Men’s Health Lighthouse Ten Run 2010 in Mouille Point, Cape Town

I am very happy to find out that the Men’s Health Lighthouse Ten is going to happen again in 2010 as it was very difficult finding details on it.
The Men’s Health 10km Lighthouse run takes place on Wednesday, 3 March 2010 along the Sea Point promenade at 6:15pm.

The eight in a series of annual lighthouse races the 10km run starts at the Mouille Point Lighthouse in the direction of the V&A Waterfront. It then doubles back along the promenade toward Bantry Bay before returning to the finish at the Lighthouse.

Over 1800 runners are expected to complete the popular Men’s Health 10km run and collect this years “Hangklip 1960” medal. A refreshment tent and a live DJ will keep the spectators entertained as they cheer their loved ones along as the sun sets on the horizon.

Registration opens at 4:45pm on Wednesday, 3 March. Costs: licensed seniors (R25), licensed juniors (R15), unlicensed seniors (R40), unlicensed juniors (R25). The event is organised in conjunction with the Atlantic Athletic Club.

RULES AND INFORMATION for the 2010 Men’s Health Lighthouse Ten Run

1. Race starts and finishes at the Mouille Point Lighthouse, Beach Rd, between the V&A Waterfront and Sea Point.
2. Participants must be 15 years or older on race day.
3. Licensed club members must wear their 2010 licence numbers on the front and back of their vest.
4. Unlicensed participants must purchase a Temporary Licence at registration and wear this on the front of their upper garment.
5. In addition to overall (open) prizes, participants will only be eligible for an age category prize in the age category they enter. Corresponding numerical age category (J, 40, 50, 60) tags must be worn on the front and back of their club vest. Participants may enter the age category corresponding to their chronological age or any younger category down to senior.
6 Juniors (born 1991 or later) will count towards open team prizes, provided they wear club colours and J tags.
7 Club colours must be worn to qualify for team prizes.
8. Traffic officials and marshals must be obeyed at all times, failing which disqualification may follow.
9. There will be 3 water points on the course and Coke at the finish.
10. Race entry cards to be worn and be visible for the duration of the race.
11. Registration from 16h45 on day of race only.
12. Temporary licensed participants are eligible for age category prizes provided they enter the relevant age group, wear the appropriate age tags and provide proof of age.
13. Official cut off is 1 hour 30 minutes.
14. Prize giving will start at 19h45.
15. No seconding from a moving vehicle or bicycle will be permitted.
16. Each kilometre will be marked.
17. Results will be posted on the WPA website
18. Athletes enter entirely at their own risk. The organisers and sponsors are not responsible for any loss, damage or injury to participants.
19. Medals will be handed to the first 1800 finishers.
20. Tog bag facilities will be provided. Organisers will take reasonable care but will not be responsible for any loss. Do not leave valuables in your bag.

2010 Peninsula Marathon results are in!

Finally we got the official results from last Sundays 2010 BDO Peninsula Marathon for the 42 km distance:

To look for your result, just start typing your name into the search box of the respective distance you went for:

Full Marathon results (42.195 km)

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Half Marathon results (21.0975 km)

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This is the complete awards list for the Marathon runners:

Peninsula Marathon 2011 results

Runners wanted for WITS study on bone density

Runner.co.za was approached by Dr. Joanne McVeigh from Wits Medical School to call for South African runners to partake in a study looking at bone density in a variety of athletes. We hope that this call appeals to you and ask you to contact here if you’re interested in the study:

Are you training or straining?

Exercise, specifically the weight-bearing kind, is one of the best things we can do to help build and maintain healthy bones. Exercises, like running, walking and weight-lifting, put strain on the skeletal structure and our bones respond by supporting that stress.

Retired athletes have been shown to have an increased bone mass when compared to people who were not physically active in their youth. Recently, there has been evidence to show that competitive road cyclists are 7 times more likely to develop osteopenia of the spine when compared to runners. Osteopenia is the term indicating some bone loss. It is the precursor of osteoporosis, which is a high degree of bone loss.

Are you interested in finding out your bone mass?

We are running a research project which will assess the bone mineral density of male athletes participating in weight bearing (running and mountain biking) and non-weight bearing (swimming and road cycling) sports. We are researching whether the different types of physical activity have different effects on bone mineral density (bone strength).

We are looking for male athletes (runners, mountain bikers, road cyclists and swimmers), aged 18-29 and participating in their chosen sport for a minimum of 5 hours per week. If you choose to partake in our study, you will be asked to come into the Wits Medical School (Parktown, Johannesburg) for a visit lasting approximately one and a half hours. We will take some measurements and perform a Dual Energy X Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan on your bones where bone mineral density and body fat percentage will be measured. This scan provides valuable information regarding the status of your bone health and is worth over R2000. Your participation in this study will contribute to medical knowledge that may help us to establish whether athletes who participate in non-weight bearing sports are at risk for osteoporosis later on in life. You will not be paid to participate in this study but your transport costs will be reimbursed adequately. Our study has been approved by the board for Human Ethics at the University of the Witwatersrand.

For more information please contact Dr Joanne McVeigh: Jo-anne.McVeigh@wits.ac.za or 011 717 2154

How to ensure a great Comrades Marathon result – Training tips

There are only two important races if you are doing a Comrades Marathon:

1. Your qualifier

2. Comrades Marathon

Every time I hear runners saying sentences like this I shake my head: “I ran a personal best almost every race in my training for Comrades and then on the day I crashed – I can’t understand it?”

Deciding to run the Comrades Marathon is a huge commitment. A person joins a club and gets caught into the notion that one must run every race possible before Comrades

Please take note of the following and if you don’t believe me, ask Bruce Fordyce, Norrie Williamson, Johnny Halberstadt, Alan Rob, Andrew Kelehe and so on.

