54.77) and outdoor 400m record (2:21.46), and various British and European records in the age group. His total haul of Masters golds is 46 (and he’s a prolific rower to boot). As the title of his book, released earlier this year, puts it: Age is Just a Number. Still, even McAdam and Eugster seem youthful when measured against Fauja Singh, 105. Though he ran as a young man, the London-based ‘Turbaned Tornado’ was 88 when he returned to the sport, famously dressed in trainers and a threepiece suit when he turned up for training on day one with coach Harmander Singh. The Redbridge-based Sikh quickly moved to marathons, and at the age of 92, ran his PB of 5:40:04 in Toronto. It’s still by a significant margin the quickest marathon in history by a nonagenarian. His last marathon was London in 2012, when he was 101. It took him 7:49. Is this a record for a centenarian? “He’s the only one who’s ever done it,” says Harmander, who has completed 100 marathons himself. “For Fauja, it’s all about the positive mindset. He’s an inspiration. He always says, ‘The moment you think you’re old, you’ve had it.’”
Greys’ anatomy You may assume that the above are mere outliers – singularly driven individuals blessed with extravagant physiological gifts that work to defy the natural ageing process. But that would be to ignore a wider trend that’s in play here: that of the soaring popularity of running among the older demographics. Over the past 10 years
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 71
the running bellwether that is the London Marathon has seen a marked increase in the number of finishers in its upper age categories: 20 per cent more runners in the 60-69 category; 36 per cent more in its 70-79 group; 50 per cent more aged 80-plus. Likewise the New York Marathon: in 1997 there (Above) Charles Eugster, the were just over 900 finishers 97-year-old who took up exercise aged 60-plus. By last year when he was 85: “I looked in the that figure had swollen mirror one morning and I didn’t like what I saw.” These days he to 2 417, accounting for trains three or four times a week. nearly five per cent of the (Below) Fauja Singh, who makes total field. even Eugster look like a youngster. Of course, it’s not just Of running marathons, he has said: ‘The first 32 kilometres are not marathons. With its free, difficult. As for the last 10, I run weekly timed 5K events, while talking to God.’ parkrun has become a global phenomenon, and the older demographic is doing more than its fair share to drive that exponential growth. In 2004, the year the series was launched, there were 10 runs recorded by those in the over-60s bracket, and zero by those aged 70-plus. Last year, the figures were 528 443 and 95 186, respectively. Getting overtaken by a sprightly pensioner used to be the jokingly self-deprecatory aside of the enthusiastic amateur runner; these days, it’s an ever-present danger. So with this mobilisation of a ‘grey army’ in running, are we seeing a redefining of the relationship between age and athletic performance? Plenty of elderly runners, such as Whitlock and McAdam, ran or were superfit via other sports in their youth, and are simply finding the time in later life to once again pursue their passion. But it seems many other old-timers are recent firsttimers, taking up running for the first time in their Indian Summer years. They have the zeal of the convert and a body that – in terms of kilometres run, at least – is still relatively young; think vintage Mercedes with just a few hundred on the clock. The oldest runner in last year’s London Marathon, 88-year-old Iva Barr, only took up running aged 55. Diane Aykroyd, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was two years older when she first laced up a pair of running shoes in anger. It started when she used to go to watch her daughter competing in 10K races. A basic introductory training plan was written out for her: run a minute, walk a minute. ‘I couldn’t even run a minute the first time I tried,’ she recalls. As we go to press, the 68-year-old grandmother will be lining up in her 336th parkrun – another step on her way to her target of 500. “I sometimes run with my grandchildren,” says Aykroyd. “As they
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pass me they usually say ‘Go on, Grandma’. I call myself an old codger, but I enjoy the achievement and all the benefits it brings. I feel energised. After you’ve done a race, or just been out for a run, you feel you’ve achieved something, and it sets you up for the rest of the day. I’m convinced it’s keeping me fitter and healthier.” It certainly is. A wealth of scientific research now points to the battery of benefits of exercise for older demographics, from reduced mortality rates and increased life expectancy to longer disabilityfree life. Aerobic endurance training keeps the heart and cardiovascular system ticking over, but running also boosts ligament and tendon function, and increases bone density and muscle retention – all of which prolong mobility.
‘“Running cured my osteoporosis.” Research has shown myriad health beneits are to be gained from running in later life – including bolstering your bones.
