Hello, Own My Runners,

Since the launch of OWN MY RUN, our community has been growing, and I can’t thank all of you enough for your support.  I believe that together we can build something great – so please don’t be shy to interact on our Running Forum as well as on social media.

New this month:

In case you missed any of our new content, here’s a list of the different topics that ware added to our ever-growing archive of information exclusively to you, our subscribers.

• Nutrition Talks:
  • click here for Subscribers content.
  • Level up your running.
• Vlogs:
  • Episode 4 – Long Run
  • Episode 5 – Cross Training for runners
• Training Diaries:
  • Training for the Paris Olympics 2024
• Videos and Webinars:
  • Two Oceans Route Description ( Click here to watch).

Track News:

A massive congratulations to Prudence Sekgodiso and Akani Simbine for flying the SA flag high at the world indoor track championships in Nanjing last week.  Prudence ran a spectacular race, bringing home the gold medal in the 800m race and Akani Simbine earned bronze for running a fantastic 60m race in a very competitive field.  On home soil, Bayanda Walaza, the U20 sprint sensation broke the U20 South African National record in both the 100m and 200m events this month. WOW!!! A young man whose future is looking very bright.

Road Running News:

Soon after the announcement of a new race date for Cape town marathon, Comrades marathon also made headlines when they announced their plans to introduce two separate start batches for the first time in the history of the race.  The news clearly created heated opinions, mostly driven by those who want to keep the tradition of the race in place, and those who want to look for new ways of easing the flow of the race in the early kilometers.  We also saw route measurements taking place over the long weekend and anticipating the announcement of the official 2025 race distance imminently. Runners have until 5 May to submit their qualifying times to stamp their spots on the starting line.  Substitutions are taking place between 17 March and 15 April.

The Two Oceans marathon is taking place on 5-6 April, which means that runners are now officially tapering and cranky!! It is exciting to see the reintroduction of the very popular friendship run for international runners as well as two trail races of 12km and 22km in distance. We are expecting a festival of running in Cape Town and with weather conditions looking very stable, it is set up to be another memorable experience!

Keep an eye out for the first race of the Spar Women’s Race Series in Cape Town on 30 March where fast times and festive spirits will be in abundance!

New Next month:

Our Comrades training plans have been released, and we have received some questions regarding long runs, and more specifically, back-to-back long runs. You can expect a video explaining why our plans don’t include back-to-back long runs and more details regarding our approach to preparing for the different race distances.

We are very excited to share an in-depth discussion with Dr. Angus regarding sickness and training.  Winter is fast approaching and that’s why we have asked Dr Angus to explain the physiological effects viruses have on our bodies so we can stay on track of our training in the best possible way.

We will also be posting ongoing Vlogs and Articles about various running topics.

On a personal note, I trust everyone enjoyed the documentary “Breaking Record” that was released on SuperSport earlier this month. In case you missed it – don’t worry – it will be shown multiple times throughout the year, so you will be able to catch all the action.

Until next time, keep well and never forget how privileged we are to be able to do this sport. It doesn’t matter how fast you go, how far you go, or how often you go. If you run, you are a runner, and that, in its own, is something to be proud of!!

Keep running, Gerda Steyn