Races are an important part of training for Comrades. Not to see how fast you can run, but to see how slow you can run.

Let me explain further:

In training you must do speed work, hill training, gym work, recovery runs and slow runs plus your “normal pace” run.

You do not get fast by attempting a PB (personal best) on every race. You get fast by doing specific speed work training over a short distance. FACT!!

The only thing you will get from running flat out every race is burn-out and an injury. Races are there to get your long run in for the week, test various supplements, test new socks, test new drinking patterns, getting used to waking up early, getting used to the crowds at the start and more testing and then some more. When you finish a race, you must finish “fresh” enough to run a further 5km’s with ease. In fact, a good tip is after you finish the race, run back against the “traffic” of runners for a km and then back-at a very slow pace.

With a variation in your weekly training, your times will come down by themselves.

Another tip – do a time trial at your club without your watch. Set yourself a medium pace time and see if you can come in at that time. This will teach you a very important lesson about how you feel at what pace and the ability to judge what pace you are running at during a race. You won’t have to watch the marker boards every km to see your pace, you can judge for yourself and just check with the boards every 5km’s. This is very important for Comrades to be able to pace yourself through the day, and like some of us, into the late afternoon.

In summary: Use the weekend race as a training run and stay fresh for the qualifier and the big day.

Source: 2003 Webarchive of runner.co.za – a timeless piece of writing!

Peninsula Marathon 2010 route description

We are now happy to provide with you an exact route profile and description, kilometer by kilometer for the 2010 BDO Peninsula Marathon:

2010 BDO Peninsula Marathon registration closing soon

Only a few days left to register for the 2010 BDO Peninsula Marathon and Half Marathon. Closing date for Entries is midnight on 14th February 2010 – to enter for the BDO Peninsula Marathon and Half Marathon click here and register online.

Due to restrictions in the vicinity of the Cape Town Stadium and road works in Muizenberg, the routes for the 42km and 21km will remain similar to those used for 2009, starting and finishing in Simonstown. Both races start at 6am. Although challenging with several hills, they offer ideal training for Two Oceans and Comrades.

A Helpers’ Run will again be held the week before the actual race to allow Celtics members to assist with marshalling or helping at a refreshment station. Times will be recorded and can be used to qualify for Two Oceans and Comrades.

BDO Peninsula Marathon

Useful Information and distances:

Martello Road to start of 21.1km                   1500 meters

Martello Road to Jubilee Square                  900 meters

Jubilee Square to start 21.1 km                  600 meters

42.2 km start from 21.1 km start                  2100 meters

Martello Road to start of 42.2 km                  3600 meters

Ryan Sandes reports from his Jungle Marathon 2009 victory

Ryan Sandes aka. the ‘desert runner‘, is currently not running in the hot dry deserts around the world, but has traded the deserts for the Amazon Jungle Stage Race. Ryan will be running the 2010 Comrades Marathon as a Celebrity entrant.

Here is a personal report by desert runner Ryan Sandes, how he’s doing in the Amazon! We will keep you informed as to his progress on this grueling race Jungle Update – Ryan’s Diary entries, in preparation for the start of the race.

I have been in Brazil (Alter do Chao) for a week now and I am slowly getting used to the heat and humidity. No one speaks English here and my Portuguese is non-existent. So I have had some interesting times, especially when it comes to eating out in restaurants. Basically I choose anything on the menu that is not too expensive and I hope for the best… Luckily I have not had to eat anything too dodgy yet! I took a bit of strain on my first few runs and I started to wonder if I had lost all my fitness on the two day journey to Brazil. It felt like running at high altitude and I could not get enough oxygen into my lungs. I seem to have adapted a bit better to the conditions now and I went on a run in the jungle two days ago which was awesome except for seeing one HUGE snake and getting bitten by a few hornets, Flip the hornet bites are sore…I thought I had been shot in the groin and butt! I very quickly thought to myself I would rather be running through the Amazon jungle counting hornet bites on my butt than sitting down at a desk counting how many toilets need to be ordered i.e. being a Quantity Surveyor. After my jungle run I did realize one thing and that is the Jungle Marathon is going to be probably the toughest race I have ever done. The accents are brutally steep with some really technical descents and you are continuously jumping and climbing over fallen trees. It is very humid under the jungle canopy and at times I felt claustrophobic. But I am really starting to get excited and apart from a bit of a glute / hamstring issue I am ampt to start the race now.

Jungle Marathon Day 1: WOW what an awesome run but probably the slowest and hardest 15km of my life. We started off and after 200m we already had a river crossing and straight after that it was into the jungle. I felt good and pushed the first leg and paid for it on the second and third legs… I bonked on the third leg and felt like I had no energy from the intense heat, but I pushed through to finish feeling good. The terrain consisted of hills, more hills and rivers and swamps. At one stage I was up to my chest in a swamp and the next minute I tripped and found myself fully submerged in black mud! I got over my fear of snakes very quickly and there were times when I would have been quite happy to be bitten and put out my misery :)! Otherwise all is good apart from a bit of a twisted ankle. Now for day 2 and more punishment but also more beauty. Our camps are in some of the most insane places I have ever seen in my life and the whole experience feels like a dream at times. The boat trip up the Amazon to the start of the race was awesome and waking up this morning was surreal except of course that I was about to start the hardest multi stage race of my life.

Jungle Marathon Day 2: The start this morning was delayed by two hours as the medic evacuation boats were not back from Santarem yet… Four people had to be evacuated yesterday from the heat and the harsh conditions took it toll on most competitors. Yesterday afternoon was like a scene out of a horror movie and people were dropping like flies…but the Jungle Marathon medics did a great job making sure everyone was looked after. We started off along the beach and then after a few hundred meters it was up into the jungle for the ‘swamp’ stage. It was not long before I was chest high in black mud, fending off ticks and human eating ants! I took it a lot easier today to start off with and felt good and then pushed the last stage a bit to open up a few minute gap on the second athlete. So all in all it was a good day at the office apart from two swollen ankles. Keeping it short and sweet so I can get back in my hammock.