DIANE AYKROYD
“After you’ve done a race you feel you have achieved something, and it sets you up for the
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y G A L LO I M AG E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S ( S I N G H , E U G S T E R )
rest of the day.” And the risks? “The data shows that, presuming there are no underlying conditions, almost any age group can do high-intensity training,” says Dr Michael Joyner, one of the world’s leading experts on human performance and exercise physiology. “The key is to avoid the ‘square wave’ – essentially, going from no exercise to high intensity.” He sees ageing as far more volitional than we tend to believe. “As humans, we do ourselves a disservice by accepting frailty with ageing as inevitable,” he says. “People such as Ed Whitlock are proving that the human body is much more resilient than we give it credit for.” Indeed, an article on ageing and exercise among the over-65s published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons concluded that “a lot of the deterioration we see with ageing can be attributed to a more sedentary lifestyle
Joyce Morrison, 69, from Worcester, had never run until she was 60. She took it up to keep her husband company when he resumed running in a bid to combat health problems. He gave up, she continued – and
she hasn’t stopped, completing more than 250 parkruns and often running with her two daughters and three granddaughters. ‘I’m hooked,’ she says. In her late 50s, Joyce was diagnosed with multiple
instead of ageing itself. An increasing amount of evidence demonstrates that we can modulate age-related decline in the musculoskeletal system.”
Age, no limits Call it cuddly inclusiveness, call it commercial imperative, but races are certainly doing their part to open doors to more senior runners. The Great Run Company, which stages several dozen mass-participation events in the UK catering for 300 000 participants every year, has an avowed open-to-all ethos, and doesn’t set an upper age limit. Its oldest recorded female competitor is 94; and male, 95. “Running into your twilight years is a trend we have always embraced, and we will continue to do so,” says spokeswoman Nicola Hedley. The New York Marathon is equally pro-seniors. “I’m always in awe of our inspirational older runners,” says race director Peter Ciaccia. “We are thrilled
back fractures associated with osteoporosis, and put on medication. A few years after taking up running, a scan showed that the back fractures had healed. ‘My doctor said I could stop the medication, as long as I kept up the running. A year later I had another bone scan and the doctor found that in the year since I’d given up the medication, my bones had got stronger. He put this down to the running.’ The explanation was that the impact, allied to the added vitamin D from being active outdoors, had bolstered Joyce’s bone density. ‘I ind that amazing,’ she says. ‘I’d like that message to get out to the older age groups. My only regret is that I didn’t start doing it when I was younger.’
they have discovered the transformative power of running.” The London Marathon operates a Good For Age incentive for UK residents. A 60-64 man who runs sub-3:45 or a woman of that age who runs sub-4:30, for example, would get an automatic place. Aged over 76? If you can run 5:30 (men) or 6.30 (women), you’re in. Age-group categorisation in races is obviously nothing new. But it has become more defined, and the results more clearly and quickly displayed, levelling the demographic playing field, setting tangible targets for ever more participants, and bringing an overall spike in performance. Parkrun leads the way on this, posting online results swiftly after events, with runners able to see not only where they come in their age category, but also, via a percentage, how they measure up against the global record for their age group. On New Year’s Day in Tooting, south London, Maureen Laney ran the 5K race in 21:31. This placed her seventh on the day,
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 73
Old Gold
The astonishing world records in the world of masters running
