I sat on the other side of the pond watching Comrades on an app this year. Two sub-stories felt very real to me. Kerstin and Simone have both written guest posts for Swart Donkey. They were both running at about the pace I ran last year. Simone was supporting then, and saw me just before the final cut off. She knew exactly the right things to say. Kerstin had to make the same tough call I did, telling her friends to go on ahead. Although these two inspirational ladies don't know each other, their dots on my app were side by side for almost 12 hours. They both just missed the very last cut off, after 80km, by the skin of their chins. Makes me wonder how many other people with similar struggles push on in parallel. Ceci and Kerstin described the day...
Cecilia, Kerstin & Elke
Three Hamburg Ladies
By far: we have fought this one out... it was the hardest race I have done in my life and I don't know if I could have done it on my own...
Kerstin Dirks & Elke Sommerlade supported me up to the point were Kerstin was feeling weaker and told us to go on. it was a heartbreaking moment but this we had to promise each other before in case one of us was feeling bad.
The hills on the first 45k plus the heat were so hard on me... 'ZINIKELE' 'it takes all of you' says it all...: it was simply hard and people were fighting their way through... luckily in this race there is so much unity and everybody helps each other - I have never seen that in any other race! It felt like a battle together... on the 60k mark the water supply ran out for about 3 drink stops... that was the most frightening moment in this race...
Elke & I were worried so much about Kerstin and we didn't know that this girl had soldiered on by herself... this gives me the most goosebumps... you are my true heroine in this Kiki 💛!!
Elke and I had developed a mantra to get through this race: with every step we would say 'easy' - like a military-mantra... just to tell each other we can and to take us to the finish line... there were many moments to give up, but my head would not allow it, luckily neither did Elke... the km's streched and the last hill 'Little Pollies' wasn't little at all... the last ks were the worst as we new we had to run to make it to the finish line in time... it was the hardest race I have done.. I could not enjoy it as we were battling so hard... but having my vision to cross the finish line stamped in my head I truly more than wanted to finish my challenge... it's incredible how your mind can lead you through...
I am thankful for so many things... but truly thankful to have had Elke on my side... it wouldn't have worked if we wouldn't have supported each other - she more than once took my hand and this is what this race is about: its about companionship. Cecilia
Elke and Cecilia
How does it feel to be sent out of a race? At the very last Cut off? After approximately 80K? With just 8K to go. On the highest point of the track? After 1000 m altitude? Because you arrived 2 minutes to late?
PUZZLED.
On the one hand you are disappointed and angry about yourself, about the sun and 27 degrees, and of course you dislike this hill - Polly Shortts.
But on the other hand you are proud! You haven't given up, you were running through the 5th cut off at 62 K just to go on with the race, you overtook others and stayed focused again, after having made the decision to let your friends go after 35 K. You feel it was an honour to come this far. And you smile in the second another participant offers you a cracker ;)
And finally you feel loved meeting your friends after the race, getting all the nice messages from everyone who followed (thx) and a lot of hugs. And additionally you are getting a medal from your friend because she managed to do the back2back. ❤️
I have avoided buying a watch for a long time. I can remember the freedom of giving up my watch. I felt like I had been a little time obsessed. When I studied, I would work for50 minutes, then have a 10 minute break. Repeat. In exams, I would have 1.6 minutes per mark, with 20 minutes to check at the end. If I was meeting someone, I would always be early. I did think this was useful, and made me productive but... it made time my master rather than the other way around. So I ditched the watch. Just made sure I started early, and avoided corners. Space makes time.
Bubbling Along
I took up running two years ago with the goal of one day becoming an Unogwaja. Last year, I attempted the Comrades. I made the 89km from Maritzburg to Durbs along the road I grew up on, but I was just outside the stadium when the gun went. I slowed down, and enjoyed 'running' into Kingsmead. There are lots of things that went right that day, and lots of lessons learnt. It is easy to only focus on the 'what ifs'.
Going Dark
The Gun sounds outside the stadium
One of those 'what ifs' was if I had been wearing a watch. I liked the freedom of running wild. Truth is, I had no margin of safety. I was slow from the first kilometre. It was always going to be tight. I told a friend when I was dark and struggling, that I just needed to focus and get in my bubble. He responded, 'Your bubble is too slow'. I should have listened. One day, when my bubble is a bit faster, I will be able to be a little wilder.