Ryan completed the 24.5km stage in a record time of 2hours and 41 minutes. Ryan Won stages 1 and 2, and currently has a 10 minute lead over the second placed runner.

The third day (14th October 2009) was the longest stage so far: almost 38 km. The course combined the concentrated elevations of stage one with the swamp crossings of stage two. Although overcast early in the morning the sun soon came out and the humidity was so high that there some light rain in the afternoon. Before the competitors set off there was a reminder of the signs of dehydration and how to manage salt levels from the medical team. They then set off straight into the jungle The magic sandman has done it again – Ryan Sandes has won stage 3 of the 2009 Jungle Marathon. Ryan has built up his lead over 2nd place runner, Fredson de Silva Sousa Raimundo, of more than 24 minutes and has just under an hour lead over his arch rival Salvador Calvo Redondo. Ryan completed the 37km stage in 4hours and 57minutes. The Race Director’s assistant says that Ryan is in incredible spirits and feeling great

Jungle Marathon Day 3: I woke up this morning with sore ankles and thought OH NO, but today was the opposite of that. I started off today quite easy and then at the second check point I decided to push on a bit… it was a risky move as it is so hot and humid here that if you bomb out in the jungle you do so in style. It is really hard to pick yourself up again and it feels as if all your energy has been sucked out by a vacuum cleaner. The risk paid off and I finished the stage strong (37min ahead of second athlete) but a little tired and shaken from seeing three snakes. I remember climbing up a hill on all fours and seeing a set of eyes looking at me from a large hole in the ground. I would like to think it was a large lizard but I did not hang around to get a closer look. Thanks to everyone for the messages of support, they help me keep going when everything says stop! Off to the hammock…

On Day 4 (15th October 2009) is Ryan Sandes still in the lead after stage 4 of the 2009 Jungle Marathon with his arch nemesis Salvador Calvo Redondo still in 3rd place. He is getting mentally prepared for the long stage of 89km tomorrow.

Jungle Marathon Day 4 We started off today with a 200m swim across a river… faaak swimming with a pack is not so easy!! My heart-rate went through the roof from the swim and only 20min into the run did it get back to normal – respect to the ironmen. Today was quite a flat course and it was nice to be able to run at a constant pace the whole way. I ran most of the way with Mike Wolf of the North Face and we crossed the line together. It was a relief to get the stage out the way with no set backs and now for the long stage tomorrow – its going to be brutal! I am hoping to run the long stage with someone, maybe Mike as he has been ripping up the 50 and 100 milers in the States. It going to be a long slog but I will be taking it slow and steady and taking no chances… We start of the stage with another 250m swim and then 49km of jungle and 43km of trails! 49 competitors have dropped out of the race so far mainly to heat issues… so the rumble in the jungle has been hectic. My feet do not have any blisters (must be my shoes – Salomon S Labs!) except for a bust toe nail from kicking a few roots. My ankles have had a break the last two days and my legs feel good so I am ampt for one last big push tomorrow! Thanks to everyone for the messages – they are a huge boost! FINISHED THE JUNGLE MARATHON

Ryan Sandes has done the super impossible YET again and has won the 2009 Jungle Marathon – proving he has what it takes in the deserts and the jungles. Ryan’s overall time was 26 hrs 33 min with second place going to his nemesis Salvador Calvo Redondo – who was almost 2 hours behind Ryan in a total time of 28 hrs 49 min.

I have just crossed the finish line of the Jungle Marathon. I survived the Jungle!! It is an awesome feeling to win again and I am super stoked. The 2nd competitor (Salvador of Spain) was just under two and a half hours behind me and Mike from the States behind him. I ran the whole stage today with Mike and we took it quite easy, not that I could have gone any faster. My legs felt TIRED!!… and had no gas in them. Salvador passed us about half way and stormed on to finish about two minutes ahead of us. Running into Alter Do Chao was and insane and the town square was packed with people, journalists etc. I was handed an SA Flag a few hundred meters from the finish line and got instant goose bumps. I had trained really hard for this race and bust my balls in a few training session but I could finally see the rewards as the finish line was approaching. Crossing the finish line I felt my dream come true of winning the Jungle Marathon! So proud to be South African!!! I am off to drink some beer now – its been a month since I last had a beer:) Thanks to all for the message of support – I could have not done it without you! Thanks to my dream givers Salomon and ProNutro! And thanks to Hammer Nutrition and Oakley for their awesome product.

Day 6 Update – Rest Day I woke up this morning with competitors still crossing the finish line and felt really relived to have finished the long stage. The number of hammock’s in the camp are less than half from the start of the race and the number of casualties has reached more than 50%. Competitor’s feet are starting to look really sore and manky covered in a mass of blisters and most of the athletes in camp are hobbling around. Looking back it has been an awesome week, one of the hardest and most exciting of my life. I am super stoked with the way it has gone and my more focused training sessions since Namibia seem to have paid off. The bitter taste of Namibia is slowly starting to leave my mouth and my smash and a stock cube this morning tasted like ice cream and chocolate sauce. It is one last push tomorrow along the beach for 32km and then real food and lots of beer. I do not want to count my chickens before they hatch but it looks like I have this one in the bag. I have more than a 2 hour lead on my category (international) and a 45 min plus lead on the local guys from the Para region in a separate category. The Para guys are some great athletes but I think they may be a bit pissed off that an international guy is leading going into the last stage. My legs have felt great the whole race thanks to the help of Chris (Physio), Sally (Biokineticists) and Ian (Coach). A huge thanks to Salomon and ProNutro for making the race possible. My feet have not got one blister thanks to my Salomon S LABS!! Thanks to Hammer Nutrition for the fuel and Oakley for the eye wear. I lost my eye wear in a swamp on the second day so there must be a super cool anaconda floating around the jungle with a pair of Radars on! Thanks to Kelly for doing an awesome job at getting my results out there and updating my blog – I hope the spelling was not too bad. To everyone a huge thank you for all your support and messages, I have said it before but they kept me going for 7km with no water and feeling totally out of it. Back to the hammock now to rest up for tomorrow.

