Every Day Heroes in Road Running

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 2 Comments

It is not just the record breakers in Road Running, such as Bruce Fordyce, who are the heroes. Heroes come in a multiplicity of shapes, forms and even abilities. One does not want to detract from the winners’ performance, but these unsung heroes are what breathe life into a sport.

Recognition in sport is normally only accorded to the winners. They are lauded and receive the accolades, prizes and sponsorships. Many others also need to be recognised for their achievements. One such program that aims to do just that, is the 1000km Challenge.

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Road Races Redolent of a More Gracious Past

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 0 Comment

Over the weekend of 16th / 17th August, two road races were held which highlighted Gauteng’s gracious & glorious past. Too focused on their running, many failed to notice or care. But I did. Isn’t that partly what running is all about?

What is the essence of a great race? What ingredients does it require before the majority of the runners will exclaim, “That was a superb race!” Of course all situations will all have their cynical detractors who will censure or dismiss with scorn even the best organised events. One such runner was Eugene. Perhaps due to his brilliant mind, he would deprecatingly scoff at the organisation of even the best organised events.

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Can a Tarot Card Reader Answer a Troubling Question?

By Dean McCleland in Other Personal, Personal 1 Comment

In the terminal stages of breast cancer, my mother-in-law was placed in a hospice. Barely two days later, she was dead. Was there any nefarious reason for her precipitous demise?

Before I commence the blog, may I make an admission? Neither am I religious nor am I spiritualist. In fact, those that know me will attest to the fact that my views are diametrically opposed to such beliefs being both an atheist and profoundly sceptical of spiritual forces.

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Report back on the Five Assegaais Hike in August 2014

By Dean McCleland in Hiking, Personal 1 Comment

Deterred by blustery winds and icy cold conditions combined with a huge dollop of lassitude meant a truncated hike. Unlike the Quo Vadis Hiking Club of yore where despite the inclement weather or raging floods, the members would embark upon a hike with alacrity, it would not so be on this occasion. Never in the annals of the Club did I believe that such lassitude would prevail.

Never before could the Quo Vadis have been accused of disinclination to get up let alone hike. The disinterest was palpable on Saturday morning. Everybody procrastinated. With an icy blustery wind scything through the huts, nobody dared to rise. Even though my sleeping bag was rated to minus five, I was shivering. I dozed fitfully aware of the cold at all times. Having endured an uncomfortable night when I would awake every few hours due to the penetrating cold, I was not over enamoured to get moving. Inertia pervaded us all.

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Are Road Running Entrance Fees becoming a Rip-Off?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces, Personal, Running 3 Comments

A recent spate of high entrance fees culminating in Old Eds charging R100 for a 10km race and R120 race has revived the issue. Does this herald the change in road running from a cheap to an expensive sport?

The race that leads the pack in terms of high fees is the 702 Walk the Talk which cost me R140 for a 20km walk. Considering that participants no longer even receive a free T-Shirt, I considered it exorbitant. For whatever reason in my mind, this race is viewed as an event rather than a “race” and hence it was forgiven.

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An Icy Race: The Sterkfontein Dam 25km Run

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 0 Comment

This would be the coldest race that I have ever run in my life. With snow on the Berg and a wind off the mountain, there would be both a gusting wind and sub-zero temperatures to contend with

At five thirty on a wintry May morning in Warden it is usually cold. The tentacles of frost cover the fields as the subdued cattle in the stubble fields patiently await the first yellow brightness in the eastern sky.The desiccated mielies whisper in the breeze, shrugging off their frosty appendages. The pre-dawn mist hangs in the dips and valleys mapping out the twists and turns of the water course.

But this day was different. Extremely different. The temperature gauge in my BMW reads minus 5 degrees but with the wind chill factor from a snow covered Drakensberg, the actual temperature must have been below minus 10 degrees.

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Hiking with the Lions in the Kruger Park

By Dean McCleland in Hiking, Personal 0 Comment

Hiking through the Kruger National Park provides a close-up view of nature. If the truth be told, this is the correct way to observe nature.

There are two sacred rules when entering the Kruger National Park: never leave one’s vehicle after exiting the camps and never walk in the bush. In contrast, on the walking trails through the Kruger Park, all such safety rules are ignored in their entirety during the hike.

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My Running Redux

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 0 Comment

The Journey from Searing Back-Pain in late 2013 to Running Races again in Respectable Times

Last Saturday’s [31st May 2014] 10km race entitled The Great Race produced an eponymous result for me: a great race. After battling for 6 months to run even something as short as a 10km race without leaving me almost comatose, finally I experienced a running redux.

A redux means to be brought back or to arise but it does not imply or denote any religious connotation like a resurrection but rather an activity that occurs in some non-religious manner.

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