Always look on the bright side of death
Before you take your terminal breath
In just under a month's time, I am attempting my second ultra-marathon. The Two Oceans (56km) in Cape Town.
The Unogwaja Challenge is not a 1700km cycle over 10 days to the start of the 89km Comrades Marathon. It is not a charity. It is not a team of elite athletes doing something that normal people can not do. There is something else happening here. Something very special. Something the catalyst behind this movement lives and breathes. John, as you look forward to building the team for next year, what are you looking for and what are you trying to achieve?
John:
Have you seen Armageddon?! The recruitment for Unogwaja always feels like the part in Armageddon when Bruce Willis brings his team of diverse people together for the important mission to save the world! There are many ways to serve as part of Unogwaja, but in the instance of Unogwaja Challenge, we are looking for people who can handle the physical rigours of the challenge, but once we have established the physical capabilities its what comes next that is really important to me. We are looking for people from all over South Africa, and around the world (There are 44 Unogwaja in history and 48 people who have served on the support crew representing 11 nationalities since we began in 2011) to be ambassadors for Unogwaja, South Africa, their own countries, story-tellers, people to ignite the people around them to be great, to believe in themselves and be part of this movement. We hope their contribution will continue and be valued long after the "event" itself is over. Being an Unogwaja carries a responsibility. We look for people who can see this and want to act on it, and build the legacy of Unogwaja, our collective legacy.
John's Dad (The Stoff), John, Me, My Dad
Trev:
I see Unogwaja as an act of Community Building. That happens through creating connections and stories. The story of the Red Socks only really matters because of the friendships they celebrated. The original story of Unogwaja not accepting the obstacles in his way stopping him from getting to the Comrades. The Cycle/Run is then just the door. This growing group of Ambassadors then become a network of passion around the world. A network of people looking for a way to walk with each other, to see each other, to create a deeply interconnected world where we can thrive. That Cycle/Run is still quite a tall order though! 10 days of cycling before even attempting the Comrades. Not all the people on the team are 'elite athletes'. What do you think is required to be able to cope with the physical demands? Presumably just desire is not enough?
You are spot on Trev. I can't tell you how awesome it is to hear these words from you. It's special to see a deep understanding of what Unogwaja is all about starting to develop in people across SA and around the world. You are also totally right that the actual physical cycle/run journey is quite a tall order. And certainly we need to find people who have showed evidence in their lives of being able to cope with the physical demands of the journey. It is not fair on the individual or the team if anyone is really out of their depth. This does not preclude guys who do not have this kind of background but in these cases we would expect to work over a year or two to get them ready. We have actually found in this case it really gives a person a better understanding of Unogwaja which really makes them strong contributors going forward. We have also found that some applicants who don't get chosen first time or were perhaps chosen as non travelling reserves, have gone on to become massive contributors to the journey and the organisation. It's incredible what we learn about ourselves in disappointment and how the extra time allowing Unogwaja to really sink can be the best possible way to become part of it. For me, the most important element that we want to get right is for each applicant to understand they are not "entering an event". They are being chosen to represent a team, a movement. It really is a huge honour to pull on that jersey and carry it across our country. I remember a friend introducing me to someone saying this is the guy from Unogwaja. Unogwaja is harder to get into the Harvard!!
Unogwaja Team - Day 9 (2016)
Pic: Phumzile Malotana
Trev:
Something else that is different from traditional events is the 'archy' involved. We are used to a world where customer is king. Where the event is a product. Unogwaja is different in that the participants join a community. There is a substantial fundraising requirement on top of the fee. This could make people feel like they are buying an experience, and lead to certain expectations about what they will receive in return. There is a support team. They will get kit etc. The dynamic is not the same as a pay for service event though. It seems more part of the 'sharing economy' or 'gift economy'.
John:
What do you mean by 'archy'?