Thanks to Ryan Sandes for this awesome report from Brazil!

Leonid Shvetsov retires from running

Current Comrades Marathon record holder for the “Up” and “Down” runs, Leonid Shvetsov, confirmed in a statement to the Comrades Marathon Association that he has decided to retire from all competitive running with immediate effect.

“I made a considerate decision to stop my competitive running career. This is because when I resumed serious training a month after this year’s Comrades Marathon I again started to feel painful ‘clicking’ in my knee. I had same thing during the race this year, which forced me to slow down on the downhills and in the end resulted in severe (near) cramping and weakness in my quads in the last 18-20km during the race. What was worse – I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that my knee may ‘lock’ at any moment, and the race would have been over for me. I was lucky to come home 2nd on the day, and I don’t want to get in the situation when I devote half a year of my life preparing to 2010 run and end up stopping or slowing down like it happened to me in 2002. I think I was lucky enough to break both Comrades records.”

Leonid also stated that through running the Comrades Marathon that he has been privileged to meet many great South Africans, and that he has forged excellent relationships with South Africans. Leonid intends to continue running in order to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle, as well as continue with coaching runners.

“This was not and easy decision as running took the biggest part of my life for over 30 years. In fact, September 23rd this year was 30 years. I have completed 44 marathons (and 5 Comrades), ran in 2 Olympic Games and held the Russian National Marathon record for over 10 years, (broken by a runner that I trained 2 years ago). I think I left my small ‘footstep’ in the history of running” “I am a family man and now a business man to, and recently expanded my business, which is keeping me very busy.”

The Comrades Marathon Association wished Leonid all the best for his future, and he will be missed come 30 May 2010, as he is a fierce competitor, and has definitely left his mark on the Comrades Marathon. After all he is the current record holder for the “Up” and “Down” runs respectfully.

Bennie Badenhorst wins Mont-aux-Sources Ultra Marathon Challenge in 5:37 hours

SA’s Foremost Ultra-Marathon Swells Conservation Coffers
First Lady Places Third Overall In Full Field, Ideal Conditions

The seventeenth annual running of South Africa’s foremost ultra-marathon, the Mont-aux-Sources Challenge, took place in ideal conditions at Royal Natal National Park in the northern Drakensberg on September 12, 2009. Bennie Badenhorst of Hartebeespoort Marathon Club emerged as the victor in a time of 05hrs 37min 57sec. Filippo Faralla from Savages Athletic Club in Durban placed second in a time of 05hrs 37min 11sec while the first lady, Kerry Koen of Collegians Harriers in Pietermaritzburg, managed a very impressive third overall in a time of 05hrs 40min 39sec.

The race is organised through the Wild Series a partnership between the Wildlands Conservation Trust and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Wildlands CEO, Andrew Venter, said that the 2009 event was possibly one of the most successful in its history. “We had a full field of runners, and once again managed to raise several hundred thousand Rand towards conservation, adding to the more than R3 million that the race has raised in its history.”

While the Challenge is certainly not South Africa’s longest run, it is possibly its toughest, with runners having to climb, and then descend, some 1500m during the 50km course. Venter said the race is also arguably South Africa’s most picturesque, set in the backdrop of the spectacular Drakensberg Amphitheatre, part of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site.

According to Race Chairman Eduard Goosen of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the race’s success was due, once again, to main sponsors Bonitas Medical Aid and Powerade, a large contingent of volunteers and an enthusiastic field of athletes. “The race doesn’t offer the richest purse, but year after year we experience demand from a higher number of runners than we can accommodate in an environmentally protected area.” Interested parties can email montauxsources@yahoo.com for entry details.

5 Tips to Get You Up and Running When You Just Don’t Feel Like It

Some days you just can’t wait to get up and go running, especially if the sun is out, it’s a beautiful day and you got plenty of sleep. But what about those days when you’re tired, it’s cold out and you just don’t want to get out of bed period, let alone get out of bed to run? While there is no surefire cure for getting up (or failing to) on the wrong side of the bed, there are some ways that you can boost your motivation and get yourself up and moving even when you sure don’t feel like doing anything. Here are a few you can try:

1. Give yourself a light day. Just because you don’t feel like running 5 miles doesn’t mean you shouldn’t run at all. If you really aren’t up to going the distance, give yourself a half day or run a little slower than your normal pace. That way you’ll still be getting your workout in but you’ll also be giving yourself a little break. Knowing you don’t have to go as far can be a little incentive to get you up and dressed as well and may even let you sleep in a few extra minutes.
2. Find a buddy. Not running by yourself makes you accountable to more than just you when it comes to getting up and working out. If you plan on meeting a friend, neighbor or just a running buddy you’re more likely to feel guilty about bailing on your plans and will drag yourself out of bed and find the motivation to go out no matter what.
3. Supercharge your music. If you run with music, consider listening to your iPod or MP3 player before you even hit the track or road to run. Hearing those songs you associate with working out may help change your mindset and get you in the mood to work out. Keep in mind that your music choices are also important so create a playlist that makes you want to kick butt rather than sit on it.
4. Make a deal with yourself. Some days we all just need a little extra motivation and bargaining with yourself can be one way to do it. Tell yourself you’ll get up and run now, but that later you’ll enjoy some kind of indulgence, whether it’s a massage, a long hot bath or that slice of cheesecake you’ve been craving. The idea of an immediate reward may be just what you need to get moving.
5. Blaze a new trail. If you run the same way every single day it may be putting a serious damper on your motivation. Maybe all you need to get motivated about running is to take off to a different destination, perhaps one you’ve had in mind for some time but just never went out to do. The thought of new scenery and something more exciting than the usual may make running seem enticing enough to get you out of bed.

