| | TRAIL Mail #31: Friday 14 August 2020 | Poll: Is 'runner' your primary identity?
Local trail film focuses on community.
Win TRAIL download with new survey.
Sunrise snuggle buddy humour. | | | | In this issue (click the category to save scrolling): - From the Editors. Win a TRAIL copy. Our cover price. I am because you are.
- Photo of the week. A marathon training run around Pretoria. Video.
- News. Tuesday Trails 4in8 midway catch-up. USA FKTs. Help a runner out.
- Funny. Nothing like shared sunrise runs with your beloved snuggle bunny!
- Trail Poll. More than a runner? What's your identity?
- Calendar. List your event on our free online calendar. Women's Month virtual race.
- Gear. Want quality eyewear? Consider the Julbo Aerospeed Martin Fourcade®.
- Competition. Win Polar Grit X and First Ascent gear worth R15,000. Enter today!
- TRAIL digital. Read issue 36 on multiple devices. Back issues on special.
| | | | | | Pricing in a shifting publishing landscape.
TRAIL magazine has always featured high quality content to enhance readers' lives through knowledge, motivation, preventing costly mistakes, and deepening a sense of community.
We realise that we stand supported in equal measure by readers and advertisers who see value in South Africa having a dedicated trail running magazine.
So how have we priced our digital-only first edition in light of the current economic situation?
Read my post on LinkedIn to find out. If business is one of your passions, please consider following TRAIL on LinkedIn. And if you know me, you can connect with me there too.
Many ways to support.
For those who choose not to read the magazine, but enjoy the motivation and community of our online content, we will soon introduce the option to support us through PayPal and Zapper.
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Help us gift you a download!
If you haven't purchased the latest issue of TRAIL yet, you're missing out on learning about the local trail scene, as well as a mountain of tips to improve your running and your life.
But maybe you're unsure about this digital thing?
We want to help you cross the threshold. Do our Trail Mail survey before 10am on Wednesday 19 August and you could be one of two winners of digital downloads of the latest issue. Winners announced on Twitter at midday on 19 August. | | Please enjoy this newsletter, and have a brilliant weekend.
Happy trails!
Deon Braun, TRAIL publisher | | | Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu."I am, because you are." This Zulu proverb sums up the feeling of this week. It started with a hike with my younger sister: one of my absolute favourite people who I've not socialised with at all since lockdown started. What a blessing to spend the public holiday with such a special person. Then on Tuesday, Damien Schumann and Toni McCann shared their short film. Filmmaker Damien edited together video-diary entries from Toni's time alone in hard lockdown, and recorded her first freedom run. The film is heartfelt and relatable. "When you find yourself housebound for two months, there is a lot of time for introspection," said Toni when sharing the film. "Much time for self-doubt, despondence, loneliness, and fear. But there was also much time to rethink, reimagine, and question. "In that time, and hours of video diaries later, I learnt the importance of having a ‘people’ and the privilege of independence. When there is so much uncertainty, your community provides a foundation on which you can rely. This foundation gives you a platform on which to build and create opportunity for something greater." I am so grateful to have my husband at home to hug, a network of friends to chat with, and my super sister. As much as I enjoy a solo run, a solo life is no way to live. Please connect with your ubuntu spirit. Please be a considerate trail user. Please hug someone. Please wear a mask in public. Have a superb weekend on the trails and with your special people! Heloise Hunter, TRAIL associate editor | | | | | | We loved seeing your photos on Monday's Trail Trophy Facebook thread. In our favourite this week, Hendrik Steytler posted this photo of S.J. Van Der Merwe from their 42km run around Pretoria. They linked up Hedianga and Faerie Glen for the marathon training run. Hendrik is training for Otter African Trail Run, and S.J. is training for UTCT, so long runs are essential! Watch the video of their Pretoria circuit. His 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 Stuart McConnachie, Van Hunks VK route
Tuesday Trails 4in8 halfway through
Stuart McConnachie, founder of Cape Town's Tuesday Trails, explains the concept of TT4in8:
"The format is to have four very different challenges over eight weeks, hence 4 in 8. You have two weeks to qualify. It's given people some structure and while we've only really started I think the momentum will continue to grow now. We did start with a vertical kilometre and down over 10km, so some were slightly overawed by the challenge."
Kane Reilly and Marzelle van der Merwe conquered the TT van Hunks VK (up and down the Peak from Newlands Forest) in the second half of July, topping the leaderboard in 1h19min and 1h38min respectively.
The second challenge, TT Nek 2 Nek (from Constantia Nek coffee cart to Kloof Nek parking lot), happened in the first two weeks of August. Llewellyn Groeneveld has the overall best time of 1h40min on 8 August. Marzelle is on top of the women's leaderboard again, with her 1h56min run on 7 August.
The third challenge has just begun: The DMG Summit Race (tag Devils Peak, Maclear's Beacon, and Grootkop starting and ending at Kloof Nek). Will Marzelle win it again? Keep an eye out!
Help the Lion King
Among the speediest runners in Cape Town, Siviwe Nkombi isn't weathering lockdown with ease. He earns his living by winning races, and there are currently no races to win. You may have read about him in TRAIL issue 33, where he shared his most epic race stories, how he went from a kid running to school in the Transkei, to winning mountain races in the Cape.
If you are able to, contribute to the fundraiser launched by Rae Trew-Browne, on the local Sport4Change platform. | | | | Sabrina Stanley cracks Nolan's 14
Four records for Nolan's 14 FKT have fallen this season, most recently the women's supported time. The 160km+ course summits fourteen 14,000 foot (4,267m) mountains in Colorado's Sawatch Range, and the goal is to finish within 60 hours.
Sabrina Stanley finished in 51h15min on 10 August, breaking Meghan Hicks' 2016 record by over eight hours. The other three records set in 2020 are Joey Campanelli's unsupported 41 hour run on 2 July, Sarah Hansel's unsupported 57h43min run on 8 July, and Andrew Hamilton and Andrea Sansone's unsupported mixed team run in 53h14min on 5 August.
Dauwalter forced to abandon
Legendary ultra runner Courtney Dauwalter was over 300 miles (480km) into her 490 miles (788km) long Colorado Trail FKT attempt when she was forced to stop. Running extreme distances without sleep puts immense stress on the immune system, resulting in acute bronchitis for Courtney. We know it won't stop her from pushing the limits of her endurance in future!
Three post-lockdown events in Europe
It can be difficult to imagine what a safe trail race will look like, as the pandemic isn't going to disappear in a few weeks. The ITRA sent out a press release showing just how it has been done in Portugal, Macedonia, and Spain. Key features seem to be staggered starts, temperature checks, and masks on at registration, aid stations, start lines, and prize-giving. | | | | |
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