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TRAIL Mail #28: Friday 24 July 2020

Win the Polar Grit X worth R8,995.
Lockdown makes us FKT crazy.
Back issues on special: just R30.

In this issue (click the category to save scrolling):

  1. From the Editors. Cabbage and scrambling tips.
  2. Photo of the week. Up and down George Two Peaks
  3. News.  Worldwide FKT-fever continues!
  4. Funny. Outrun the Blerch and you have mastered motivation
  5. Trail Poll. Technical trails or long distances: which tires you out more?
  6. Calendar. List your event. New virtual events.
  7. Gear. Druid’s Garden Lion’s Mane Organic Coffee t36.
  8. Competition. Win Polar Grit X and First Ascent gear. Enter today!
  9. TRAIL digital. Back issues on special. Read issue 36 on multiple devices.

Cabbage defence.

I'm not 25 anymore. Good health is more of a priority now than it was in those carefree days. I believe that being healthy is 10% genetic and 90% diet and lifestyle. Health is like investing money. You do your homework, you act on the knowledge, you commit the effort, and you give your investment the time it needs to mature.

Seemingly insignificant things make a bigger difference than most are aware. In investing, the difference between a management fee of 0.5% or 1% can be massive. 

In health, there are invisible compounds unique to different foods that can make or break our defences.

An example: this study published in the Clinical and Translational Allergy journal hypothesises why some regions in Europe have vastly different COVID-19 fatality rates. After analysing the data, the researchers believe that regular consumption of cabbage may reduce the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) receptors that the coronavirus latches onto, making us less susceptible to infection.

So, when in doubt, eat more cabbage. And watch those broker fees.

Happy trails!

Deon Braun, TRAIL publisher

Stronger, faster.

My 2020 speed and strength goals are well on their way! The strength goal was to lift and lower myself from a headstand, and the speed goal is to run a personal best 5km. The headstand I had conquered, although I need to work on form and stability. I haven't attempted the 5km yet, but my speed and hills sessions have been getting quicker (while wearing a mask the whole time), which is promising. How are your 2020 goals proceeding?

If you hope to spend more of your time on craggy rocks, check out the latest article on our website. It will help you to scramble confidently and safely.

Maybe your goal is to get your faily out on the trails with you. We feature promising child trail runners in every issue (like Sifiso Miya and Emma van Rensburg above), so if your kiddo is loving it, they could be next! Send a photo of them on the trails, and tell us a bit about their relationship with the sport.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Heloise Hunter, TRAIL associate editor

We loved seeing your photos on Monday's Trail Trophy Facebook thread.

In our favourite this week, Emma Rorke took this shot of Jacques Mouton and Koot Steenkamp heading down Vensterberg as she was going up at Saturday's 2 Peaks FKT Challenge on 18 July. 

Read more about local and international FKTs from the past week in our News section below!

Her photo may appear in a future TRAIL issue – and so could yours.

Share your lockdown trail running #TrailTrophies on Facebook and Twitter at any time. Use that hashtag and #trailmagpix on Instagram and Twitter when you tag us. Or email us. Be sure to tell us a bit about your run for the caption. (Please note: event photographer images aren't printed.)

Prefer words? Write a letter instead. Your opinions, life-changing experiences, happy and sad memories, and reflections on our sport are waiting to be shared with the community. If your letter is published, you'll receive a pair of run-specific Feetures socks.

photo Katy Barker

FKT fever blazes on in SA


Things are heating up in the Gone2Gone 21km FKT across Table Mountain.

On 18 July, Toni McCann set a new record of 1h46min, putting her on top of the women's leaderboard and fifth overall. Another speedy youngster, Bianca Tarboton, was on the verge of topping that on 20 July, but in her haste she missed a turn or two and overshot the segment.

On 19 July, Jarryd Dunn set a new overall fastest time: a blisteringly fast 1h37min.

Further east, the George 6 Peaks FKT is getting some action. On 12 July, Johardt van Heerden and Daniël Claassen set a new fastest time of 6h13min30s. That's a full 34 minutes off the previous record!