This post was contributed by Kelsey Allen, who writes about the nursing schools online. She welcomes your feedback at KelseyAllen1010 yahoo.com

The Table Mountain Challenge 2009

The Crazy Store Table Mountain Challenge 2009, a 35km trail run around Cape Town’s world-famous mountain, has been firmly established as one of South Africa’s premier off-road running events.

Both professional athletes and novice runners can enjoy the off-road course traversing the fynbos slopes of the Cape’s mythical mountain.

Either take on the full circumnavigation as a solo athlete, or enter a team of three for the individual legs of between 8 – 17km.

Along the way, competitors will run through indigenous forest, cross mountain streams and pass through the pristine Orange Kloof area, so don’t miss out!

The Table Mountain Challenge 2009 will kick off at 07h00 on September 12th, so make a note in your calendar right now. Competitors may either enter via email or can call +27 (0)21 424 4760 for more information. More news about the Table Mountain Challenge to follow soon here on runner.co.za

The Crazy Store Table Mountain Challenge:

Date: Saturday, 12 September 2008
Venue: Table Mountain
Location: Cape Town

How to enter Comrades Marathon 2010

The overwhelming response for entries for the 2009 Comrades Marathon is hopefully a sign of the excellent interest in the Comrades Marathon. The 17% increase in race entries this year must be attributed to the extensive marketing campaign undertaken by the CMA, both locally and abroad.

The 2010 Comrades Marathon also coincides with the 85th anniversary of The Ultimate Human Race. 2010 will see the race run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, a down run. The CMA announced that there will be a commemorative “double-down” medal for  all novice runners that complete this years and next years race. The CMA will enter into an extensive marketing campaign, through various mediums, as well as road shows across South Africa. The CMA has also put in place a comprehensive international marketing campaign, the first step of which has been achieved with the appointment of International Ambassadors across Europe, South and North America, and Australia.

Entry numbers for the 2010 and 85th anniversary of the Comrades Marathon will be cut off at 20,000 runners, and no extensions will be entered into, thus making the 2010 run a special event as the CMA has never had a cut off number in the past. We are confident that this number will be achieved very quickly as in 2000 we received 24,000 entries. Therefore we urge all runners and potential runners that wish to run in 2010 to take careful note of the entry process and the cut off dates. We therefore request that you enter early to avoid disappointment. Entries will be done in 2 phases.

Phase 1:
1 September 2009: Entries open to all previous Comrades Runners and will close 31 October 2009. The total will be capped at 15,000 entrants.

Phase 2:
1 November 2009: Entries open to all Novices and will close on 30 November 2009. Total number of entries will be capped at 20,000. Thus should there only be 12,000 entries from previous runners, there would be 8,000 entries accepted for Novices.

Qualifying period for 2010 will be as follows: 24 May 2009 to 26 April 2010. Runners who finish the 2009 Comrades Marathon can use their finishing time for 2010.

As in 2009, runners will be able to enter before they qualify. This means while all entries will have to meet the entry criteria above, runners will still be allowed to qualify in official qualifying races up until the month of April, with the 26th April as the final cut-off date. Upon qualification, runners simply need to give the time and details of the qualifying race through to the CMA office. Upon receiving the qualifying information the runner’s entry will be confirmed.

Race Day is Sunday 30 May 2010.

Comrades finisher report by Onne de Boer

This is a race-day report from 2009 Comrades Marathon finisher Onne de Boer whom we met on Twitter where he is one of our loyal followers. We thank you for this piece and ask our readers to submit more wonderful articles like this:

Hi, my name is Onne de Boer.  I live in Canada, in the Maritime province of New Brunswick. I’m 45 years old, have been running most of my life. Not competitively, I have been competing in triathlon. My greatest athletic feat to date is the 25th Anniversary of Ironman Canada. Finishing in 11:56 (Pictured on the right)

Qualifying and Training for Comrades
The event I used for qualifying was called “Not the Honolulu” Marathon in November of last year. This event is a self sufficient event, meaning I have to carry everything for the distance there is no support. A good friend accompanied me on the second half of the marathon, which was the  official half for the day. I finished sub 4 hours for a D grouping at Comrades.

I followed the sub nine hour training program from the Comrades site. Training started in January – a little bit of running prior to that, but nothing formal. Please know that training was very difficult, I was usually in temperatures that ranged from -5 to -20 Celsius. On more then one occasion my water froze next to my body under my layers of cloths. Weather improved by April and there were a few days I could run in shorts and a jacket.

Once in PMB my family hooked me up with Christopher Zondi (15566) 14 time, now 15 time finisher of Comrades. We ran together a few days and the benefit of having someone local is that I didn’t have to pay attention to where I was. Thank you Chris! A true Comrade!

Race day
I had a restful sleep in PMB. I was awake at 3am, rested until 3.30 and then got up for a bowl of oatmeal and some hydration. Read the rest of this entry »

Comrades Marathon 2009 results

33 year-old Stephen Muzhingi from Zimbabwe won the 2009 Comrades Marathon in time of 5:23:27. Second place Leonid Shvetsov of Russia in 5:33:10 and third place Charles Tjiane in 5:34:21. Stephen Muzhingi reached 3rd place in last years 2008 Comrades.

