Run Talk SA
2014 Two Oceans Marathon and when should you experiment with gear, shoes & nutrition for Comrades 2014
It is hard to believe we are into episode 21 already. It seems like just yesterday that we were launching the show. When we did it was a week to go until Comrades 2013. This week on Run Talk SA we are chatting about Comrades and the 2014 Two Oceans Marathon:
- Parky and Brad spoke about the 2013 Soweto Marathon and as discussed here is the link to James Evans and Banele Sindane Interviews regarding the 2013 Soweto Marathon
- Brad attended the media launch of the Old Mutual 2014 Two Oceans Marathon and managed to catch up with Karen Thomas, Marketing executive for Old Mutal, about their relationship with the race as well as the cash injection for the winners should they break the record. The Put Foot Foundation has been added as a beneficiary for the 2014 edition of the race and Mike Sharman tells us about what they do. Lauren Haarkman, Brand Marketing Manager for Performance for Adidas South Africa, spoke to us about their relationship with the Two Oceans as well their plans for 2014.
- Lindsey Parry and Brad Brown hosted the Journey To Comrades Webinar on 9 October 2014 and on the show this week Lindsey tells you when you should experiment with gear, nutrition and running shoes in the build-up to Comrades 2014 as well as when you should look to qualify.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by If you have an android device we have also been added to Stitcher and you can listen to us or download the podcast here
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Share This PostRun Talker of the Week – Sphiwe Mweli
How did you get into running? As a part of my 40th birthday celebration I thought running Comrades Marathon would be a fitting present to me. I was also struggling with losing weight so I needed something long term which would help me to be on the safe side when it comes to my health.
How long have you been running? I started on 14 August 2010, will never forget that day when I ran my first 3km, it was the longest ever in my life. Before that I used to run up to 200m sprints but that was way back when I could at primary school.
What is your favourite distance to run and why? Comrades Marathon for me is the best and as they say, the ultimate human race. It provides me with time to be in touch with my inner being, I get to understand myself better in terms of the process I go through in decision making on a daily basis. It makes me appreciate the gift of life God has given me, just to be able to run it’s a miracle. To have an able body, fully functioning and good health – it’s one of the greatest blessings.
Who is your biggest running inspiration and why? The guy who suggested we wake up that Saturday morning of 14th August, Nat Mabetwa, a brother and dear friend. He took me along up to my first official 10k race that was CSIR Half Marathon & 10k in Pretoria right up to our first comrades in 2011.
What is your biggest or best running achievement? What are you most proud of? Comrades 2011, my first and my best 40th birthday present, with all the challenges I had building up to the race, almost three months injury lay-off. By the grace of God I still managed to finish. I am proud that I managed to convince myself, with far less training that I was going to have a successful race. I won the biggest battle of any runner, the battle of the mind. Continue reading
Share This PostThe Energy Gel Debate with Dietician Louise Bembridge & The Congo Marathon with John Addison – Run Talk SA Episode 20
Can you believe it that we are into episode 20 of Run Talk SA already, 6 more weeks and we are 6 months old! This week on the show:
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Brad tried to shed some light on the energy gel issue. There are so many conflicting messages about whether or not gels work and if you use them, do you actually know what is in them? Brad caught up with the Run Talk SA resident dietician Louise Bembridge about those issues. They look at reading the labels on the back of the packs, what to look for, which are the important numbers to look out for and which are not that important. They also look at alternatives to using gels on runs.
- On last week’s episode of Run Talk SA we spoke extensively about the Berlin Marathon and many South Africans head to Europe every year to run big city marathons in Europe and the United States but not many venture north of the Limpopo into Africa to run marathons. This past weekend 4500 runners took to the streets of Kinshasa for the Congo Marathon and Parky caught up with John Addison about it.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by 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
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Share This PostJourney to Comrades Webinar – October to November, What should I be doing now?
The first webinar in the Run Talk SA Journey to Comrades 2014 webinar series, took place on Wednesday 9 October 2013. If you missed the live broadcast and Q&A, Brad Brown and the Comrades Coach Lindsey Parry spoke about the following (And you can watch a rebroadcast of the webinar below):
- What should I be doing from a training perspective right now?
- What should I be doing from a training perspective for the next month?
- When is the right time to experiment with shoes, gear & nutrition?