Trev:
Power vibes. Boss-Employee. Client as King. Government as Rulers. Hierarchy. Monarchy.(See 'Beyond Archy')
John:
I am excited that you are seeing these things from the "outside". It obviously must mean we are heading in the right direction. This is really encouraging for me! And it is not an easy thing when you are trying to create something that is different from the 'norm'. Expectations can be very hard to manage but I think that most people who join Unogwaja understand this and see this, and that's why we have created the application process the way that it is. It reminds me of representing South Africa at hockey. Hockey is a sport that is hugely under resourced but as a whole hockey players learn to roll up their sleeves and create the best of everything and be grateful for the honour of representing their country. There were those players in my career who had a huge sense of entitlement but those players did not last long and did not become the best. The players who kept focusing on what they could do for the team, rather than what the team could do for the players are the ones champion teams and movements are built upon. We try prepare our team for this mindset shift and understanding of what Unogwaja is all about.
We do not want to create a "Rolls Royce" event. This is not what it is all about. Do we focus on creating an incredible and inspirational journey? We hope so! And things like safety we do not compromise on. However we believe it is important to be reminded of what this is all about, and that is a group of people coming together to serve. To have the chance to represent something great. A chance that not many people in the world will get the opportunity to do, and to continually be involved with.
Great Support
Already the event as it is would cost close on R100,000 per Unogwaja, but this amount is highly subsidised by our incredible sponsors and volunteers who ensure we are able to ask for a R20,000 (2016) and R25,000 (for 2017) entry fee contribution. The retail cost alone of our epic 2016 team wear from New Balance SA would blow your mind! The cost of hiring the team we put together each year would be enormous - physios, media people, bike mechanics etc etc. but we get people who are willing to give of themselves. I guess everyone who is part of Unogwaja has 'skin' in it and this creates an incredible bond and force from within that we all share and must continually remind ourselves of.
Don't get me wrong we take ultimate responsibility for this event and we continually try and improve the "experience", but the key for us is to create one team - Unogwajas, support crew, Stoff, Nicky and I - we are all in this together and working towards serving South Africa.
Each Unogwaja applicant gives R1,000 with their application in order to show us that they are dead serious about this. We do not have the depth of resources to go through 100s of applications each year and hence its a way of discouraging people who are not that committed. The fundraising component has been a personal commitment of R50,000 towards the Unogwaja Charitable Trust (over the years we have got a lot better at this and have a mentor system in place from the outset to assist each team member with how to raise the funds) - we see this as a minimum amount and hope that our team members can go way beyond this amount although we respect each and everyone's commitment large or small and understand the different circumstances. For 2017, it's the first year we are going to identify individual fundraising targets in an attempt to fulfil our potential as individuals and as a collective! Can we become the first group to break R2 million in one campaign?! I think we can do it! Each support crew member will also have a personal target to work towards so we are all in this together.
Recognising Resilience, Empowering Passion
Trev:
The fundraising effort is also out of the ordinary. The emphasis of Unogwaja is that it is not a charity. Many athletic events now come with a fundraising element for various charities. I see the fundraising effort here as the building of an engine. The Light Fund doesn't throw money at problems. It focuses on seeing people. On seeing their resilience. On seeing the value they already add. On fanning those flames. What are some of the projects that those who become Unogwaja Ambassadors will be getting involved in?
John:
Very grateful that you see all this Trev - thank you. It's been a long road. And I believe it is very necessary to have a little context in order to understand where we are going and what we are trying to do.
This is not an event. And nor is it a charity. Handouts are damaging our country. Over the course of the last 6 years we have seen this and through various experiences believe that it is only through education and empowerment that our countries significant inequalities can start to be reduced. Handouts are a temporary plaster for an issue than runs far deeper, and serves to enhance entitlement and compromise work ethic. Handouts serve the giver more than they serve the person receiving. Tough circumstances breed tough people, people who are willing to work hard, and giving this hard work an opportunity to be great is where the potential of our country lies.