Muzhingi said he realised he could tell he was in stronger shape when he passed defending champion and record holder, Leonid Shvetsov, and knew then that he could win.

“Coming into the race, my only aim was to run sub 5:30. When I was about 100 metres behind Leonid, I started to relax but when I caught him, I knew I had the race.”

Muzhingi said he hadn’t thought about the 5:20:41 record, set by Shvetsov in 2007, but about three kilometres from the finish, spectators told him he had a chance to go for it, so he ran faster. However, by then it was too late but his time of 5:23:27 is the second best time ever for a Comrades Marathon!

Olesya Nurgalieva won the 2009 women’s Comrades Marathon in 6:12.12. Her twin sister, Elena Nurgalieva, who finished first in 2008, came second in 6:13.14 followed by another Russian, Tatyana Zhirkova in 6:15:03.

Congratulations to all finishers from runner.co.za!

Stephen Muzhingi wins Comrades Marathon 2009 in 5:23:27!

33 year-old Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi won this years Comrades Marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, in 5:23:27, the second fastest time in history today.

Second place goes to last years Comrades Winner Leonid Shvetsov of Russia in 5:33:10 and third place Charles Tjiane in 5:34:21.

The team from Runner.co.za congratulates Stephen Muzhingi for breaking Russian domination of the men’s race!

More coverage and a 2009 Comrades result overview will follow later today.

Nutrition Tips for race day by Dietician Rowena Curr

Your main nutrition goals for raceday, are to maintain your carbohydrate and fluid stores. This is vital if you would like to optimize your performance, or you just want to avoid “hitting the wall” (i.e. feeling of extreme fatigue, legs of lead, dizziness and confusion – obviously not ideal for any runner hoping to finish).

Dietician Rowena Curr RD (SA) compiled these following helpful tips:

• The most important thing for raceday, is never to do something for the first time. Make sure that you have your nutrition strategies worked out, and have practiced them as part of your longer training runs or races leading up to Comrades.
• Unless you have a second that will be providing you with everything you need on the day – practice with the drinks and food that will be available on raceday at the seconding tables.
• Ideally your pre-race meal should be eaten about 3 hours before the start. However, if this is not possible you can eat a smaller meal 1-2 hours before (this just depends on your usual rate of digestion – make sure you practice, practice, practice!). Whatever you choose to eat must be high in carbohydrate, low in fat, low or moderate in protein, and low in fibre (this is to prevent any discomfort – fat and protein take longer to leave the stomach than carbohydrate). Suitable foods include breakfast cereals or porridge with low-fat milk or yoghurt, toast with jam/syrup/peanut butter, or banana and peanut butter sandwiches.
• If you struggle to eat solids before a race, it is a good idea to take in something liquid (e.g. liquid meal replacement, fruit smoothie or just an energy drink). Just ensure that you have a substantial meal the night before.
• Sip on a sports drink in the 2 hours leading up to the start (just allow time to go to the toilet!)
• Make use of sports drinks during the race – they are very useful to meet both carbohydrate and fluid needs at the same time. Diluted coke also works well.
• Start drinking early on in the race (within the first 30 minutes). Avoid waiting until later in the race, as you will be more likely to “hit the wall”, and it will be difficult for you to recover.
• Fluid requirements differ from runner to runner, and are determined by sweat rate, exercise intensity, environmental temperature, humidity, body surface area, gender, and genetics. For this reason, it is important to experiment in training, in order to work out your own fluid requirements, and to prevent both dehydration and overhydration.
• General hydration advice is to drink little and often. You should aim to drink ad libitum between 400-800ml per hour, with the higher rates for the faster, heavier runners and the lower rates for the slower runners/walkers. If conditions are warm, you will need more fluid as opposed to running in cooler conditions.
• Aim to take in 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour. Most sports drinks will provide 30-60g in 500-1000ml. Gels contain approximately 30g per gel (make sure you drink 250-350ml water per gel). Most sports or cereal bars contain 20g, 3 baby potatoes contain 15g, 5 jelly babies contain 15g, 1 large banana contains 20g, ½ jam/marmite sandwich contains 15g, and 4 dried apricots contain 15g.

Author Dietician Rowena Curr RD (SA) is a private practicing dietician at the Kings Park Sports Medicine Centre in Durban and at the Victoria road medical centre in Pietermaritzburg. She has a postgraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from UCT as well as an honours degree in Sports Science from the University of Stellenbosch. She has represented South Africa as a junior and elite triathlete and currently competes in various triathlons and multisport events. Rowena Curr can be contacted via 082 4257234 or via e-mail.

How to calculate your Comrades finishing time

No matter how good your training has been, when it comes to Sunday 24 May 2009, you better have a strategy on how you are going to run to reach your goal.

By following the steps below you will be able to:

• A prediction of your realistic finish time
• The information you require to determine which Comrades Wrist Bands you require for pacing
• Instructions on how to use the pacing band
• Note: Pacing Bands are ONLY available at the Comrades Expo Stand for R30 with the money going towards the Comrades Charities.

What is your Realistic Potential Finish Time?

• Look back at all your race times of the past 12 months and select the best three performances
• All three times should be flat out races / time trials
• Ideally have a 5km or 10km race time from late April or early May
• Include your best 42km or 56km time in the last 12 months
• Play with the choice of your third time, which may be a repeat of one of the others or a distance between them, but use the one that gives the best Comrades finish time – This will be your best realistic starting time!

How much have you trained?