- When should I look to qualify?
- Where can I access training programmes?
As discussed in the webinar, this is where you can get the Comrades Marathon Training Programme. The next Journey to Comrades 2014 webinar will take place on 11 November 2014 and you can register for it here.
Share This PostComrades 2014 Bronze Medal Programme by Lindsey Parry – Official coach of the Comrades Marathon Association
The 2014 Comrades is a DOWN run, for the uninitiated don’t think for a moment this is an easy direction. You still climb an enormous amount; however it is the 10km of downhill between the top of Bothas (39km to go) and the bottom of Fields Hill that the major damage is done to your legs. It is for that reason that you should consider adding a day or two of strength training to your routine.
For now the focus should be on building consistency into your running. Success on 1 June will be determined by the work you do day to day, week to week and month to month. Doing too much now and having to miss training later through injury starts to put the Comrades into doubt. Start short and easy so you can build up to long and easy over time.
This programme is time based so people of more experience and greater running ability will get relatively more out of the programme and progress faster. Time based programs also prevent you from settling on a route that you need to run faster every time you do it. It is easier to maintain discipline and run easy on easy days. The aim is to be able to run a sub 5:00 marathon before Comrades. Continue reading
Share This PostRun Talker of the Week – Ntutu Letseka
How did you get into running? I ran at school way back, but once I got into varsity in 2001 other more ‘fun’ things kept me occupied! I tried again when I was in honours in 2005, on and off until 2007, but just never got back into it. But it all changed when I went to support at Comrades 2011 with my dad running. He was 53 at the time and the simple logic was that if he could do it, then I had no excuse
How long have you been running? My current wave has been going strong since June 2011
What is your favourite distance to run and why? 10km. It’s a brutally hard distance to get right. When raced properly it hurts, especially those last 2km. It is supposed to hurt but is short enough that the hurt only lasts ~10 minutes. And the recovery afterwards is quick too so you can race a couple in a month with no issues. I love it because it’s such a unique test of speed, stamina, strength and endurance. There’s no other distance quite like it.
Who is your biggest running inspiration and why? My father. Other than his Comrades endeavour (he ran 9:19 in 2011), he self-coached himself to a 2:30:40 PB at the 1997 London Marathon and a 31:58 10km in the build up to it…aged 39. It’s difficult to not get inspired by someone close to you achieving something like that.
What is your biggest or best running achievement? What are you most proud of? The easy answer is running Soweto Marathon last year my first (will remain my only one for a while). I was proud that I set myself a goal, 3:10, and went for it, even though I bombed in the last 10km and ran 3:38:10. Getting through the training was tough; those 32km runs almost buried me! I’m also pretty chuffed with my 36:13 PB for 10km after two years of running (though it was at the coast!).
What is your favourite running quote? Simply “Train, Don’t Strain” by the great coach Arthur Lydiard
Where is your favourite place to run and tell us why? I love running around my suburb Moreleta Park. There are a lot of runners here and the drivers are aware of us and courteous. And one word…hills. Lots of hills, speed training in disguise as Frank Shorter is credited with saying. I also enjoy the parkrun route at Ebotse.
Why do you run? It’s clichéd but running really gives back what you put in. I like that reward element (and the punishment when you don’t do the training)
What has been/is your biggest running challenge and how did you/ do you overcome it? This year I got a bit overzealous with the track work and had to deal with a bout of ITBS, which first surfaced after running that 10km PB in Cape Town. I ran through it as I’m sure most runners would but by the end of June I couldn’t run more than 20 minutes without pain. I made a decision to take time off and do all the rehab. Coming back and having to run 1 minute and walk 1 minute for 20 minutes was humbling but I’m glad I stuck with it.
What is the biggest life lesson running has taught you? Putting in the hard work gives you the best opportunity to reap the rewards Continue reading
Share This PostWhat an amazing performance on Sunday from Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang, breaking the marathon world record by 15 seconds in Berlin, Germany. In Episode 19 of Run Talk SA we chat extensively about that record breaking run amongst other things. This week:
- We caught up with Grant Schuleman, who ran his first Berlin Marathon on Sunday. Grant told us about the experience as well as whether or not other South Africans should consider running Berlin in 2014.