A G E 7 0 -74 DISTANCE
TIME
NAME
DATE
PLACE
5K (M)
18:21
ED WHITLOCK
July 2004
Toronto
10K (M)
37:33
ED WHITLOCK
Sept 2004
Toronto
Marathon (M)
2:54:48
ED WHITLOCK
Sept 2004
Toronto
5K (W)
22:14
JAN HOLMQUIST
Oct 2015
Syracuse, NY
10K (W)
44:09
LAVINIA PETRIE
Oct 2014
Melbourne
Marathon (W)
3:35:29
HELGA MIKETTA
Oct 2013
Essen, Germany
DISTANCE
TIME
NAME
DATE
PLACE
5K (M)
18:45
ED WHITLOCK
July 2006
Toronto
10K (M)
40:10
ED WHITLOCK
Sept 2006
Toronto
Marathon (M)
3:04:53
ED WHITLOCK
April 2007
Rotterdam
5K (W)
23:34
LIBBY JAMES
June 2012
Albany, NY
10K (W)
49:31
LOUISE GILCHRIST
Sept 2008
Partington, UK
Marathon (W)
3:53:42
YOKO NAKON
Nov 2012
Otawara, Japan
A G E 7 5 -7 9
but the age-graded percentage she received as a 60- to 64-year-old runner highlighted just what an extraordinary performance it really was: 92.8 per cent. The race winner, by contrast, only scored 71.32 per cent in the 30-34 age category. ‘I’m usually over 50 per cent, which is what I aim for,’ says Diane Aykroyd. ‘I’d love to get over 60 per cent, but life just gets in the way. I’m looking forward to moving up into the 70-75 age group soon; then my percentages should rise.’ Parkrun’s highest recorded percentage? That remarkable man Fauja Singh, with a mind-bending (both mathematically and athletically) 179 per cent for his 38:34 finishing time in March 2012. All of which raises the question: just what is possible of an ageing body, if it is managed correctly? Will running records continue to fall, or is there a ‘grey ceiling’ –
ED WHITLOCK
“To some extent it’s a mind game. I think
AGE 80-84 DISTANCE
TIME
NAME
DATE
PLACE
5K (M)
22:41
STEPHEN CHARLTON
June 2007
Horwich, England
10K (M)
42:58
ED WHITLOCK
Sept 2011
Toronto
Marathon (M)
3:15:53
ED WHITLOCK
Oct 2011
Toronto
5K (W)
25:14
LIBBY JAMES
Oct 2016
Syracuse, NY
10K (W)
54:17
DEIRDRE LARKIN
May 2013
Durban, SA
Marathon (W)
4:12:44
GWEN MCFARLAN
May 2014
Ottawa
that older people can do much, much more than they think they can.”
AGE 85-89 DISTANCE
TIME
NAME
DATE
PLACE
5K (M)
24:57
STEPHEN CHARLTON
Aug 2012
London
10K (M)
52:54
LUCIANO ACQUARONE
Oct 2015
Vado Ligure, Italy
Marathon (M)
3:56:38
ED WHITLOCK
Oct 2016
Toronto
5K (W)
36:11
LENORE MONTGOMERY
June 2015
Vancouver
10K (W)
59:51
DEIRDRE LARKIN
Jan 2017
Benoni, SA
Marathon (W)
5:14:26
BETTY JEAN MCHUGH
Dec 2012
Honolulu
74 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
a finite level of performance for any given age group? Research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that running performance is linked to three key physiological factors: maximal aerobic capacity, or VO2 max; lactate threshold; and running economy, or eiciency. The last of these doesn’t have to change significantly with age; a high volume of running is enough to ensure running economy is maintained. In short, if you’re getting the kays in, you’ll be able to continue to do so – something Whitlock has discovered. “It’s strange,” he says. “It
doesn’t really get harder every year. When I’m running, it doesn’t feel that much diferent to how it did when I was much, much younger.” VO2 max, meanwhile, typically decreases by one per cent a year after the age of 20 – but even that’s not inevitable. “Some of the research shows that you can cut that rate of decline by 50 per cent if you maintain a vigorous exercise programme, so that’s very encouraging,” says Dr Barbara Bushman, a professor of kinesiology at Missouri State University. “We have studies of older people who’ve maintained their training programmes, and their VO2 max can be higher than that of a younger person who’s sedentary.” Dr Bushman believes that senior runners are far from reaching the peak of the performance arc. “There are records that have been broken in younger ages that at one point we thought never would be. I really don’t see why that shouldn’t be the case further up the age group spectrum. It’s all relative. The key is to ensure that aerobic exercise is matched by muscular fitness training – and to not just jump into it, but to take the steps along the way. Not to say ‘We want to get back to how we were 10 or 20 years ago – and we want to do it this week’.”
