Runners Platform SA

 The Small Logistics That Can Ruin a Big Race Ask a runner about race prep and you'll hear about training blocks, interval sessions, tapering, carb loading. Fair enough, that stuff matters. But I've watched plenty of well trained athletes get undone by things that have nothing to do with fitness. A missed alarm. No safety pins in the bag. A toilet queue that isn't moving. A lace that snaps ten minutes before the gun. A fuel bottle sitting on the kitchen counter, exactly where you left it. None of that cares how many kilometres you logged in training. Race day has a way of blowing small mistakes out of proportion. Something you'd shrug off on a normal Tuesday run turns into a real problem when there are ten thousand nervous people trying to use the same three toilets on a tight schedule. So here's a checklist. Not to make you faster. Just to stop the avoidable stuff from becoming the story you tell about your race. The Night Before Starts the Race Most race da...

Why Walking Isn't Cheating Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. There's an odd idea in running that just won't die, no matter how much the sport evolves: if you stop running and start walking, you've failed. You see it at every race. A runner slows to a walk and glances around, half hoping nobody noticed. Someone passes them, and they speed back up. A few minutes later, they're walking again. Why? Walking is one of the most useful tools a runner has. Done right, it manages fatigue, controls effort, saves energy, and keeps you moving longer. For beginners, it can make running possible in the first place. For experienced runners tackling long distances, it becomes a deliberate part of race strategy. The walk-run method does exactly what it sounds like: you alternate planned periods of running with planned periods of walking. Planned is the key word. There's a real difference between walking because you've completely run out of gas and walking...

Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Fast running exists on a spectrum, and then there's whatever Jacob Kiplimo did in Barcelona. The fastest half marathon ever recorded is 56:42, run by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo on 16 February 2025. That's roughly 2:41 per kilometer, sustained for 21.1 km. Read that pace again. It's what a lot of recreational runners can barely hold for a single kilometer, let alone twenty-one of them. Kiplimo became the first person to break 57 minutes for the distance that day. His 15 km split, 40:07, was itself the fastest ever run at that checkpoint. World Athletics called it the biggest single jump in the men's half-marathon record. Then came the catch: the run wasn't eligible for ratification, because the course didn't fully meet record regulations. That catch matters more than it sounds like it should. Search "fastest half marathon ever" and you'll get two different answers depending on whether you mean th...

A Few Months In Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts.  I've put about 400 kilometres on the Novablast 6 now, mostly easy runs but with a fair few tempo sessions and one half marathon thrown in. Time to actually write down what I think, rather than just telling people "yeah they're good" at the club on Tuesday nights. First impressions The box says 245 grams for a UK men's size 9. Mine came in a touch heavier, closer to 250, but that's within the usual margin of error for these things. Straight out of the box they felt firmer than I expected. ASICS had been talking up the new FF Blast Max foam for months before release, and I'll admit I'd built up an image in my head of something almost trampoline-like. That's not quite what you get. The shape is unmistakably Novablast. That rocker geometry is still there, the sort of shoe that seems to want to roll you forward whether you're trying to or not. If you've worn the 4 or the 5, yo...

  What We Know About the 28,000-Runner Centenary Race Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. The 2027 Comrades Marathon is taking shape, and there's a lot for runners to keep track of. It'll run on Sunday 13 June 2027, from Pietermaritzburg to Durban; the 100th edition of the race, and the 50th time it's gone in the Down direction. The field is also getting bigger: the entry cap is now 28,000 runners, the largest in the race's history. That number alone changes the feel of race weekend. More people in Pietermaritzburg beforehand, more supporters lining the route, and a much bigger job for organisers at the Durban finish. But if you're actually planning to run it, the questions that matter are simpler. How do you get in? What's the qualifying time? How long is the course really going to be? What does it cost? And what should you be doing right now, in August 2026, if you want to be on that start line? Here's what's confirmed so far. The da...

What the Dispute Means for South African Runners Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Most of the runners lining up at a Cape Town Marathon start line have no idea there's a fight going on above their heads. Broadcasting rights, commercial agreements, provincial governance - none of it sounds like it belongs anywhere near a road race. But these disputes have a way of eventually reaching the tarmac, in the form of sanctioning, licences, technical officials, rankings and qualifying standards. Athletics South Africa, Western Province Athletics and the Cape Town Marathon organisers are currently arguing about who controls what. The race is booked on the ASA fixtures list for 22-23 May 2027, and it's chasing membership of the Abbott World Marathon Majors - a push that raises the bar on everything from elite fields to broadcast production. At the same time, CTM and ASA are fighting over who owns the commercial rights to the broadcast. WPA, meanwhile, is the provincial bo...

   What Other Clubs Can Learn From Them Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Kuils River Runners Club keeps showing up near the top of the Western Province Athletics road running results, and it's not an accident. At the latest league standings, Kuils River sits first on 300 points. Pinelands is on 288, Edgemead on 286, with Goodwood Harriers and ARD close enough to matter. One bad fixture and the top of the table reshuffles. So what's Kuils River actually doing? And how much of it is copyable? Not all of it. Clubs differ in membership, budget, location, history. But a few things in the Kuils River model would transfer to almost any club willing to try them. The rise took a decade, not a season The club was founded in 2016 and is now marking ten years. It won the WPA Coca-Cola League in 2024, then finished second in 2025 - R15,000 in prize money, across a 12-race season against 108 clubs. That second-place finish is the more telling number. Winning once can ...

   The Runners and Clubs to Watch at ASA Nationals Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. The Western Province Athletics cross country championships on 15 August have given runners, coaches and supporters a useful look at who could make an impact when the ASA Cross Country Championships take place in Pretoria on 5 September. The provincial championships are an important part of that process. They show who is racing well, which clubs have depth and which athletes have managed to arrive at the end of the winter cross country season in good shape. WPA lists cross country as an important part of the development of middle and long-distance runners, with the discipline forming part of the wider provincial athletics programme. There is still a gap between a provincial championship and a national championship. A strong performance in Cape Town does not guarantee a medal in Pretoria. The national field will bring together athletes from across the country, and the conditions, ...

   Here's What Actually Matters Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Tomorrow at 10am, entries open for the 100th Comrades Marathon. If you've been avoiding the fine print because the ASA vs CMA fight made the whole thing feel shaky, stop putting it off. The race is happening. Entries are opening on schedule. The governance mess is a separate headache for a separate day - don't let it cost you a spot in the centenary edition. Here's the bit people keep getting wrong: entering does not let you skip qualifying. You still need a sub-5-hour marathon run somewhere between 15 June 2026 and 3 May 2027. I've had club mates assume a Green Number or an early window means the qualifying time doesn't apply to them. It does. Every single time, no exceptions. The Windows Green Number and Yellow Number athletes, plus Amabeadibeadi charity entries, get first crack tomorrow - 10am to 4:30pm on 31 August, or sooner if the cap fills before then. CMA members get...

What's Really Going On With the Comrades Marathon? Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts.  The ongoing dispute between Athletics South Africa (ASA) and the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has become one of the biggest talking points in South African running. For many runners, though, the situation can feel complicated and difficult to follow. The debate involves everything from race sanctioning and federation structures to membership, governance, licensing, broadcasting rights and legal processes. At the centre of it all is the Comrades Marathon and, more importantly, its historic 100th edition scheduled for 13 June 2027. What should be a celebration of one of the world's most iconic ultra-marathons has instead become overshadowed by an escalating governance battle. The dispute has now reached a critical point. ASA has publicly stated that the 2027 Comrades Marathon is not sanctioned by the national federation, while the CMA has made it clear that it intends to c...