- Dr Ross Tucker spoke to Brad on his radio show on SAfm on Sunday about how long he thinks it will take until the magical two hour mark will be broken in the Marathon. The pair also touched on why runners are becoming faster and also about the dark side of the sport, doping and genetic engineering.
- Parky spoke to Phillip van Niekerk from Easy Event Recycling. If you’ve run any races in Joburg you will have interacted with Phillip’s company. They provide the targets that you can see at many races on the Highveld after every water table where you can throw your used water sachets and cups. As discussed on the show you can contact Phillip on his cell on or via email
- We also chat briefly to Comrades Coach Lindsey Parry about the upcoming Run Talk SA Comrades Webinar on 8 October 2013 at 7pm South African time. You can register for it here.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by 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
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Share This PostChen, The Sportsmans Warehouse 15km, Johan van der Merwe and Parky & Brad preview some upcoming races – Run Talk SA Episode 18
Amber Blumson and Kirsten Willis
This week on Run Talk SA Parky and Brad managed to catch up with a whole host of people. First up:
- Parky spoke with one of Fourways Runners favourite sons, Chen, who has left South African shores for Scotland to further his career. The pair spoke about Chen’s love of running as well as what he has achieved whilst running in South Africa.
- Brad ran the Sportsmans Warehouse 15km in Boksburg on Heritage Day and caught up with two 15km novices, Amber Blumson and Kirsten Willis, to find out more about their experience.
- Johan van Merwe, the current Washie 100 miler record holder and 2013 champion spoke to Brad about what it takes to run 100 milers and run them fast.
- Simon and Brad then previewed some of the races to look forward to over the next few months.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by 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
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Share This PostRun Talker of the Week – Marike du Plessis
How did you get into running? I’ve always enjoyed doing any sport, but actual participation dwindled during my varsity years and as I grew up, I also grew wider. I decided to start running to lose some weight as it was such an easily accessible sport. Over time I grew to love running and missing it when I wasn’t able to do it. I didn’t completely appreciate running though until being plagued down by injury. Now I also run for those who can’t – it forms part of my motivation!
How long have you been running? On and off since 2007, but I fell in love with it along the way and have been taking it more seriously since then.
What is your favourite distance to run and why? At this stage, ANY distance is a blessing. Had a bad bout of ITB and quad problems that took me out of running for more than a year. Since then I appreciate any distance, as I had to start from scratch after injury and converting to minimalist shoes (I <3 them!). I am attracted to ultra-distances, but haven’t done any, so one day I’ll let you know if that is my favourite distance.
Who is your biggest running inspiration and why? Definitely Ryan Sandes! I’ve recently been more interested in trail running and the terrain and distances this guy covers is just mind boggling. He basically keeps a faster average pace over 160 km at altitude than what I do on tar over 7k’s! Haha! Proudly SA!
What is your biggest or best running achievement? What are you most proud of? Finishing Two Oceans half marathon with my ITB injury! Tears were streaming down my face as I crossed the finish line. I didn’t think I would finish with the injury and not being able to put in the distances in training beforehand.
What is your favourite running quote? I have a few actually, but one of my favourites is “I run because somehow, completely exhausting myself is the most relaxing part of my day” and one that I keep saved on my phone is a quote from Kilian Jornet, when he took a wrong route during a run for a record attempt and afterwards the interviewer asked him if it was frustrating getting it wrong at the summit and his reply was “No absolutely not frustrating – on the contrary! I always say that the more kilometres, the more meters we climb, the more things we see … that gives even more energy!” Wow, what a brilliant mentality! Continue reading
Share This PostRadio & TV’s Kwena Moabelo & SA Triathlon legend Raynard Tissink – Run Talk SA Episode 17
It has been an interesting to week to say the least. With the threats of legal action to everything that could go wrong, going wrong but we have managed to produce the show this week despite the sideshow that is happening “off the pitch” so to speak. This week however Brad is flying solo and speaks to:
- Kwena Moabelo from SABC Sport. Kwena hosts Game Plan on SAfm and is also a regular contributor when it comes to football on the SABC television. The two talk about Kwena’s journey to running as well as his interest in sport.
- Raynard Tissink, South African triathlon legend who is turning his attention to the 2014 Comrades Marathon.
If you would like to subscribe to our weekly podcast on iTunes you can click here or on the RSS feed by 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
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