The first place that really opened our eyes to this was Vukasebenze Homeless Shelter in Cradock where we have been put up en route Pietermaritzburg over the last 5 years. There is no such thing as a free meal or shelter for the night. "Nothing for nothing". Each person is required to work for it, and the shelter is sustained through a plastics, glass, cardboard recycling business which not only creates entrepreneurs as opposed to people "begging" but also serves the community and the environment. It's inspiring. The same with their second hand clothing business - people donate clothes or they are made through the sewing academy and then the clothes are sold in the shop from R2, R5, R10, R20, R50. There is a massive difference between getting something for free vs paying for it no matter how small the amount is. These funds then get injected back into the shelter to sustain it and the people that serve there.
The Unogwaja Charitable Trust has invested relatively small sums of actual money into Vukasebenze (which means Wake up and work) only items such a workshop tools for the carpentry section, gardening equipment for the vegetable garden and sewing machines for the sewing academy. To illustrate with the sewing machines once the student has graduated this creates the opportunity to take a machine home to use to sew, to teach, to clothe and perhaps generate some income. All these initiatives have one thing in common - they are driven by the people themselves and the support is there to help them to run themselves better, empower their lives and people around them. The more people can be supported by these through their own hard work the better.
Unogwaja Light - Empowering people
We have also come to realise that just being there. Showing up. Seeing people. Reminding them that they are not alone and that someone believes in you is a huge thing. But this does not happen over night. Over the past 5 years we have got to know Gussie and the people of Vukasebenze bit by bit and we are very proud of the light they shine out of their little corner in Cradock. Keep shining we are with you all the way!
Vukasebenze
We have since then established similar relationships with the people of Lebone Village in Bloemfontein via our 2015 Captain Steven Iffland who has worked with Lebone for many many years. Through Michael Deegan and Pietermaritzburg Community Chest who we have been working with since 2011, we were introduced to Umsilinga Primary and have been working on the ground with the Principal, staff and other people committed to working in this area and with this school. These are the important people to ensure that the support is effective and appropriate and ultimately leads to supporting people supporting themselves, believing in themselves and having the opportunity to make their own life for themselves.
I am particularly excited about what is happening in Langa which is Unogwaja's long term focus area in the Western Cape. It feels like we are privileged to be on the inside and part of something incredible developing here. There really is so much happening here and it's exciting to see what happens when all these sparks develop and start to join together.
Langa Hockey Club runs at 5pm every Friday
This year we have also been introduced to two special schools in the Eastern Cape through two special people very well known to Unogwaja - Zephaniah and Thulisile - their actions alone remind us of what lies at the heart of Unogwaja. Taking personal responsibility, initiative. We look forward to developing our relationships with them. This is the start of any meaningful partnership. We are not looking for "quick ins and outs".
Jees, I hope you are not strict on the world limit!! I could honestly say a lot more. Probably the most critical point to get across is that we are not in a hurry to spend money. Often money is just spent without much care and thought and the easiest way to show this is money "well spent" is if there is something tangible like a netball court or a classroom, take photos make a big deal of it, splash it over the newspapers, share the story about how sport unites our country etc but in reality these things alone will not create change, and in fact in many cases make the situation worse. We need to be developing relationships, building strong communities where hard work and commitment is the most respected currency. This takes time and is essential for the journey we are on. We want to walk this path together with people, not for them.
An important role of Unogwaja Ambassadors is to really understand what we are trying to do and be the carriers of that message and approach. Our collective actions over time will really matter. And I really hope that the experience of the journey will ignite a passion inside our Ambassadors to keep telling this message throughout their lives and be involved in whatever way they can. The impact of this story can really be great and is in our hands and will be dictated by our collective actions.
Trev:
John, I have met some amazing people through the work you are doing. I think community building is particularly challenging and important work. We are bound by the stories we create together. I am sure you will find an awesome bunch of people to continue the work next year, and I plan on being their in Durban to run with you to Maritzburg along with the Red Love Train. Thank you.
Starting is the hardest part. Whether it is getting fit, eating properly, learning a language, fixing a broken relationship, or breaking down the barriers that trap the world in Global Apartheid and Privilege. I love Tim Minchin's commencement address in which he talks about Micro-ambition. He says that we should make our goals tiny and achievable. Take a bite. I love John McInroy's focus on helping people who are helping themselves, not through charity, but by seeing the fact that they are already helping themselves. Recognising resilience as it already exists. Understanding the bites they are already trying to take.