P H OTO G R A P Y: A L E X R OTAS (CO P S O N ) , G A L LOW I M AG E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S ( BA R R , P E T R I E )
Time, and time again Sadly, we can’t pretend that running offers an elixir for eternal youth. Incontrovertibly, with age comes decline – beating both the stopwatch and the body clock is, ultimately, impossible. Muscle mass falls away (at roughly 30 per cent per decade once you hit 70), susceptibility to injury increases, and performance drops off. Mirroring the decrease in VO2 max, a runner’s average speed in distance races drops by around one per cent a year from your early 20s – which can be as frustrating in one’s senior years, as it would be for someone far younger. As the 20th-century French philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put it, “Growing old is like being increasingly penalised for a crime you haven’t committed.” “Every few months that go by at this age, you’re losing (Top to bottom) Iva Barr: the 88-year-old was some potential,” admits the oldest runner in last year’s Whitlock, currently at London Marathon. She also ran home on the outskirts of the first London Marathon, in 1981; Angela Copson (70) – the UK Toronto nursing a neck record-breaker who just seems to injury. “My goals tend be getting started; and Lavinia to be short-term now. Petrie, the 73-year-old who reckons They’re more hopes than Copson will eventually ‘smash’ all her records. objectives. You never know
– even when you’re young, and more so when you’re old – whether you’ve run your last race.” But Whitlock is not given to selfpity (presumably the sheer volume of endorphins in his system has something to do with that) and ultimately believes that the key is for others to embrace the shift in attitude and perception of what can be achieved by older runners. “To some extent it’s a mind game,” he says. “I think older people can do much, much more than they think they can do – and than other people think they can do.” He has, of course, put his miles where his mouth is, and cites himself as an example. “I took up running again in my 40s, and I went to this teenage running club. When I got there I started jogging around the track, and they’d clearly never seen an old man run before – this was before the jogging boom started, and you didn’t see all these people on the streets the way you do now. They didn’t seem to understand how anyone that old could run. That was 45 years ago. I’ve done a lot of kilometres since then.’ Crucially, Whitlock believes that he’s not a special case, and that there are many, many other older runners out there with huge potential to fulfil. ‘I’m still the only person over 70 to have run a marathon in less than three hours, and I’m really surprised at that,’ he says. ‘I really think that it’s an achievable record for a decent marathon runner.’ With a wider perspective on ageing and athleticism, Dr Joyner believes that technology, and our reliance on it, has seen us “engage in vast individual and learned cultural helplessness”. In essence that in existential terms, we’re all tapering too soon. “I think that people should wake up every day and remind themselves of the words of US basketball coach John Wooden: ‘Do not permit what you cannot do to interfere with what you can do.’ I think healthy ageing is the way to go, and there’s evidence that many individuals who’ve been physically active live longer, and then die after a brief illness, as opposed to dwindling. And if you speak to people in their 60s and 70s, that’s exactly what they want to do.” It’s certainly very difficult to imagine Ed Whitlock dwindling. He still has many more running milestones that he’s determined to reach. “I don’t know whether I’ll continue running until I draw my very last breath,” he says, with a wry chuckle. “But I rather think that might just be a good way to go.”
APRIL 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 75
A Facebook WHO group with more DO than 40 000 YOU members connects RUN runners with the FOR? special needs community. It started because a stranger needed motivation to run, and a man with Down syndrome was more than happy to give it to him.
BY KIT FOX
PHOTOGR APHS BY HANA ASANO
76 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
Boyle (left) reunites with Wasserman in person for the second time since they became friends in 2012.
