| 5. TRAINING | | Night running: the horror, the horror...
In the movie Alien, we were taught another vital Hollywood life skill: In space, no one can hear you scream. Who knows how many times that's saved you in the past, right? Whether or not you've been baring your tonsils in a vacuum lately, it's still a small consolation for us trail runners.
In the forest, at night, everyone can hear you scream but they don't know what's eating you. So the first lesson of trail running is keep your wits about you or else the forest beasties will devour you alive.
This TRAIL article with tips to improve your night running is a fun but scary throwback to TRAIL 7 with trail runners Tracey Almirall, Andrew Booth, and Charl Souma (with a nod to Lee Saxby). | | 6. NEWS | | UK 3 Peaks record, Canadian fires, Eiger podium, Rhodes change.
~ Rehan Greeff (second left) broke the supported record on the 700km UK National 3 Peaks route, starting on 23 June and ending on 30 June. The record has been validated on the Fastest Known Time website and also published on Strava. A South African chartered accountant residing in the UK, he says: "I am an unlikely ultrarunner. I only got into ultrarunning seven years ago and since then have broken records on various routes, including 200km and 300km trail routes in the UK. I had five knee operations (two in left knee, three in right knee) between the ages of 13-16 due to rugby injuries and struggled with my legs, until it all changed in early 2017." Since then he has used his running as a way to raise funds and awareness for ForAfrika. "They feed children across Africa at schools in an attempt to break the poverty cycle. I have been able to raise more than £100,000 to date towards this cause." His support crew: sister Anmari Greeff (media), retired Brit Alan Garton (logistics), and long-time friend and fellow CA Livingstone Ntambi (bicycle wingman).
~ This year has seen unprecedented racing overseas by South African competitive trail runners, and the results are starting to show. Adidas Terrex athlete Bianca Tarboton finished second in last week's Eiger Ultra Trail by UTMB 35km race. "It was beautiful, hot, steep and flowy as ever, so all in all, a great morning out on the mountain," she said. Photo petter_engdahl (50km winner).
~ Trail runner Mandla Mncube (front, centre) travelled to Alberta this month with his Working On Fire firefighter teammates. They assisted with firefighting efforts in the Canadian province. He's based at Royal Natal Base and won the two-day Runtheberg in 2015. The photo used is from the 2018 edition. "With my love of sports, I also started local sports organisation Drakensberg Amakhaya Sporting.
~ Pretoria resident Gideon Swart will race the 75km K-Way SA MaxiRace Cape Winelands on 30 September to raise awareness for human trafficking in South Africa. He is raising funds for Brave to Love, an organisation focused on rescuing and rehabilitating women and girls victimised by sex trafficking. With human trafficking surpassing the illegal drug trade in South Africa, Gideon's mission is to spread awareness and protect vulnerable individuals.
~ After 34 years organising the Rhodes Trail Run, Darrell and Evie Raubenheimer (on the left) announced on 10 July that the event will now be run by Rhodes residents Heather Ralph and Rudi Hiestermann. “It has been a privilege being custodians of this iconic event and we are pleased to be placing the Rhodes Run in safe hands,” said Darrell and Evie. | | | THAT'S IT... FOR NOW. HAPPY WEEKEND! | | | | | |
|