We live in two worlds. The one in our heads and dreams, and the one that we experience. Both are illusions created by the way we understand things. The experiences we have had. The emotions we understand and the emotions we don't. There are inputs for us to expand these emotions and experiences if we are open to them. Look. Listen. Taste. Feel. Think. Love.
If we open ourselves up to other people, then I firmly believe we can start the work of building our communities. Then we will be able to savour more fully each and every bite we take.
I have a problem with authority.
One of the reasons I stopped working in the traditional sense is that I
struggle with the hierarchy of work. I am luckily a very self-motivated person.
I can push myself hard. For that reason, my parents seldom had to discipline
me. I hate(d) my older brothers telling me what to do. I seldom disappointed
teachers for lack of effort, bar perhaps in accounting. That is likely related.
School accounting tended to be about learning the rules.
Ironically, I like rules. Games work better with a contract that people agree to abide by. Touch rugby,
poker, and many other social games work better when the rules aren’t an
argument. What I don’t like is a lack of clarity about the rules. Within known
constraints you can be very creative. Fuzzy constraints impede creativity
because there is too much umming and ahhing. The wet blanket effect slows
things down and kills joy.
In the corporate environment,
there is a lot of fuzziness. There is hierarchy but more delegation of
responsibility than of trust and decision making. There were lots of occasions
when I really didn’t like myself. I can perform under pressure, but I am not a
nice person. Not the kind of person I want to be. All the softer, social skills
go out the window and I get task focused. It becomes a choice between the task
and the person. That in my view is not a necessary choice. There is seldom a
reason to rush. There is almost never a reason to put a task above a person.
But the world is not black and
white. I could have benefited from less of a desire to control my environment
when I ran the 89km Comrades on Sunday. I got angry with about 16km to go. I
had the sub-12hour bus hounding me from behind. They took up the whole road. If
they caught up, you didn’t become part of the bus. You got swallowed. I was
angry with the bus. I was angry because of all the plastic on the road despite
the bins. I didn’t feel in control.
I had a buddy with me. One who
was far stronger than me. Instead of outsourcing my thinking to him and just
doing what I was told, I cut him loose. He wanted to help. I told him to carry
on. I just needed to be in my bubble. I just needed to focus. He told me my
bubble was too slow. I spoke some French asking him to leave me alone. That
cost me the race.
I pulled myself together about 4
km later, but I lost about 10 minutes to my anger. I had been running a steadily
slow race, and hadn’t left much of a buffer. I got to the stadium just as the
gun went. At the pace I was running, I probably would have finished 2 minutes
later.
I slowed down and gathered
perspective. The task of finishing was not my goal. This was something much
bigger. I had started running to be part of the story of Unogwaja. I had
started running to try and deconstruct my identity. How can we define ourselves
as ‘not’ the things we haven’t properly tried? I was ‘not’ a runner. I had just
run 89km and survived. I jogged into the stadium singing Shosholoza. Savouring
the love being poured by the crowd into the runners who had fought their way to
the stadium a few minutes too late.
I will be back stronger and more focussed on the things that matter.
Just 12km from the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, many of the children from Umsilinga Primary School had not seen it. It was a very special moment when hundreds of little people in red socks stormed the fields to form a tunnel on Saturday to welcome the Unogwaja team who had cycled 1700km from Cape Town over the previous 10 days. A young girl passionately recited Rudyard Kipling's 'If'. One day, she wants to be a Doctor. As I ran the 89km Comrades yesterday as part of the Red Love Train alongside the 12 team members, I kept thinking about those kids. If we truly believe in a world without unnecessary obstacles. If we can see and support the resilience and perseverance that already exists, the light of these children will shine.
Friday. I am putting on my Red Socks and going to meet the Unogwaja team as they ride in to Richmond. In 1933, the original Unogwaja couldn't afford the trip from Cape Town to the Comrades. So he cycled 1700km. To run 89km. Masterton-Smith lost his life at the siege of Tobruk in World War II. Three veterans who had fought at that battle promised to wear red socks if they made it out of the POW concentration camp alive. The Red Socks are a story of lasting friendships. Unogwaja is a story of putting aside obstacles. The Comrades is a story of rising to the challenge of life together. On Sunday we run together.