• Find your predicted finish time on table 1.
• Under the finish time find the marathon time closest to your PB
• Determine the corresponding required training distance.
• How does that compare to your total training distance between December and May?
• If you are over 15% higher or lower ADD (in both cases) 15-20 minutes to your predicted Potential finish time.
  [Note: this confirms that if you do too much you get slower NOT faster finishing times]
• Now go to this new finishing time and see which pacing band you require. (7 Hour to 12 Hour)
• Go to the Coach stand at Comrades Expo and buy your pacing band for R20
• The Pacing points are shown on photographs here and will be marked on race day with yellow tape across the road.

Visualise and Run the Comrades Route by Podcast:
Norrie Williamson will take you over the whole 89.17km Down-Run describing exactly where each of the hills and downhill sections are, and providing advice on where to hold back. This in-depth podcast allows you to be sure of exactly where the different pacing points are and to relax and visualize yourself running the route. Together with the pacing point photos it’s the ideal way for those who have not seen or experienced the route to get a better understanding of what they will face on Sunday 24 May. For previous Comrades Runners it’s a reminder of those tricky hills you have forgotten about – but lie in wait to trip you on Comrades day.
For pod cast of the full route description click here
(Note: The podcasts are quite long so do take time to download and are best heard on ADSL / 3G platforms)

The Pacing Bands

Each pacing band has 14 pacing points with corresponding times that you should run to and through these points.
To see pictures of these points Click HERE Each point has a photo, together with a indication and short description of where they can be found on the route. These points will be marked with distinctive yellow tape on the road on race day.

Average Pace

Although each band has an average pace, it would be impossible to run the Comrades route constantly at that pace. The pacing on the Comrades Wrist band takes into account the grueling and highly diverse nature of the Down Comrades in timing your run through to Durban. This means that in some sections you will be considerably slower than average pace, where these slower times are bought back by running slightly faster over the longer downs.

Run and Walk to success

Any runner with a finish over 7 hours should incorporate a run and walk schedule into the pacing. As a guide 9:00 and under should run 9km with 2-3minute walks, 9:00 to 11:00 should run 6 km with 2-3 min walks, 11-12 hour finishers can work on 3km with 2-3 min walks. Some runners are so sold on the run and walk schedule that they simply mix 9 minutes of running with 1 minute of walking the whole way through, and are then able to blast the last sixth of the race to the finish. The important principle in any run and walk regime is to start this regime right from the gun and continue it throughout the race, DO NOT wait until you are tired: by then it’s too late!

Silver, Bill Rowan, and Bronze Cut offs:

If your predicted time indicates that your potential is such that you would miss this medal by less than 10 minutes, buy the pacing band for the medal category above. (e.g. a 9:05 predicted time buys the 9:00 pacing band). However remember this is a stretch for you and will only happen if everything goes well on the day. You must then add 2/3rds of the difference between your predicted time and the medal cut-off time to the time at the BP Garage in Winston Park. From there gradually close in back onto the scheduled time at 45th cutting. If it’s your day this is your best chance!

Delays at the Start:

Runner’s further back in the field will take a few minutes to cross the start line and generally in Comrades this is a Good Thing as it prevents you from getting caught up in the adrenaline boosted rush of the start – More Comrades are lost in starting too fast than any other failing. However these minutes become more valuable for runners who are borderline to any of the cut-off times (Silver, Bill Rowan, Bronze or the final cut-off).
It is important that you do not try to make up this time in the first few kilometres but rather stretch it over a long period – particularly on the down run as the first 24km are predominately uphill and increasing pace by even 5 seconds on many of these climbs will rocket your effort levels and use up more of your glycogen stores, leaving you without energy for the final section of the race.
There’s only about 10km of down in the first section to Camperdown and then rolling road through to the bottom of Inchanga. If the time taken to cross the line is important to you getting under one of the cut off’s, the advice is to divide half of this time by 30 and increase you pace by that on each kilometre of downhill and the section from Camperdown to half way. The remainder you will easily make up from Hillcrest to the finish. For example if it takes five minutes to cross the line, you would increase your pace by 5 seconds per km on the downhill from the start to Camperdown, and on each kilometre from Camperdown to Half way, (except the climb up Inchanga), and then make up the remaining two and a half minutes between the top of Botha’s Hill down to the finish. In running ultra’s always keep in mind – “slowly slowly catch a monkey’ and you won’t go far wrong.

Comrades Calculator © by Norrie Williamson

Comrades Marathon on May 24th 2009

The world’s greatest ultra-marathon, 90 kilometres long, the Comrades is a South African institution, internationally recognised for the body-sapping challenge it poses and the camaraderie it fosters among its thousands of participants. This year the world’s greatest ultramarathon and KwaZulu-Natal showpiece will be run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday 24 May 2009.”

“Comrades Marathon is an iconic event with a special place in the hearts and minds of South Africans, but they have come to expect it to be run in mid-June. “

This is the first time the race has been staged as early as May since 1995 when it was brought forward to avoid clashing with the Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa in June 1995. Similarly the 2009 and 2010 Comrades Marathons have been brought forward to avoid clashing with the FIFA Confederations Cup (14 – 29 June 2009) and the FIFA World Cup (11 June – 11 July 2010) respectively.

With the race being staged three weeks earlier than usual, the Closing Date for Entries also had to be brought forward to 31 March 2009, thus falling ahead of several popular and traditional qualifying races. To accommodate this CMA implemented a special dispensation whereby prospective entrants must submit their entries by 31 March, but may still qualify in official qualifying races up until a final cut-off for qualifying on 28 April.

Race Director Renee Jordaan expressed cautious optimism regarding the field of entries for 2009 as there is potentially more at stake than just this year’s race. “Looking ahead to 2010 which coincides with the 85th running of the Comrades Marathon, CMA decided to cap the number of entries at 20,000 for 2010 and made a commitment to reserve the first 15,000 entries for previous Comrades finishers.” She urged runners to avoid possible double disappointment by meeting this year’s entry deadline.