Tim Boyle ran for many things when he irst started in September 2012. First , t here wa s t he g irl. They had recently broken up. She was a runner, and though, while they were dating, he never quite understood why she’d lace up her shoes and go outside into the frigid northern mornings, he decided that proving to her that he could run a half marathon might take the sting out of their ended relationship. He gave himself six months to train for a race that she had already signed up for, hoping he’d bump into her at the finish line to show her that, yes, he could run, too. Also, there were his lungs. They’d been abused for 17 years from a two-anda-half-pack-a-day smoking habit that started after he finished high school. He couldn’t sit through an entire movie without lighting up. His first pack was nearly finished by 5am, when he arrived at a dairy distribution plant to start his job delivering milk. “I was tired of tobacco consuming every aspect of my life,” Boyle says. So, on 7 August 2012, he gave up. The next month, he took the R3 500 he normally used for cigarettes, and went to a sports shop to buy shoes and clothes. He ran for fresh-cut grass. He could smell it on his first 5-K near his home. In the middle of the loop, while crossing a bypass, he remembers seeing mowers trimming the lawn. He breathed deeply. “It’s one of my favourite smells,” he says. “That’s when I fell in love with running.” A nd h e s t a r t e d r u n n i n g f o r h i s mental health. He was diagnosed with depression in 2007, after attempting suicide. He swallowed nearly 30 Flexeril pills and 21 Oxycontin. He called the ambulance himself, but not to save his
78 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
life. “I was worried that what I had taken wasn’t enough,” he says. “I wanted to get my stomach pumped so I could put a gun to my head.” Instead, doctors convinced him to go to therapy. Five years later, he hoped running could help him cope with the demons that sometimes still surfaced. There are a thousand little things we choose to run for: the smell of a freshcut lawn, to prove an ex wrong, to earn a medal. And a thousand more big things: to fight an addiction, to lose weight, to cope with depression. Find the right combo of mot ivators, a nd r u n n i ng becomes a habit, a necessit y. It ca n change your life. But then it starts to snow and the weather dips below freezing. Nobody’s mowing their lawn, and your knees ache. All you really want, desperately, is a smoke and some fried food. None of the things in your life, big or small, can convince you to get out the door. In November 2012, Tim Boyle ran out of t h ing s to r un for. Desperate for motivation, he sta r ted googling inspirational quotes. He found a dark grey image with a silhouette of a tree behind a poem in white letters. It read: “I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can’t run, what they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me.” B oyle rep o s te d t he photo to h i s Facebook profile. The first person to comment was a man named Michael Wasserman, who wrote, “You can run for me anytime.”
FIND THE RIGHT COMBO OF MOTIVATORS, AND RUNNING BECOMES A HABIT, A NECESSITY. IT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
ary Wasserman will never forget the day she visited a state mental institution as a high-school volunteer in the late 1950s. She remembers the noxious smells, the sights and sounds of sufering. More than half a century later, she finds the scene difficult to describe. “It was one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” she says. Ma r y gave bir t h to a boy, Michael Wasserman, on 7 November 1961. Back then, there were no tests to determine if your baby had Down syndrome in the womb, and Michael was diagnosed after he was born. He weighed just 1.8kg and had hazel eyes. “He was just beautiful,” Mary says. W h i c h i s w h y, w h e n d o c t o r s recommended that she give Michael up to institutional state care, she refused.
M
Despite knowing Michael would need a lifetime of support, she was not going to send her son away. She brought him home on Christmas Eve. Despite his cha llenges with verba l communication, Michael grew up smiling – a grin that seemed to consume his face. He smiled when he got a glass of water or when he met new people or when he danced, which was often. Seven years after he was born, Eunice Shriver Kennedy founded the Special Olympics. Michael signed up, competing in the softball throw and swimming. And yes, he ran. The 50- and 100-yard sprints. He made friends with everyone he met, graduated from a special-education school, and reminded Mary daily precisely why she’d brought him home.
His smile didn’t fade, but Michael slowed down in 1983. He told his mother he could no longer walk. After visiting a bevy of specialists, he was diagnosed with bilateral bone-on-bone hip dysplasia – a debilitating condition that painfully forces the hip joints out of alignment. To treat it, doctors had to experiment. The surgery Michael needed was completely new. They broke his bones in several places, rebuilding the joints so he could walk again. Which he did, in 1986. His recovery is literally a textbook case. Surgeons around the world still consult his procedure when studying the condition. But he wasn’t just able to walk. After surgeries and 17 months of daily physical therapy, he could dance and run again. He competed in the 50-yard sprint at the
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Special Olympics in 1987 and won a medal. He attended an orthopaedic conference, where, in front of hundreds of surgeons, he ascended and descended 28 steep steps in the amphitheatre. He received a standing ovation. “I still have trouble getting through that story without tears,” Mary says. He was mobile for 24 years and 24 days. But in 2009, he sat down and once again told his mother he could no longer walk. He was living with Mary and her husband, Albert, in Aptos, California. This time, surgery was not an option. Three years later, Michael and Mary
“I WANT TO BE YOUR LEGS,” BOYLE WROTE. “I AM GOING TO DEDICATE ALL OF MY TRAINING MILES TO YOU.” 80 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
browsed through the Facebook page they had made to share his story and auction his art – Michael’s latest passion – for charity. The bright, abstract canvases often sell for more than R1 200. It’s there that they stumbled on a post from a man who was looking for some motivation to run. Mary helped Michael type the message. “You can run for me anytime.”
