They say that once you retire it's important to find hobbies that will keep you busy, challenge you both mentally and physically and ones that will keep you involved in your community. Now, marathon running may not be the popular choice but it certainly ticks all of those boxes and then some... When Harry Botha joined his local running club at 66, having retired to the coast and eager to get involved in the pass times of his new community, little did he know that he was taking the first tentativ...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 16 min
This episode kicks of our latest limited series covering The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. We unpack training, preparation and race day strategies from 3 different perspectives: The marathon newbie The personal best hopeful and the injured athlete... Coming up within the limited series: What's up with all the Abbott's Marathon Majors stuff? A discussion about the trail running festival with some big names in trail... Route profile and your race strategy. Fuelling for a marathon. Mental preparation ...
Sep 13, 2023•43 min
Often when speaking to elite athletes, it's hard for us average Joe's to relate, but here's someone who not only gets it but is leading the race in both her running and professional career too. In this episode of MAR we chat to Kyla Jacobs, an elite athlete specialising in the middle distances (5000m, 10km), who is set to represent SA in the World 5km Road Championships later this year. You'd think that by representing her country she'd be a full-time athlete whose schedule looks like: train, ea...
Sep 06, 2023•57 min
This weeks episode of Making HER Runner is a follow up on last weeks conversation with Julie, where we take a deep dive into training, hormones. and stress for the female runner. In our conversation we cover: major lifetime hormonal changes including: menopause, our perimenopausal years and an overview of running and pregnancy. "Oestrogen is where it's at!" says Julie." A look into oestrogen and the vital role it plays in our body composition, quality of life, and ability to train and perform. H...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Running injuries are inevitable, that's the unfortunate reality of taking running seriously, setting and working towards goals. There are going to be set-backs and there are going to be periods of dis-ease but they don't have to knock you back to square one. In this conversation with physiotherapist, Julie Rawdon, who has a special interest in biomechanics, we take a look at running injuries from a holistic perspective. We discuss: understanding why injuries happen. how to anticipate and be proa...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 14 min
If you have ever struggled to stick to a training plan because of your period, this episode is for you! It's true what they say "women can do anything that men can do; while bleeding too", nothing epitomises that statement more than the viral photograph of Emma Pallant-Browne, captured during the run leg of a Triathlon with period blood visible on her Trisuit. Of course she could've selected another photograph to share or even cropped out the "incriminating" area, but why would she when "its a n...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Meet Adrian Wildschutt, the name that's redefining the landscape of South African running! At just 25, he's not just the future; he's making his mark RIGHT NOW. 🥇🔥 Adrian grew up in Ceres, Western Cape, SA and set sails for the US soon after completing his schooling. The hard-working, academically focused talent, received a bursary to Coastal Carolina University to train under Zola Budd while pursuing his MBA degree. Since then he has been working his way up the rankings of the competitive NCA...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 1 min
On this episode of Making HER Runner we chat to Dietician and competitive Triathlete, Mariella Sawyer and explore the basics of fuelling the female runner. It's not atypical for women to have complex relationships with food and when many women's first experience with running is for weight-loss, it can seem impossible to fuel and achieve your goals simultaneously. In this "real-talk" style conversation, we touch on the most common struggles that women encounter. We discuss: female physiology and ...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 5 min
On the 11th of June 2023 the annual Comrades Marathon, South Africa's oldest ultra-endurance event, was stunned by a performance for the ages by an unknown Dutch runner - Piet Wiersma. The 25-year-old racing his Novice Comrades, as an unsponsored athlete, completed the 88km race in a staggering time of 5 hours and 14 minutes (over 4 minutes faster than the previous record) in what was an iconic battle for the win between himself, raining 'down-run' champion and race day favourite, Tete Dijana, a...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Welcome to a brand new segment of Making a Runner where we shine the light on the female running experience. For these episodes of Making HER Runner (MHR) we call our producer, Leah Acampora (@hello_leahg), into studio for a Woman’s perspective and together with coaches, athletes, health professionals and subject matter experts, we tackle the unique challenges that women face along their running journeys. From navigating running during pregnancy and postpartum to learning how to train in harmony...