FKT fever overseas

On Tuesday 21 July, Mike Nash completed the Bob Graham Round in 20h34min. He ran it solo, supported by Katy Barker. Mike is a South African runner and climber who has been in the UK for the lockdown period.

For those who aren't familiar, the Bob Graham Round is a fell running challenge traversing 42 fells within 24 hours. It covers 66 miles (106km) with 8,200m of ascent. The 24-Hour Club requires you to have a friend on each summit to log the time you arrive, so Mike isn't officially in the club. We are extremely impressed, regardless!

Carla Molinaro is over a week into her John O’Groats FKT attempt in the UK. She aims to break the current women's record of 12d11h6min7s. She's still going strong, heading for a new record!

In our last newsletter we updated you on the Tahoe Rim Trail (274km) unsupported FKT. This is a big one: Adam Kimble broke Kilian Jornet's 2009 record! Kilian's 1d14h32min record stood for 11 years. Adam's new record is 1d13h12min.

Do your hear that voice when you run? Do you listen to it?

May you have a super weekend, free of the Blerch!

Comment on the original post on Facebook.

Source: The Oatmeal 

What tires you out more? Technical trails or long distances?

Tell us in the poll on Facebook or Twitter! 

There are several active virtual events on our web calendar. Join in before it's too late!


Look out for trail events later in the year when you scroll to the bottom of our web calendar. A highlight is the Heaven and Hell Mountain Marathon (23-24 September) in Rhodes, EC. There are 5km, 8km, 14km, 22km, 44km, and 88km routes. Pure, brutal wilderness mountain run in the isolated southern Drakensberg. Only two people have ever finished the 44km. The new 88km has 7,510m of vert! It's organised by TRAIL 31 cover athlete Hylton Dunn.

If you organise an event that is a virtual one, or will be legal to host safely under current COVID-19 restrictions, please tell us if and when it is happening. We want to list you in our coming issue.

Since there will be few events to report on in our next issue 37 (on sale in the last week of September), we will be focusing mostly on your FKTs and adventures. Please email Heloise details of your independent solo adventures. You can send images once she's confirmed she's keen to feature your story. Yes, you could be in our next issue.

HAVE YOU ENTERED YET? The new Polar Grit X is an uncompromising combination of rugged and durable design, top training features, and the ultimate training platform. It retails for R8,995.

To enter, visit the competition page and scroll down to click on the widget below the image of three Polar Grit X units. It might take a few seconds for the widget to load, so don't scroll too fast or you'll miss it! Points are earned for each platform or entry method you successfully complete.

Gain three points this week by retweeting this post.

We're doing this competition a little differently, to reward the real fans of Polar (and the magazine!). At 9am every Tuesday, there will be a new entry option on the competition page. It will yield three points for that week. After that, it will drop to one point. So you gather more points by entering in the initial week for each option.

When you refresh the competition page, the app will show you how many entries you have accumulated, and which entries were successful.

You're not in the draw until you enter. Why not do that right now?

ISSUE 36 SURVEY: We're delighted to collaborate with top local brand First Ascent. They're sponsoring our first reader survey of 2020 and will reward two readers with a combined R6,000 in gear.

But the bigger picture is that their survey will help us improve your reading experience for the next issue.

Bottom line: You'll need to read TRAIL 36 and let us know what you liked and didn't like through our reader survey. The link is only in the magazine, so look out for it on page 5.

Miss previous issues of TRAIL? You can get all our back issues for the low price of R30 each, on the Zinio website or through the TRAIL app for Android or Apple.

Our 36th issue is our first all-digital issue. We hope you love its 188 pages of trail running inspiration, with a complete redesign to improve readability on both small and large screens. You'll find that the depth of articles has increased too. We plan to further improve the depth and scope of articles in issue 37 and beyond.

You can purchase TRAIL 36 worldwide through Amazon, App Store, Google Play, Zinio, and Magzter.

*If you buy through the App Store or Google Play, note that subscriptions are forward-based. This means that if you sign up today, your first issue will be the next edition, not the current one. It's not what we'd like, but that is how their system works.

Solution: Please first purchase issue 36 as a standalone issue, and subscribe for issues 37 and later separately.

If you want print back copies of issues 1 to 35, please email us for pricing.

 

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