an, that’s brilliant – that is exactly what I will do, Boyle thought. He reached out to Michael and Mary through a Facebook message. “I want to be your legs,” Boyle wrote. “I am going to dedicate all of my training miles and my next race to you.” Mary was wary at first. The special needs community is very tight-knit, and she is cautious when people who don’t directly know Michael want to get involved with his life. Plus, she didn’t exactly know what this all meant – dedicating miles to her son. “It means when I get tired and want to give up, I think about him in his wheelchair, and the fact that he is not able to get up and run,” Boyle says. “It is no longer about me.” Michael’s challenges put Boyle’s pain in perspective. It wasn’t the smell of fresh-cut grass or fighting his nicotine addiction or even coping with depression that got him to the finish line of his very first race – a 5K, in February 2013; it was completing the kays for Michael. The whole concept appears, at first, to be
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tenuous – exploitative, even. This is, after all, a man with perfectly functioning legs using a stranger with Down syndrome, who lives more than 2 900km away, as a sort of totem to achieve his own personal goals. But Boyle and Mary insist this is not the case. Boyle sent weekly, if not daily, updates about his training to Michael (Mary would help Michael read and respond to the messages). Michael would send Boyle updates about his pain management and painting. They became fast friends, albeit very long-distance ones. Boyle shipped Michael the finisher’s medal from his first 5K. He’s sent most of his race medals to Michael since. During several low points in Boyle’s life, when the depression creeps back to the fringes of his brain, he has turned to Facebook to cope. After the diagnosis in 2007, he discovered a Facebook page about Down syndrome. Seeing the stories from thousands of people with the condition put his own life in perspective. Their sheer, unbridled joy over the smallest things boosted Boyle’s own mood. After the experience of completing a race for – and then building a relationship with – someone who couldn’t run, Boyle realised a few other people might want to do the same. So once again he turned to Facebook. With Mary’s permission, he created the page ‘I Run for Michael’. He invited fellow runners to join the group, and Mary helped him invite people from the special needs community. Boyle formed a non-profit with the same name as the Facebook group, but they didn’t want the attention to focus only on Michael. They decided to match each runner with a diferent person with special needs. Runners posted updates to their ‘buddy’, filling them in on their training. Buddies posted back, updating their runners on surgeries and life accomplishments. More than 500 people joined in the first month, and more than 15 000 in the first year. “This group could be 40 people or it could be 40 000 people, Michael doesn’t care,” his mother says. “What he cares a b out i s t h at p e ople a re mot ivate d , encouraged, and happy.” And that is exactly the point of the group, Boyle says: bring strangers together who would have never met otherwise, to motivate and encourage each other, whether they are training for a marathon, undergoing surgery, finishing an Ironman, or learning how to use a wheelchair. In less than five years, the I Run for Michael organisation has matched more
WHO THEY RUN FOR than 20 000 runners with 20 000 buddies – most of them children, all of them with a disability that prohibits them from running; or often, even walking.
S
ALICIA JENKINS
SCOTT MAYES
JEN FRANCIS
45-year-old sales rep
43-year-old school crosscountry coach RUNS FOR: Jackson Fox, a
RUNS FOR: Evelyn
RUNS FOR: Maya Owens, an 18-year-old with mitochondrial disease
Pemberton, a seven-year-old with cystic fibrosis
MATCHED: 7 October 2013
MATCHED: 2 May 2013
“When I run longer distances, I think, Why am I out here? ” Mayes says. “But no matter how much this hurts, Maya goes through so much more than I’ll ever go through. That inspires me to keep going no matter what.”
“It’s something that’s bigger than me. There is so much more to running for somebody,” Francis says.
29-year-old physical therapist assistant
MATCHED: 19 September 2016
“When I go to races, I write ‘I run 4 Evi’ on my leg,” says Jenkins, who mails Pemberton a medal, T-shirt, and other race swag after every competition. “We haven’t met in person yet, but I already feel like she’s family.” “The light in Evelyn’s eyes when she talks about Alicia is magical,” says Pemberton’s mother, Samantha. “Knowing Alicia is running for Evelyn helps her push forward.”