Jul 19, 2023•51 min
On this episode of Making A Runner, we take a look into the experience of a person LIVING with Diabetes & choosing to run! When Jono Le Roux was (surprisingly) diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 27, it prompted him to challenge the stigmas generally associated with this community. Whereas most people may be stricken with fear and choose to go about life more conservatively, Jono was determined that he would not allow Diabetes to dictate his life's decisions. At the time Jono was already a...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 7 min
On this episode of MAR we chat to Mike Wardian and take a brief look into his adventure-filled running journey (thus far). As for running, the man is a "Jack-of-all-trades" and even a master of some, holding numerous former records including: US championship titles in the 50km and 100km distance, fastest marathon run on a treadmill, and fastest marathon completed in an Elvis Presley costume. He is also well-known for participating in a vast number of events that may be deemed "crazy" or even "im...
Jul 05, 2023•39 min
In this episode of Making A Runner, we dive into the complex world of fatigue & recovery. Our guest, Ant Clark, a Sports Scientist currently completing his PhD studies in fatigue, shares insights into the key principles of training, emphasising the important balance that needs to be maintained between stressing the body and recovering optimally in the pursuit of fitness and performance progression. We discus the various techniques and modalities available to us today taking into consideratio...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 12 min
This episode of Making a Runner is one for the people by the people; we take a special look into the Comrades Marathon Expo and gain insights from the conversations had with various runners ranging from elite-level to every day enthusiasts, from the Green Numbered Comrades Veterans, who describe it as a 'drug' that hooks you for life, to the brave novices who admit to feeling nervous and excited about taking on the Ultimate Human Race for the first time. The voices you'll hear are a combination ...
Jun 21, 2023•36 min
In this episode, we dive into the extraordinary journey of Michael Baker on the Drakensberg Grand Traverse (DGT). Michael, a runner, adventurer, and coach, shares his background and how he found his purpose in endurance sports. We explore his love for trail running, the allure of pushing boundaries, and the mental and physical challenges he embraces. The DGT, a self-supported and solo endeavor, poses immense obstacles, demanding self-reliance, mental fortitude, and exceptional navigational skill...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 9 min
If you're going to be taking Comrades Marathon race-day advice from anyone, Gerda Steyn's advice comes with winning odds! Our guest today requires no introduction, but in case you've missed her epic rise to running stardom, Gerda Steyn is the 2019 Comrades Marathon up-run Ladies Winner - the race where she broke the ladies course record and became the first woman in history to run under 6 hours in a finish time of 5:58:53. She also recently conquered the down run in 2023, breaking the long stand...
Jun 07, 2023•43 min
We're all familiar with the old adage "life begins at 40", but no one is a better example of this than Geoffrey Crow, better known on Instagram as @lets_run_faster. Going into his 40's Geoffrey made a promise to himself that he'd enter the next decade of his life as the fittest & best version of himself. Having always had a fondness for running he decided to go "all-in" with his training and started documenting the process on Instagram - he couldn't have predicted that just little more than ...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 15 min
It takes more than pure talent to make a Comrades Gold Medalist. Going on almost 30 years now, the Maxed Elite Team (first established as the Mr Price Sport Running Club in 1995) has become synonymous with winning Gold Medals at the Comrades Marathon - a title reserved for the top 10 male & female finishers each year. But how are these athletes afforded the opportunity to train, race and make a living from their passion? In this episode we hear from the Maxed Elite Team Manager, Martin Ngwen...
May 24, 2023•43 min
If you ever imagined a life travelling the world, then running may be the way to make it happen - or at least that's how it happened for retired Chief Running Officer of RunnersWorld Magazine, Mr Bart Yasso. He is one of few people to have run a marathon on every continent. He has racked up an impressive amount of kilometres, or miles we should say, and played a fundamental role in the running movement that took the world by storm in the 70's, 80's & 90's - the running world that we get to e...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 6 min
“How do I train for the Comrades Marathon?” This must be one of the most commonly Google searched questions about the Ultimate Human Race, second to, “how do I run the Comrades Marathon/Race Day Tips?”. All of which will be covered in this episode with the official Comrades Marathon Coach himself, Lindsey Parry. From everything you know you need to know to the bits in between that are only gained from the pain of experience; Coach Parry covers it all. If there’s one thing you do before the Comra...
