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How to Join an Athletics Club in South Africa

  Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. If you have recently discovered a love for running, chances are you have heard someone suggest joining an athletics club. It is one of the most common pieces of advice given to beginners, and for good reason. Across South Africa, athletics clubs welcome runners of every ability. Some members are preparing for their first 5 km event. Others are chasing personal bests over the marathon or training for the Comrades Marathon. Many simply enjoy meeting people who share the same hobby. Joining a club is far less complicated than many people imagine. You do not need to be exceptionally fast, own expensive shoes or have years of experience. Most clubs are looking for enthusiastic people who are willing to participate, respect others and enjoy being part of a community. If you are wondering where to begin, this guide will walk you through the process and explain what to expect once you become a member. Why Join an Athletics Club? Running al...
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Best Core Exercises for Runners

Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Running looks simple from the outside - one foot lands, the other follows, thousands of times over. But there's a whole crew of muscles working behind the scenes to keep you upright and moving efficiently, whether you're jogging around the block or grinding through mile 20 of an ultra. A lot of runners think "core training" means sit-ups until your abs burn. That's not really the point. A strong core keeps you balanced and lets your arms and legs do their job without wasting energy fighting your own torso. You don't need a gym or fancy equipment. A handful of exercises, done consistently, will get you most of the way there. What actually counts as your core It's not just the muscles you can see. Your core includes the deep muscles around your spine, your obliques, lower back, diaphragm, pelvic floor, and glutes, all of it works together every time you run. Think of carrying a full bucket of water acros...
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The Best Long Runs for Two Oceans Marathon Training

Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. How far should my long run be?" is the question every Two Oceans runner asks eventually, and there's no clean answer. It depends on your experience, your current fitness, and how consistent your last few months of training have actually been - not how consistent you meant them to be. The Two Oceans course doesn't reward raw fitness so much as patience. Whether you're doing the 56 km Ultra or the 21.1 km Half, Cape Town's climbs and unpredictable weather punish anyone who hasn't spent real hours on their feet. Long runs are how you buy that experience. Why long runs matter Long runs make your heart more efficient and teach your muscles to use oxygen better. That part's fairly well understood. The mental side matters just as much, though it gets talked about less. Somewhere around hour three, you stop panicking about tired legs and just... keep moving. That's not a metaphor - it's a skill, and it...
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Carbon-Plated Shoes

  Are They Worth The Money? Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Walk into any running shop and you'll see them stacked at the top of the wall: carbon-plated shoes, priced like it's personal, promising to shave minutes off your marathon. Some runners swear by them. Others think they're an expensive way to look serious about running. Honestly, both camps have a point. Since the Vaporfly showed up and marathon records started falling, every major brand built its own version - Adidas, ASICS, New Balance, Puma, Saucony, Hoka, Brooks, Mizuno, all of them. In South Africa that's R4,000 to R7,000 a pair. Not pocket change. So what are you actually paying for? What's in the shoe A thin carbon plate sits inside the midsole. It doesn't launch you forward like some kind of trampoline; that's the popular myth. What it does is stabilise the foam around it, so your stride transitions more smoothly from landing to toe-off. Studies have found runners often...
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Getting Back to Real Training After Winter

Every winter there's a morning when the alarm goes off and the blanket wins. Some runners cut way back, some stop entirely, others just run without any plan at all. That break can do you good - your body gets a rest from months of pounding, your head gets a rest from targets and mileage totals. Then spring races start showing up on the calendar and the itch to get serious comes back. The instinct is to pick up right where you left off. I get it. It also rarely works. Fitness doesn't vanish as fast as people think, but your tendons and joints still need time to catch up to what you're asking of them. Ease back in and you'll rebuild strength without ending up injured in March. Where you actually are Week one is about honesty. Forget the pace you were holding before the break, forget your PR from last October - the only fitness that matters right now is whatever you've got today. Your usual pace is going to feel harder than it should. That's normal. Cardio fi...
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A New Name on the Cape Town Running Calendar

The Nelson Mandela Marathon Cape Town runners have a new date to write into their diaries. On 18 October 2026, the city will host the first Nelson Mandela Marathon, a road running event that slots into the Western Province Athletics calendar alongside the club races, cross country leagues and school meets that already fill most weekends here. The race is organised by Golazo, working with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Entries open at midday on 22 May 2026, and organisers are expecting around 20,000 runners and walkers across the various distances on offer. The main event is a full 42 km marathon starting on Strand Street and finishing at the Grand Parade. There's also a 21.1 km half marathon, a 10 km and a 5 km, so there's room for people who want to race hard and people who just want to be part of the day. Why the timing matters Race week runs from 11 to 18 October, and every entrant, regardless of distance, gets the bib number 466/64. That was Mandela's prison num...
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Review: Adidas Adizero EVO SL

  A Lightweight Trainer That Actually Earns the Name The EVO SL borrows its name from the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, a shoe known for costing a small fortune and appearing on elite marathon podiums. The EVO SL is not that shoe. It costs far less, weighs very little, and is aimed at runners who want the lightweight, fast-feeling experience without the financial commitment. After putting it through easy runs, steady efforts, intervals, and longer weekend sessions, the clearest thing I can say is: this is a lightweight training shoe that enjoys going fast. Not a racing shoe dressed up as a trainer. That's actually an important distinction, plenty of shoes blur this line and end up being awkward at both ends. First Impressions It looks quick before you lace it up. The design is stripped back, no bulky overlays, no thick padding layers, nothing that looks like it's there to justify the design budget. Picking it up the first time is slightly disorienting if you're used to daily...
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