“It was such a huge moment for her – feeling the wind as he ran, feeling like she was part of the race and crossing the finish line” says Holly, Maya’s mother, about the day Mayes pushed Maya in a race in 2014. “She says it was the best day ever. ”
seven-year-old with cerebral palsy
“The programme is not just affecting Jackson and it’s not just affecting Jen – it’s affecting our whole family, and making us more active,” says Fox’s mother, Angela. Witnessing Francis’s love for running inspired Jackson, who doctors once said would never walk or talk, to compete in two triathlons. And the family of four has completed several 5-Ks together.
It takes roughly three months for a runner to match with a buddy. To sign up, visit whoirun4.com.
a nd lea r n a bout each ot her w it hout previous knowledge. But, he says, many of the pairings take their newfound digital f r iendsh ip of f Facebook t h roug h i nperson visits, attending races together, and sending each other birthday gifts or finisher’s medals. A few runners have got tattoos of their buddy’s name. “This is so much more than running: it’s mental, it’s emotional, it’s an attachment,” Boyle says. “Running is just a catalyst to form a relationship.” He and Michael keep in touch about once a week. They’ve met in person twice. “I can’t begin to quantify or even qualify what this has done for me,” Boyle says. Five
years ago, he was desperate to find something to run for. Fresh-cut grass wasn’t doing it. Neither was his desire to be healthier. Instead, he ended up finding someone to run for. And that might be the paradox in the whole idea, Mary says. Michael didn’t need someone to run for him. Instead, he wanted to encourage someone, motivate them. Make their life happier. He’s ended up doing just that – for Boyle and for more than 40 000 others. In Michael’s bedroom, on a wall near his bathroom, he’s posted a photo of Boyle after a race. Mary says that each time he passes it, he touches Boyle’s face. She’s seen him do it multiple times. He smiles. “Buddy,” he says.
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P H OTO G R A P H S CO U R T E SY O F TA K AO S U Z U K I (J E N K I N S ); S A M A N T H A P E M B E R TO N ( P E M B E R TO N ); S COT T M AY E S ( M AY E S & OW E N S ) ; B Y R O N M O O R E F O R VA L E N C I A ( F R A N C I S ); A N G E L A F OX ( F OX )
crolling through the Facebook page is therapeutic – an instant mood booster. Your grin can’t help but grow with every new post. They are all displayed to the main feed in the group, so every member can read them. The posts are personal. Genuine. It’s like having access to the letters from 40 000 pen pals. Boyle is a strict moderator. He bans people if they discuss politics or post anything hateful. And he does not allow links. Though many runners have created fundraisers for a charity that helps their buddy, Boyle does not want the group to be inundated with posts asking for money. He wants them to be uplifting and motivating. There are a lot of exclamation marks. “Hi Avery! I had a killer headache today, but I was still able to get our workout done. How was speech on Tuesday? I hope you did well?” “Hi Daniel! The baby and I ran five kays for you this morning. How has your week been? Mine’s been hectic, as always!” “Hey Gavin! I just saw your mom posted about you getting a swing! That’s awesome buddy... even at my age I enjoy a good swing! We got 20 kays in this morning!” Most of the buddies are children, so their parents respond – posting pictures of a medal they just received from their runner, updating the group on a doctor’s visit, or sharing photos of a new life milestone. “When you have a child with disabilities, your world is isolated,” says group member Sue Allen. Her six-year-old son River has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. “You’re constantly going to the doctor.” Li ke Ma r y Wa sser ma n , A llen wa s initially sceptical of the I Run for Michael concept. But she signed up River after seeing the encouraging posts. Her son matched with a runner named Jodi Stoner in 2014. “ I love it , be cau se you m a ke t h i s connection where you give and they give, and it’s just a beautiful thing,” Allen says. The community, she says, has expanded her and her son’s world outside of just the context of special needs. Stoner has visited River multiple times, pushing him in a specialised wheelchair during races. Boyle says that’s common. He intentionally makes matches random, and does not allow requests, because he wants strangers to develop a relationship
BACK MARKER
CHICAGO HOPE A SIMPLE 5K WON’T TURN A TOUGH NEIGHBOURHOOD AROUND ALL BY ITSELF – BUT IT’S A START. BY PETER SAGAL
