Out on my rich streets. If I haven’t run a medal into my legs, I‘ve sure run joy into them. 0432 old car leaves trail of unburnt petrol. 0433 car lights go off, young lady gets out. She: Are you crazy?- Yes, are you?-I’ve been working-What work?-Waitress-*pause*-Bum...
Awake 10 min before the alarm, keen to run after rest days and the 5k yesterday. Quickly passed the hour I give my body to sip coffee, wake, rid itself of waste, muse and maybe talk to my son in Taiwan. Quickly, silkily went the 8ks run in a light drizzle. Legs great,...
Moon clear, Venus bright, they’re back in cappuccino range. Air crisp after all the rain. Body sluggish after all the rest. 10steps: can’t breathe; 1k: body kinda in gear; 2ks a giggle pops out; 3ks phew, I should have got brakes for my new shoes – 12 years old again,...
Facet 2 of what makes Comrades an ultimate run Crossing the finish line after running ~90 km is a marvel; even if it’s running that is also walking, cursing or crawling. That feeling, that fizz and burst, makes the Comrades distance exactly right for a perfect...
Comrades training Cape Town: Two Oceans gone, fewer runners on the road; most running is in darkness; then the rains come, like this morning. Didn’t feel like stepping into the wet; didn’t need to as this is an easy week. Then Robyn got up. Just after the kettle...
Alarm clock off, body clock on. Legs wake ready to run, my mind don’t mind if it does. Moonlight calls, stars beckon, but it’s a rest day; a running rest day. Michael is up, sun on its way, sky will be blue and it’s a holiday, The world’s most something...
Back to the comfort of a cuddly ~13k. Sky clear after the rain yesterday. Gotta luv it: warm in the Foreshore canyons, chill in the open, moon high; Venus over the harbour, Southern Cross above the mountain, fine mist down in Green Point, smile in my feet. Doffed my...
Good because they have already helped me lots; bad because they make me sweat and focus. Clouds broke up during the run so I could get some moon-glow and venus-sparkle mostly on my shoulders – nearly fell trying to get the lights into my belly button. A sudden...
Wouldn’t it be good to have Comrades theme that goes with “Chariots of Fire” that is at the same time universal, African and South African and rooted in the rhythms and spirit of the run? Drumbeats echo in all our souls. They start, I like to think, with the first...
The “ultimate” status of the Comrades Marathon lies first in its conception. Right there is the gem that is the heart of its treasure. The Comrades Marathon is about running, endurance running; it’s also more, it’s about the human spirit. That’s not something I made...
