Monthly Archives: May 2013
Why run the Comrades Marathon?
Sunday will see another edition of one of, if not the, most epic foot races on the planet. When you tell people you are running Comrades their response very often is “you are crazy”, then there is the short look of sympathy and then finally, even if they don’t ask it, the burning question why?
You too will ask yourself ‘why?’ many times on Sunday. Many many times. You will promise yourself never again. You’ll even negotiate with your body, if it gets you through this one you’ll never make it do it again. It’s easy to get into a negative spiral at those times especially when asking yourself why. For me, to get through those why patches I ask myself why not? That is the question that gets me through the tough parts on race day. Why not do something great like Comrades? Why not be something great even if it is just for one day? Why not?
I’ve thought about that question many times over the last few years and what it is that keeps drawing me back to that brutal stretch of road between Maritzburg and Durban. I can’t really put my finger on it but deep down I am sure it is something primal but I wanted to share a few of the things I could think of:
- I can’t think of another race or sporting event where there are more people in the stadium to see the last guy finish than Continue reading
Comrades Marathon Charity Wager
With the Comrades Marathon just around the corner I thought it would be cool to do the charity wager thing again. I put one together for Ironman South Africa this year and it worked quite well. We managed to raise a few grand for charity and with Comrades being a lot bigger I am sure we can do a whole lot more. So this is how it works:
1. If you are running Comrades predict your finishing time or if you know someone who is running Comrades predict their time.
2. Put R100 into the pot.
3. Nominate a charity who you would like to support should you win.
All the R100 pledges will go into a combined pot and who ever comes closest to predicting their or someone else’s time will win the pot for their nominated charity. Simple right?
All you need to do is predict your time by completing the form below or send me your name, predicted time and charity you’d like to support to and I’ll add you to the list. After the race I’ll pop an email out requesting you finish time. Once we’ve figured out who has won, another email will go out with the details of the winning charity and you will then need to deposit your R100 into their account. So here goes:
1. Brad Brown 10:51:09 PinkDrive
2. Simon Parkinson 10:17:00 PinkDrive
3. Nick Schild 10:58:05 PinkDrive
4. Andre Mariano 9:57:00 Reach for a Dream
5. Bridget Ellender 10:15:00 PinkDrive
6. Cari-Ann Botha 11:20:53 Reach for a Dream Continue reading
Ian Laxton, Lindsey Parry, Bruce Fordyce and the Comrades Marathon – Run Talk SA Episode 1
Episode 1 of Run Talk SA sees Brad Brown and Simon Parkinson discuss the following:
- How Run Talk SA came about
- The 2013 Comrades Marathon with legendary running and athletics broadcaster Ian Laxton. We ask him who are the names to look out for in the men’s and ladies race, what are the chances of someone being caught doping again and we chat about Zola Budd and Alan Robb.
- Pippa Rawles who was supposed to be running her first Comrades on Sunday joins us to tell us why she is not running anymore.
- Lindsey Parry chats about the expo and what to do and what not to do this week leading up to race day.
- We take a look at other races happening around the country this weekend.
- Nine times Comrades Marathon champion and 30 times finisher Bruce Fordyce talks us through how to approach the up run and tells us his plans for race day.
- Simon eavesdropped at the Fourways runners Comrades send off and chatted to one of their most famous members, Chen.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by clicking here. If you have an android device we have also been added to Stitcher and you can listen to us or download the podcast here
You can also be in touch via or or
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Share This Post
Thank you for registering for the Run Talk SA New Balance Comrades Marathon webinar, Run Talk SA will be in touch shortly with the exact details how you can access this free webinar.
Please would you help us spread the word of this FREE Comrades webinar by to tweet this —> The next @RunTalkSA @NewBalance_SA @ComradesRace webinar is on 12 Dec. I have registered, so can you http://bit.ly/1dWeKsv
Or you can to tweet this —-> I’ve registered for the next free @NewBalance_SA @ComradesRace webinar with @LindseyParryZA & @BigBradBrown You can to http://bit.ly/1dWeKsv
Share This Post
Comrades Marathon Motivation
With just less than two weeks to go until the 2013 Comrades Marathon, I know I am feeling a bit nervous. For me this is the most difficult time in the build-up to race day. All the hard work has been done; all that is required now is to make sure you arrive well rested in Durban on the 2nd of June. I find it such a difficult time to deal with. I invariably pick up a phantom niggle or sore throat and I avoid people like the plague. I become grouchy and snap at everyone and start doubting my preparation. One thing I do like to do is hear stories that fire me up or watch videos that get me motivated. I put together a little video of my own a few years ago that documented my journey to Comrades, I hope it fires you up!
Share This Post