Other Stuff Archives - The Running Mann

1st February 20251st February 2025

Comrades 2024 Full Field Stats

This is part of a tetralogy of articles providing an in-depth statistical analysis of Comrades 2024. The articles on Elite Men, Elite Women and Start Line Stats are already available.

From the Cradle to the Grave

The graph below is a hurricane funnel answering the often-asked question, “What happens to all the entries?”, plotting the fate of the 24,094 Comrades 2024 entries. There was a 21.6% attrition rate to get to the start line which is very similar to the most recent Up runs in 2017 (20.8%) and 2019 (22.4%). However, almost 94% of starters crossed the finish line (although 350 of these did so over 12 hours).

The three percentages are based on total entries, starters and finishers respectively (e.g. 3.6% of entries finish under 7h30, 4.5% of starters and 4.9% of medallists). There is more detailed analysis on the medal breakdowns as well as overall finish success rates comparisons later in this article.

Note: The finisher numbers are for all people earning that medal or better. For example, the ‘Vic Clapham’ 17305 are all finishers (i.e. 12 hours or better) and the ‘Bronze’ 11398 is everyone finishing 11 hours or better (i.e. it includes all Bronze, RM, BR, etc. medals).

27th July 202427th July 2024

KZNA says “No More” to upcountry CMA Memberships

At a KwaZulu Natal Athletics KZNA (Board meeting) on 25 July, a decision was made to bar non-KwaZulu Natal residents from being Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Members.

The meeting seems to have had only this item on the agenda and the discussion, in what appears to be a flagrant conflict of interest, was driven by KZNA President and Comrades Board member Steve Mkasi. The other main contributors to the discussion were Deputy KZNA President Mandla Mngomezulu and KZNA Board Member Vusumuzi Dlamini.

4th June 20244th June 2024

Making A Step Change (the simple hack to add 3 years to your life)

Vitality and the London School of Economics analysed the fitness data of over 1 million members over a 10-year period and found some startling results. The good news is that you don’t need to run marathons for major health and longevity benefits.

Just 2,500 steps a day, three times a week sees significant benefits; 5,000 steps a day, three times a week drastically increases the benefits – and the ‘sweet spot’ is just 7,500 steps a day, three times a week. Make this a habit by completing 7,500 steps a day, three times a week for two years and you can expect to extend your life expectancy by three years if you’re female and 2.5 years if you’re male.

The step count ‘sweet spot’ is 7,500 steps a day (source: The Vitality Habit Index).

23rd April 202423rd April 2024

Two Oceans Ultra Marathon Cutoffs: Unedited Runner Stories

The following are unedited correspondence I’ve received from various 2024 Two Oceans ultra runners who were impacted by the the marathon and Constantia Nek cutoffs. I have just removed any identifying text like names and race numbers.

I believe that this is a valuable resource to understand that there are always humans who are impacted in different ways by these unfortunate decisions. Some are angry, others disappointed, others disillusioned – there’s a wide variety of different emotions.

I will be publishing an in-depth analysis of the cutoff issue in the next few days (I’ve just received answers to my detailed questions from the Two Oceans Organisation). The article will draw from some of these stories.

15th March 20245th April 2024

The Running Mann’s Guide to April 2024 Marathons

This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s April 2024 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2024 marathon / ultra calendar here.

A summary of your choices is below:

28th May 202328th May 2023

June 16: The Story Behind the Photograph

In the 1940s a young man called Sam Nzima, from a tiny village in rural Mpumalanga, was inspired by the beauty and animals in the nearby Kruger National Park to start taking photos. In another time and different circumstances he would have received fame, accolades and awards but today few people recognise his name – and it was only recently that he received any credit at all for a photograph that shaped South Africa’s history.

Whilst the photo is internationally acclaimed (Time Magazine selected it as one of the 100 most influential photos of all time*) and is instantly recognisable to South Africans, it brought the man who captured it nothing but misery and frustration.

6th April 20239th April 2023

The Good, the Bad & how to earn Free Beer with Vitality Rewards 3.0

Discovery Vitality have just launched their new version of active rewards. This is an objective look at all the changes – as well as some of the best and worst ways to spend your reward miles.

16th August 2022

A Behavioural Science Experiment to get Leaders to Complete an Agile Maturity Assessment

When it comes to behavioural science, I am an enthusiastic amateur. I guess the same could be said for my marathon running infatuation which, although prolific with over 250 completed, is still firmly footed in the ‘recreational amateur’ category. My payslip reads ‘Agile Coach’ so I’d like to think that I’ve managed to breach the amateur category in my chosen career (but you might need to check with my colleagues to confirm whether I do indeed qualify as a professional). It’s not often that running, behavioural science and agile coaching intersect but recently they did, so I decided to use the opportunity to run an experiment and this is what happened. Continue reading “A Behavioural Science Experiment to get Leaders to Complete an Agile Maturity Assessment”

1st December 202116th March 2023

Enhanced PI Planning Calculator

If you’re doing PI (or Big Room) Planning across multiple geographies, it can be a challenge to schedule the event around public holidays and other events. I’ve enhanced the standard “ART and Team Events Calendar” spreadsheet that Scaled Agile provides within their “PI Planning Toolkit” to allow for much better visibility and customisation of dates. Continue reading “Enhanced PI Planning Calculator”

22nd November 202122nd November 2021

How I Gamified my Kids’ Physical & Mental Health (so that I could spend more quality time with them)

Covid has been tough for parents but even tougher for kids. Everyday interactions that we took for granted have disappeared. Even the most imaginative and creative parents eventually acquiesced to the ‘mother’s little helper‘ of the digital age – the electronic device.

The mental strain of Covid on children is well documented. Extra murals and regular play dates with friends have been replaced by Netflix binges and online gaming with friends. For children, the house became a prison and parents the wardens. The inmates grew increasingly reluctant to leave the confines of their bedrooms and, as wardens, my wife and I found it increasingly difficult to get our kids outside for a daily dose of Vitamin D. Exercise in any form was shunned and their fitness gear got less use than the indicators on a BMW. Continue reading “How I Gamified my Kids’ Physical & Mental Health (so that I could spend more quality time with them)”