It's the hand up. It's the sharing. It is the building of relationships. Harnessing resilience and lighting flames. The Unogwaja Challenge and the Red Love Train are walking with the Umsilinga Primary School (located near the route of the Comrades Marathon). Through conversations and reciprocal education, we can build a community that is deeply bound together. In mutual support of dreams, aspirations, passions and meaning. Investing in the fabric of a society we draw from and give to. Planning with each other. Making our future together. Real liberation starts with being connected. Real liberation starts with seeing each other.
Unogwaja and The Red Love Train coming together from all over the world
You have 12 hours to finish the 89km Comrades Marathon. I would like to finish somewhere around 11 hours 45 minutes. Walking as much as I need to. Just keep moving. I will be part of the 'Red Love Train'. A group from Brazil, Germany, Britain, Canada, Portugal and (of course) South Africa will be running alongside the Unogwaja team. That team of 14 (adding Australia and the US) led by Nathaniel Mabetwa will be cycling about 1000 miles from Cape Town to the start of the Comrades over the 10 days before the race. We will then run together. The race is a part of a much wider project to walk together through life. To see each other. To build a community of which we are all a part by coming together, with respect, and seeing how we can release the energy within us. Not charity. Unogwaja is about light. It is about removing obstacles.
I had a grand blog post bubbling in my head as I started my first Marathon yesterday. It was 400 years since the death of Shakespeare. I was running the Stratford-upon-Avon Marathon with my brother as his 40th birthday present. We were aiming for 4 hours. 400-40-4 seemed to have a beautiful rhythm. One that was meant to be. But it wasn't the real goal. The real goal was time with my brother, and qualification for the Comrades. Until two weeks previously I had always been aiming to run just fast enough to qualify. So 6:30 min per kilometre would get me to the finish line with a little buffer beneath the required 5 hours.
It was both of our first Marathons but my brother has been running plenty of half marathons. He is doing the build up to longer distances properly. 18 months ago I hadn't even run more than 10km. I then got challenged to run a Marathon, and that got bumped up to a challenge to run the Comrades after I had a long chat with John McInroy and got inspired by the Unogwaja story.
Two weeks ago, I ran my first official Half Marathon and I surprised myself on the positive side. I had no idea what sort of time I could run other than from my training runs which were close to the slow qualification time required. A speed at which I could chat. A speed at which I could breathe easily. A speed at which running is comfortable and enjoyable. I had slowly built up distance by long walks and gradually venturing further. No rush. It turned out that with the additional motivation of others on the road, I comfortably ran faster while still breathing properly.
This meant I was pretty confident yesterday. I had upped (downed?) the goal target to 4 hours, while emphasising that qualification was the real aim. But, I would have like to reach the 4 hours. I kept the pace up till around the 20 mile mark. With 10 km to the wheels fell off a little. They didn't fall off so much as slowly, they just refused to turn at the steady pace. My breathing was still fine. My energy was still fine. My legs just started saying, 'Not so much Trev you muppet.'
The last 10km were at closer to 10 minutes per kilometre than the 5:41/km I had been running for 3 hours at. I was still smiling. Mostly. My brother was doing most of the talking though. I am a lucky guy to have someone who enjoyed his birthday gift being helping me qualify. We pushed on and finished with a glorious rendition of Chariots of Fire. My lungs were fine. The exhibitionist in me was still fine. The song choice was fine. It made the slow motion look intentional.
I have a month to go. When that comes, I am going to have 12 hours to finish 89km. If 20km of that is at 10 minutes a kilometre, I need to run the rest at 7:30/km. It will be about preservation. It will be about the Comrades around me. It will be about the race I grew up watching. Not just a run. A story.
I will be part of the Red Love Train. This will be a group running with the members of the Unogwaja team. They will have cycled from Cape Town to the start of the race over the 10 preceding days. Roughly 100 miles a day. All this is not about a cycle and a plod. The team members and the Unogwaja Light Fund aim to release the passion and potential of those who need help to help themselves. To walk with them because people have walked with us. To see them because people have seen us. The focus is on primary school education. I write a lot on my blog about Community Building. I have more questions than answers. Like my running, I don't think you wake up one day and decide to head out and run the Comrades. It is a long process. Understanding the obstacles. Slowly chipping away at them. Making sure you enjoy the process. Making sure you breathe properly while doing it. My first marathon didn't go quite as smoothly as I would have liked, but I made it across the finish line. Time for the next step.