“So far indications from attendance at our Comrades Marathon Worshops, as well as the increased fields participating in shorter races throughout South Africa, are that we should attract a large field this year. However, it’s always a bit of a waiting game with the majority of runners entering during the final few days before closing, after which we have six weeks to process entries and finalise logistical requirements for the race”, said Jordaan.

“In the meantime, groundwork for the staging of a memorable event is proceeding well according to schedule with an experienced and dedicated organising committee working to slightly tighter deadlines than usual,” said Boshoff.

On a historical note, 24 May is a significant date in the annals of Comrades Marathon history in that the first 26 races from 1921 – 1951 were run on what was then a public holiday (Empire Day) on 24 May. No races were run during the war years 1941 – 1945.

Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon 2010

On the Saturday of the Easter Weekend, which this year is 3rd April 2010, it’s time for Cape Town’s biggest marathon – the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon 2010.

The ultra marathon and half marathon registration takes place in Cape Town’s Good Hope Centre at the the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Expo.

The expo focuses on everything there is to know about running (or road running specifically) from shoes, clothes heart rate monitors, vitamins, nutrients, fitness aids and energy boosters to name but a few.

It is essential for runners to go to the expo to collect their race numbers and goody bags. They must also remember to bring their race acknowledgement card, ID and champion chip (if they have one) to the registration to avoid long lines.

SA’s second ultra-popular ultra-marathon is the 56-kilometre Two Oceans Marathon. Its greatest drawcard is an extremely picturesque route that winds along the coastline surrounding Cape Town. The Two Oceans, like the Comrades, also manages to pull top professionals from overseas.

Zimbabwean men have enjoyed good success in recent years, being the dominant runners in the event since 2001, including a Marco Mambo being crowned champion in 2004, 2005, and 2008.

The women’s race has succeeded in drawing many of the top female athletes preparing for the Comrades Marathon, which takes place just over a month after the Two Oceans, and as a result has produced winners who have gone on to Comrades’ victory. They include Elena Nurgalieva and Tatyana Zhirkova.

For more information on the main marathons, read the event listing for the 2009 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon at our partner site capetownmagazine.com.

Tips for Carbo-loading for Marathon runners

When training for endurance runs such as the Comrades Marathon it’s very important to make sure that not only your running strategy is on par, your nutrition is nearly as important and carbohydrate loading, commonly referred to as carbo-loading or carb-loading, is a strategy employed by many endurance athletes to maximize the storage of glycogen in the muscles.

What is carbo-loading?
Since the 1920’s, scientific studies have revealed the performance-enhancing properties of carbohydrate, especially before and during exercise. It has been shown that a relatively high carbohydrate intake delays the onset of fatigue during endurance events. Carbo-loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximize muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition. The extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time. Anyone exercising for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbo-loading.

Carbo-loading guidelines:

• Plan an exercise taper. Reduce your training load by 50 percent going into the last week before the event, and reduce it by another 50 percent over the last 3 days.
• Three days before the event, consume 7-10g of carbohydrate per kg body weight. For a 50kg athlete this means consuming 400-500g carbohydrate per day and for a 70kg athlete 560-700g carbohydrate per day (use the list below).
• Carbohydrate must form the bulk of all meals and snacks.
• Have smaller servings of protein foods at meals, so that you can leave more room for larger serves of carbohydrate foods.
• Sugar and sugary foods, including sports drinks, can provide a compact carbohydrate source.
• Be extra careful with your fat intake – save the calories for carbohydrates. Don’t get tricked with high-fat foods such as chocolate, ice-cream, rich desserts, and takeaways. These foods are a rich source of fat rather than carbohydrate and should be avoided.
• Be careful of getting carried away and don’t see this as an opportunity to ‘pig-out’.
• Over the final 24 hours you may wish to reduce your gastric contents so that you race feeling ‘light’. To do this, switch to lower fibre foods and make use of compact sugar foods. You may even like to use a liquid meal supplements or energy drinks to supply some of your carbohydrate needs.
• Drink plenty of fluids. You will need to be well-hydrated for a long event, especially in hot weather. It is a good idea to carry a water bottle around with you as a reminder.

List of foods containing 50g of carbohydrate:

• 3 slices of bread
• 10 crackers or 6 rice cakes
• 2 cups cereal or cooked porridge
• 3 weetbix
• 1 cup cooked rice/pasta/mieliemeal/couscous/samp
• 3 medium muffins
• 2-3 cereal bars
• 1 cup baked beans
• 3 cups peas/butternut/corn
• 3 medium potatoes/sweet potato or 1 cup mashed
• 3 medium pieces of fruit
• 3 tbsp raisins
• 500ml fruit juice
• 1L low-fat or skim milk
• 375ml low-fat flavoured drinking yoghurt
• 250ml fruit yoghurt
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 handful jelly babies
• 10 marshmallows
• 1-2 sports bars
• 500ml meal replacement drink (e.g Nutren Activ, Ensure)
• 800-1000ml sports drink
• 500ml cola or soft drink

Example meal plan for 70kg athlete aiming to carbo-load

• Breakfast: 3 cups cereal + 250ml low-fat milk
  1 medium banana
  250ml orange juice
• Snack: 1 medium muffin + jam
  500ml sports drink
• Lunch: 2 sandwiches (4 slices bread) + filling
  200ml low-fat drinking yoghurt
  340ml can soft drink
• Snack: banana smoothie (low-fat milk, banana, and honey)
  1 cereal bar
• Dinner: 2 cups pasta + 1 cup pasta sauce
  3 slices garlic bread
  2 glasses cordial
• Snack: 1 fruit bun + jam
  500ml sports drink
  (3380kcal, 590g carbohydrate, 125g protein, 60g fat)