May 10, 2023•57 min
In this episode of Making a Runner, we sit down with the co-founder of BURNT STUDIOS, Andriana Cronje, a passionate runner with a knack for giving South Africans what they want - performance gear that’s Made to Move! The beginning of Andy’s running journey is not unlike many other runners, a desire to get fit and healthy saw her taking her first 2km jog along the beachfront but it was the FEELING of running her first race that kept her coming back for more! By immersing herself in this new-found...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 3 min
The legendary Comrades Marathon is back for the 96th edition, yes still in Durbs and yes, still 90km but this time we get to help you prepare for it! In this first episode of the Comrades Marathon Limited Series, we speak to the familiar SuperSports commentary voice of the Ultimate Human Race, Cuan Walker, and it would seem that he was born for the job… Cuan shares stories of how his name became synonymous with South African running and more specifically, the Ultra Marathon that stole his heart ...
Apr 26, 2023•41 min
Dave Watkeys is an online transformation coach who has helped 100’s of clients navigate one of the most frustrating and common human challenges - weight loss. As we’ve come to understand from our experience, many people start running to lose weight - it’s an excellent way to burn calories! Unfortunately though, many people face similar problems in this pursuit, which can mostly be attributed to the complex balance of consuming enough food to fuel for the work required while still trying to maint...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this finale of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon, well-known South African Elite Athlete, Irvette van Zyl, helps you put the final steps in place for your TTOM race day. Having run and won the 21km 3 times & having placed 2nd in the 2022 56km race (you’ll remember the crushing moment that she lost the lead to Gerda Styen 3km before the finish) Irvette is more than fit to be giving advice on racing/running Africa’s largest ultra-marathon! Good luck to everyone participating, enjoy!...
Apr 12, 2023•30 min
As athletes we’re often told to “just believe”, or to “be confident”, to “relax & focus” but few people ever learn the skills required to execute these seemingly simple tasks. A massive element of running (especially marathon & ultra-distance running) is mental - in fact most people will tell you that up to 90% of it is all in your head. But how much time do we spend training our minds vs training our legs? Kirsten van Heerden is a Clinical Psychologist by qualification and leading Sport...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 16 min
“Running a marathon is a physical challenge but I believe that running an ultra marathon is a mental challenge”, says Nic. Having run 3 x Comrades Marathons and 1 x TTOM 56km between the two of them, Nic and Davey talk you through the mental preparation for race day. From their limited personal experience with ultra distance running, they help you conceptualise and form strategies for the challenges that you are sure to encounter. They share some of their go-to techniques for mental grit; like h...
Mar 29, 2023•36 min
It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight but the size of fight in the dog. This phrase was proven true when Annie Bothma raced her way to her first official marathon victory and SA Marathon Champion title at the Durban International Marathon. At the time of recording this episode, Annie was 3 days out from this event. To understand what this victory means to Annie you need to understand the amount of fights she’s fought and those she keep fighting. Annie’s running story is truly a remarka...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 4 min
If there’s anyone that you should take advice from on running the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon, it’s from Barry Holland, who has run the 56km ultra-marathon a whopping 32 times. You may recognise the name, Barry Holland, from one of our post popular episodes to date - The Comrades Marathon Special (which he has run 48 times, consecutively!). He is quite clearly well versed in ultra-distance running but there’s nothing complicated about his success, Barry runs/races according to one simple mot...
Mar 15, 2023•33 min
What do you get when you add talent + burning passion + continuous hard work, you get just a little Bester every time you show up to the start line. South African Marathon Runner, Nick Bester, holds a personal best marathon time of 2:20 and he considers himself a social runner, crazy right?! He ran his debut marathon 9 years ago in a finish time of 3:17 and since then has taken the running world by storm! With an improvement like that, it is clear to see that Nick is capable of unlocking incredi...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Nutrition is an often overlooked yet essential component to your success in any run or race, so we cannot stress the importance of it enough when it comes to an ultra distance endurance event like the TTOM! In this episode, professional long distance runner, sports nutritionist and running coach, Annie Bothma, gives us the run down on everything you need to know about nutrition and hydration specifically for the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon. Her advice comes from real life experience and that...
Mar 01, 2023•39 min
