digimag Archives - The Running Mann

25th January 202515th March 2025

An Ethical Call: Pulling my Column from Modern Athlete

Sadly the current issue will be my final column for Modern Athlete. After 6 years of sharing humorous marathon reports from every corner of the country, I have decided to pull my monthly column (which I write for free) with the news that editor Sean Falconer has left Modern Athlete. I found this out recently when I contacted him to chat about ideas for upcoming editions, and I was shocked when he informed me that he had resigned his position a month ago and sold his shares in the business to his now former partners, Roxanne Martin and Richard Laskey.

I do not feel comfortable having my articles continue appearing in the magazine, because while I have the utmost respect for Falconer as an editor and journalist, I don’t feel I can say the same for Martin, who was editor of the infamous 2024 Two Oceans Marathon Digimag, published by Modern Athlete on behalf of the Two Oceans Marathon and was caught out in the deceit and dishonesty that followed the cutoff controversy. (https://runningmann.co.za/2024/04/30/two-oceans-2024-copycat-cutoff-chaos/)

20th May 202421st May 2024

Two Oceans Board member (and former chairperson) calls cutoff issue ‘trivial matter’

It is in times of great turmoil that you hope for a hero. Someone who will step forward to create sense and order from the chaos. Someone who will do the right thing when others cower and hide. Someone who will act with the maturity and integrity that their peers seem incapable of.

As William Shakespeare said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” It was indeed another William who raised his hand amidst the turmoil of the Two Oceans cutoff saga. William Swartbooi is a current Two Oceans Board member and former chairperson of the organisation.

This William is part of a Board that has stumbled over sensibility, tripped over truthfulness and trampled on the hopes and dreams of the runners they are meant to serve. If William Shakespeare were alive today, no doubt the Bard of Avon would shake his head in dismay and observe on the current Board of Bergvliet, “Some are born stupid, some achieve stupidity, and some have stupidity thrust upon them.”

5th May 20246th May 2024

Two Oceans caught out in their own digimag lie

The starting gun fired thirteen times before dawn on Saturday the 13^th of April as wave after wave of Two Oceans ultra marathon runners set off on another voyage around the Cape Peninsula. Three weeks later and one smoking gun remains.