I started doing Yoga in 2009. When I tried to touch my toes, I missed by about half a metre. I had only been working at a desk for just over half a decade, but I was not in... good nick. A few years later, and now being a Yoga Teacher who helps other beginners, I don't feel too bad. Seems most desk jockeys can't touch their toes. They say desks are this generation's cigarettes. We are meant to move.
One of the things I love about yoga is the feeling of going a little further. Just a little. When I am practising regularly, almost every session takes me slightly deeper into the posture. My breath feels a little more comfortable. I come out feeling a touch more relaxed. Even in my very first class I learnt how to relax enough to shave a centimetre off the distance to the floor. Do a little.
A Little Adds Up
Now I am trying to apply my Yoga approach to training for the Comrades. This morning I took a train trip to visit my brother. My brother is awesome. He discovered a love of running a few years back, and said he would pace me for an attempt at edging my distance record forward. My pace goal was not ambitious. I am trying to go at almost the slowest I am allowed to go in order to qualify. We headed out at a comfortable 6:30 minutes per kilometre. At this pace, you can chat. You can look at the scenery. You can breathe comfortably.
And like my Yoga sessions, I edged a little further. Today, I ran 30km in 3h15m. The farthest I had run was two weeks ago at 27km. The farthest I had run a year ago was 10km.
I always wanted to run the Comrades Marathon one day. One day, but not too soon because I thought running a very long way was nuts. The Comrades Marathon is 89km long. It is an ultra-marathon run not only by ultra-athletes, but by thousands of ordinary people. I grew up along the route. Every second year, I witnessed the mass of people jogging, walking or clawing their way past Westville (where I grew up) with the last 14 kilometres to go to Kingsmead in Durban. On the other year, they would be running past with more energy, but a full 75km to go, up the Hill to Pietermaritzburg. Growing up in Kwa-Zulu Natal, growing up in South Africa, means the Comrades Marathon is part of who you are.
But 89km? That is just mad. I thought I would wait till I was older. I knew there would be damage done, but it was a trade off. Something I really wanted to be a part of. Almost a pilgrimage. I once got to shake Nelson Mandela's hand at the end of the Comrades. I practised a line that felt incredibly inadequate as I waited. I have forgotten the words. What I remember was how big he was, and that his response was something along the lines of, 'No, it is you who are an amazing man.' He then went down a line of people creating further life-long memories. The Comrades always felt like something I needed to do.
Then about a year ago, I had two books recommended to me that changed my view on running 180 degrees. Together, Born to Run and Eat & Run make a strong case for running being very much a part of a healthy lifestyle. Not just short runs. We are meant to move. Done properly, with the correct style, and the correct diet, running is a potent transformative medicine. A way of maintaining lifelong health. It is our destructive sedentary lifestyle which leads to running hammering the knees and being a regular source of injuries. Doing nothing, sitting at a desk or on a couch for hours and hours, and then running, is (unsurprisingly) not a good idea. It's the couch and desk that are the problem. Not the running.
So I have been slowly building up my walking and running mileage with an aim to do this year's Comrades Marathon. Last week I broke my walking (49km) and running (21km) distance records. I have no idea how long it took. I didn't time myself. Part of the idea ventured by McDougall and Jurek that resonated with me is to listen to the body. Almost a yogic approach. Run as fast as you can while still being able to maintain a comfortable conversation. In yoga, the idea is you should never push yourself so hard that you lose control of your breath. Your breath is your best coach.
Today, I am on a long walk day. I am still listening to 'The Wealth of Nations' as I walk along the Thames. A walking marathon with a lunch break to write. I am still amazed how relevant Smith's commentary is 240 years later. It gives insight into Colonialism, Government, Business and how good ideas spread and bad ideas die.
My understanding that running was a bad idea deserved to die. Bring on 29 May 2016!