I EYED THE BORDER NERVOUSLY. I tugged on my singlet, adjusted my shorts, and crossed the street. The first guy I met narrowed his eyes. “Some kind of marathon going on?” he said. “Sort of,” I said. “A 5K.” The man seemed surprised. So was I. I was three blocks from home, and this was new to both of us. For the past 20 years, I have lived in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago. More than a hundred years ago, the adjoining neighbourhood immediately to the east, Austin, was a quaint village of leafy streets lined with Victorian houses. But in 1899, Austin was annexed by Chicago, and the fortunes of the two communities diverged, first a bit, and then, with discriminatory practices and white flight in the 1960s and ’70s, more dramatically. Today, Oak Park remains a diverse community with excellent schools, a vibrant business sector, and safe streets. Austin is poor, majority African-American, and plagued by violent crime. 82 RUNNER’S WORLD APRIL 2018
race registration in a flooring shop, where young women sat at tables. I picked up my number and asked one, “Do you have a tog bag facility?” “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is,” she said. Outside, there were no tents or sponsor banners, but the Chicago Police had a table. I left my bag with the cops. The people waiting at the stage for announcements were not the usual race crowd. A few, mostly white, wore shorts and singlets. But for each of us there were three in new shoes, long pants, and hoodies, on a day headed to 32 degrees. Kids abounded. Rules were loose – no mats, chips, or oicial timing. Miss Junior Pre-Teen Illinois sang the national anthem. Then came politicians, including the local state senator, county executive, and alderman, all AfricanAmerican, all calling out to faces in the crowd, followed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, dressed to run. “We have to show our kids a model to aspire to,” he said. “And show the world that this community is not what we see on the news.” Finally, Crawford thanked everyone for coming and announced he was going to run too. He looked doubtful, though. He hadn’t run any distance in quite a while. A hooter sounded, and we took off. I Crawford’s vision: Take vacant slipped right, juked left, and found myself shopfronts along Chicago Avenue and among the leaders. Then I came upon the bring in blues bars, dance clubs, and mayor, who must have claimed a prime cultural centres reflecting the rich history starting place. We could have a heart-toof African-Americans in Chicago – a ‘Soul heart... or I could beat him. I kept running. City Corridor’ to go with Little Italy, For a moment, I was second; but I was Chinatown, and Greektown. But first passed as I melted in the heat. I finished they need money, to buy and renovate third and clutched my generic 5K medal to buildings; and community, to put aside my heart like an Olympic bronze. scepticism about all the good past doRunners kept appearing, huffing and gooders had promised to do. “So why a puing or grinning and waving. Eventually, 5K?” I asked. there was Crawford. He’d thought of giving “Wasn’t my idea,” Crawford said. “It in and riding a golf cart to the finish line to was Tim Brown, our police community greet runners, but a friend was broadcasting liaison. He kept saying, ‘You gotta do a 5K.’ his race live on Facebook. He couldn’t bail Eventually, I gave in.” in front of the whole world, could he? “Is Tim a runner?” I asked. Afterward, Crawford told me he’d “Oh, no,” Crawford said, laughing. like the race to grow, but doesn’t want it “Tim weighs 180kg!” to become just another 5K. Tim, who is not 180kg “We want it to stay fun, with (“I’m… close,” he says), saw everybody in the community the broader allure of a race. feeling like they’re a part of it.” “Tell people in Oak Park And will he run it again next you’re doing a community year? “Next year, I’m going to walk, they’ll ask you to explain win it,” he said. it,” he said. “But a 5K? They’ll Headed home, I looked back say, ‘Sure, I’ll use it as part of as I crossed Austin Avenue and my training for the Chicago saw people talking, laughing, Marathon,’ or whatever.” just existing. I looked ahead at Tim was right. I was proof. The author is a 3:09 my neighbourhood. Both places Less than an hour before marathoner and a looked exactly the same. television host. the 8:30am start, I located the
Today, I was going to run there. I crossed Austin Avenue and walked east down Chicago Avenue, the central neighborhood artery. It was the morning of the third Austin P.O.W.E.R. of Life 5K (People Organising Wealth & Economic Resources), whose race planner, Malcolm Crawford, has deep roots in Chicago activism. His father, ‘Big John’ Crawford, was a central figure in local politics in the ’60s and ’70s. Malcolm, 50, got into community organising about 30 years ago, when he opened an Africana store in Austin, which soon became a neighbourhood centre. When Walmart wanted to open a shop in Austin, they held private meetings in Malcolm’s back room.
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