Hone your trail skills with TRAIL 22.
Contributing experts, from coaches to physiotherapists, get your trail skills on point! From agility training, to race tactics, to quick and fun slippery descents, TRAIL 22 will have you quicker and ready for technical terrain.
Take a closer look at your heel recovery and knee drive to run efficiently in the second Under the Microscope article from running coach Sean Tait.
Relive South Africa’s biggest races from the last few months, and get the scoop on recent international events where South Africans waved our flag.
Let your brain go on summer holiday with seven fast and flat trails in four provinces.
To warm your heart, get to know our cover athlete Robyn Owen. She can haul butt, boat, and bike to the podium, but will cheer the backmarkers along and re-home abandonned dogs just as readily. Read an extract from the interview here.
There’s tons more: discover it all as you immerse yourself in the pages of TRAIL 22, available as a back issue here.
What else is waiting inside TRAIL 22?
Reader experiences
- Take a peek into the lives of other trail runners in our reader photos section, including a glorious Jonkershoek action shot by Jannas du Plessis.
- Read Su Don-Wauchope’s list of would’ve, should’ve, could’ves for her trail career on the letters page.
- Should trail running be administered by Athletics South Africa? TRAIL readers share their strong opinions.
Locations
- Get your workout while on holiday, from Arniston in the Western Cape, to Umhlanga beach in KZN, and Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape.
- Catch up with South Africans racing across the globe: Ryan Sandes in Reunion, Landie Greyling in France, Patrick Willcock in the Alps, Andrew Porter in the Himalayas, and teams Sanlam Painted Wolf and Merrell Adventure Addicts in Australia.
People
- Winning the Cape Union Mart Adventure Film Challenge, Ziyaad Solomon and Fareed Behardien made a short film: Mowbray to Mowbray Ridge. It tells Fareed’s journey from couch potato to mountain runner, and we review it.
The best of the best, and the best of the worst get their well-deserved trophies at the 2016 TRAIL Awards. From Most Improved Runner Eugenie Luck, to Jayson Welthagen‘s epic Pain Face, find out who the lucky winners are.- Some people manage to excel at every level, from steeplechase, to stage trail runs. One of those people is Maphuti Phaka. Get to know this track, tar, and ultra trail runner in TRAIL 22!
- Marie Snyman-Jacobs loves pitbulls. Find out how she showed her love and raised money for Love-a-Bull.
Training
Use parkrun to train smart with Coach Neville. He explains how to use the speedy 5km to gauge, predict, and sharpen your fitness, as well as enhance your racing tactics.- Struggle to find time to workout during the week? Coach Maurtitz van Rensburg provides weekend warrior hacks to stay sharp with quick midweek workouts.
- Learn to fly down the trickiest descents with international ultra runner Ellie Greenwood, African Skyrunning champ Thabang Madiba, SA Skyrunning champ Marzelle van der Merwe, and elite mountain runner Ben Brimble. They give away their secrets to descending slippery, wet and crumbly, dry hills.
- Hack your second wind by training your body to use lactic acid as a fuel source more readily! Dr Gabriel Mirkin explains how.
- Get your running form right, lifting your heels and driving your knees for maximum efficiency. This is the third installment of Sean Tait’s Under the Microscope series.
- Beat the tricky trails with agility training. Physiotherapist Carel Viloen provides four essential ladder drills, demonstrated by mountain runner Ryno Griesel.
Experiences
Hear from mountain traverse addict Andrew Porter. He has taken on the Drakensberg Grand Traverse in reverse, and now the Great Himalaya Trail in reverse. Fueled by rice and lentils, Andrew set a new record on the trail.- Find out what to expect when you run Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc with Patrick Willcock, in his list of busted UTMB myths.
- Andre Gie, Kane Reilly, and Ryan Sandes set out to traverse the Jonkershoek Marathon, managing to break the previous fastest known time (FKT) despite the poor visibility and tricky navigation. Just a month later, Edward van der Merwe and Christiaan Greyling took on the Jonkershoek Traverse, battling even more dangerous obstacles… And setting a new FKT. Find out the hows and whys of this adventurous mountain run.
- As soon as we think the Otter Trail can’t be run any quicker, new records are set. But it’s not just about trail masters Marc Lauenstein and Robyn Owen: those in the middle and at the back have a story to tell! Hear from Ivan Jonsson and Eugenie Luck about their Otter in reverse (RETTO).
Nutrition
- Get the inside scoop on intermittent fasting from dietician Laura May Janse van Rensburg, practicing Muslim trail runner Fareed Behardien, and TRAIL’s very own Deon Braun.
- Make your carrot and ginger soup with a recipe from Dr Stephan Domenig’s book: The Alkaline Cure.
- Homemade trail snacks are the way to go! Our banana oat balls are delicious raw or baked, and well-loved at Trail Camps and Trail Clinics. Now you get to try them out for yourself.
- Have kids who run? Nutritionist and mom Lucy Etherton provides hydration solutions to keep your young athletes safe from dehydration, especially through the hot summer months.
Can you save money by running in one pair of shoes?
Gear
- Can you save money by running in one pair of shoes? Podiatrist Chris Delpierre explains the structural and practical differences between trail shoes and road running shoes.
- Stay safe on the trails with essentials. Chris Crewdson explains what you absolutely do need and why.
- This issue features a selection of some of the highest quality options available right now, from Brooks, First Ascent, Hi-Tec, NuZest, PeptoSport, SwissEye, and The North Face brands in the Gear Guide.
Events
- We look back at some of the bigger trail races that have taken place in South Africa, including Oyster Catcher Trail Run, Rhino Peak Challenge, Cederberg Traverse, Harrismith Mountain Race, Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon (KAEM), Golden Gate Challenge, KZN Trail Series, Dryland Traverse, Cape Trail Clinic, SkyRun, and Lesotho Ultra Trail.
- There are 138 events lined up from December to August 2017 from across South Africa, and internationally, plus a bonus 10 major trail runs later in the year. Get the details and start lining them up with the help of our calendar!
Planet
- Get inspired by everyday vegans, including reformed drug addict, current ultrarunner Yassine Doubon, saving the planet (and themselves) one meal at a time.
- Find out which scorpions should scare you, and which to cuddle with African Snakebite Institute founder Johan Marais.
- You already know that you feel better in a forest. Discover how the trees actually heal you!
About
TRAIL magazine became South Africa’s first print publication dedicated to the booming worldwide activity of trail running in December 2011.
Since then the mag continues to enlighten its growing readership with the best places to run, the most suitable gear and the most popular trail running events from every angle; visiting the Himalayas, Sahara Desert, Amazon and many local trails, including the famed Otter African Trail Run, Ultra-trail Cape Town, and the Salomon SkyRun.
Buy TRAIL magazine
TRAIL retails for R58 (print) in 600+ outlets countrywide.
So where do you find TRAIL? SA’s only trail running print magazine is available at CNA, Clicks, SPAR, Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books, Sportsmans Warehouse, and specialist sports retailers nationwide.
The digital version is available on the App Store and Zinio for iPad, Android, iPhone, laptop and desktop devices in single issue and four issue subscriptions.
TRAIL is also available through Magzter.
All back issues are available here, as a single issue or a package deal.
