Humorous Anecdotes, Observations & Accounts of Marathon Running & Agile Adventures.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s October 2024 marathons and ultras including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2024 marathon / ultra calendar here.
[Note: I am currently unable to update the full calendar.]
A summary of your choices is below:
A lot can change in a few months. On the last weekend of April, I attended the Durban International Marathon (which doubles as the South African Marathon Championships), as the guest of Steve Mkasi and KwaZulu Natal Athletics. Before accepting the invitation, I did double-check that he was happy that I would be writing things “as I saw it” and Mkasi graciously agreed, “Regarding coverage, please be as brutally frank with your experience. We need you to be as objective as possible. Therefore, we are happy for you to play your role unscripted.”
Continue reading “Durban International Marathon (where the meat is tougher than the marathon)”
Unlike the Boards of major ultra marathons in South Africa, I will readily admit when I am wrong. My memories of running marathons in Ermelo were clouded by the coal smoke from this industrial town when I ran the Gert Sibande Marathon in 2016.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s September 2024 marathons and ultras including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2024 marathon / ultra calendar here.
[Note: I am currently unable to update the full calendar.]
A summary of your choices is below:
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s July and August 2024 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2024 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
[MARATHON #263 / UNIQUE MARATHON #159 / 24 March 2024]
I don’t run many marathons in Gauteng these days but when I do, I usually head to the south for Soweto or Jackie Gibson. The last time I ran a Gauteng marathon was 2 years ago at the Jackie Gibson, hosted by Johannesburg Harriers (the oldest running club Gauteng), and I was keen to see what their inaugural Johannesburg City Marathon had in store.
Continue reading “Johannesburg City Marathon (up in the dumps)”
[MARATHON #262 / UNIQUE MARATHON #158 / 2 March 2024]
These days the Limpopo running scene is a bit like Hydra from the Marvel universe: Every time you knock the head off the “final” Limpopo marathon on your list, two more pop up. And so it was that I returned to Polokwane for the inaugural Mapungubwe Marathon.
I got hold of race director Phateng Kgomo to check the details I was missing on my March monthly marathons article and he had a very short and simple route description for me, “Out-and-back. Hard.” Polokwane routes tend to be very hot but fairly flat (and I’ve run over most parts of the city in the various marathons I’ve done) so I was intrigued to see what the race would offer in terms of hills.
Continue reading “Mapungubwe Marathon (off with their heads)”
[MARATHON #261 / UNIQUE MARATHON #157 / 25 February 2024]
After a shoddy 2023 where not one family holiday was planned around a marathon, I am pleased to report that the Capital City Marathon was the focal point for our first family holiday of 2024. My top tip for Gauteng runners participating in Pietermaritzburg marathons is to avoid staying in Pietermaritzburg itself. Instead look for accommodation in the Midlands which makes the drive slightly shorter, your stay a lot more scenic and (even if you are staying on a working farm like we were) probably a lot better smelling too.
Continue reading “Capital City Marathon (humans versus humidity)”
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s May and June 2024 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2024 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
Afrikaans was never my strongpoint. Afrikaans teachers and I regarded each other with mutual contempt throughout my school career. One of them even banged her head on the desk in exasperation when she realised that my younger brother was in her class during his first roll call in standard 6. Let’s just say that my free-spirited schoolboy antics did not blend well with the strict (and sometimes sadistic) ethos of the average Afrikaans onderwyser.
Perhaps it is the psychological scarring I endured on the top floor of Rondebosch Boys High (I think they put the Afrikaans bloc there so that the other classes would not be disturbed by the screams) that has resulted in a subliminal avoidance of Bloemfontein marathons. To date I have just one credit, the OFM Music Marathon (which has not taken place since Covid) in the City of Roses. Therefore, I decided to face my fears and take my running shoes into the domain where Englishmen fear to tread by entering the Kloppers Marathon.
Continue reading “Kloppers Marathon (and overcoming my Afrikaans angst)”