Leap out of your comfort zone with TRAIL 24
Get your trail skills on point with advice from this issue’s talented contributing experts, including coaches and elite runners. Cross-train for strength and balance, gain techniques for rocky trails, and develop your ultra distance (think 100 miler) endurance. TRAIL 24 will have you prepared, strong, and ready for the toughest trails.
The content in this issue will inspire you to leave your comfort zone. Read on to find out what’s in TRAIL 24…
You can relive nine of South Africa’s biggest races from April and May, and get the scoop on recent international events.
When the mountains call, get out your biggest running pack and map for five slackpacking trails around SA.
There’s tons more: discover it all as you immerse yourself in the pages of TRAIL 24.
What else is waiting inside TRAIL 24?
Reader experiences
- Take a peek into the lives of other trail runners in our reader photos section, including a smiley Giant’s Castle action shot by Ryan Sobey.
- Read Bontle Rapodile’s letter, about her back injury and trail withdrawal symptoms! Bontle and two more letter writers are rewarded with StaminoGro hampers for their trouble.
- Do trail races cost too much? There have been grumblings that they do, so we asked for your opinions, and curated some of the most pertinent comments about the true cost and value of trail running events.
Gear
- TRAIL 24 has a totally revamped gear guide, packed with 35 products!
We feature a selection from Almond Creamery, Altra, Brooks, Enduren, First Ascent, Hi-Tec, Hoka One One, Injinji, Medipod, Newton, Salomon, Saucony, SPOT, SuperBar, TomTom, Trailnuggets, and Ultimate Direction. - The guy at the shoe store answers the same set of questions many times a day. One such guy is podiatrist Craig Gornall of The Sweat Shop, here to answer your frequently asked questions about road and trail shoes.
Locations
- Fastpacking is a mashup of running and backpacking, and is a great way to see more of the trail: you’re not limited by daylight hours! Discover five two-day trails across south Africa, now including Mpumalanga and North West Province.
- Catch up with South Africans racing across the globe:
Andrew Barnes in Patagonia, Moerieda Mackay in Morocco, Landie and Christiaan Greyling in the Azores, Floors Welthagen and Patrick Willcock in Annecy, and Jaco Roux in Poland.
People
- Hip Sisters and Sole Sisters are two sets of women running for a cause. They don’t know each other, but they have charitable goals and sisterhood in common.
- From fan, to station commander, Rieghard Janse van Rensburg has always supported NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute). Now he’s running South Africa’s toughest ultras to raise money for them.
- Thabo Madlala and a group of friends have started a hiking club. Their aim: to take local groups of students on Drakensberg hikes, teaching them about conservation.
- Cover athlete Naomi Brand blasted onto the trail scene with her 2017 Addo Elephant Trail Run win, placing third overall and taking more than five hours off the previous record. Get to know this runner, artist, and veterinarian-in-training in our exclusive in-depth interview.
- When you think wisdom, you may think of someone wizened and bearded. Kevin Light has a surprise, and a miracle, to share.
Training
- Do you itch to run a 100 miler, but don’t know where to start? Coach Neville Beeton outlines a simple two-week training cycle, as well as the kit, nutrition, and race strategy you’ll need to make it a success.
- If that 100 miler suggestion had you shaking you head, maybe you need to change your mindset and find your courage. Life coach and ultra-runner Marie Snyman Jacobs explains the comfort zone lie that keeps you from taking on new challenges.
- Learn to run rocky trails with five South African speedsters! Chantel Nienaber, Mvuyisi Gcogco, Ronel Nattrass, Chris Strydom, and Anouk Baars Meeuwis provide essential tips.
- Illness getting in the way of training? Dr Gabe Mirkin outlines the relationship between exercise and immunity. Coach Mauritz Jansen van Rensburg and Dr Robyn Spring have guidelines to help you decide when to get back to training.
- The magic number is said to be 180 steps per minute… In the the fifth instalment of Sean Tait’s Under the Microscope series, figure out exactly what effect cadence has on your running!
Try rock climbing to improve your trail running strength and skills! Fred Richardson and Chantelle Booysen of Mindful Runner provide the hows and whys.
Experiences
- Most of you know how to enjoy the trails, but for your friends who struggle to let go and enjoy the ride, Kim van Kets has written a 10-step guide on joy maximisation.
- Jaco Roux of Extreme Jogging joined his wife for a maths conference in Poland. So far so boring? Wait ’til you see the trails he discovered!
- If Coach Neville’s 100 mile article didn’t get you fired up, the stories from the Addo Elephant Trail Run sure will! The lead story is Martin Maherbe‘s, with additions from Sébastien Lesange, Eloff Hoffman, Andy Wesson, and Caitlin Lewis.
Nutrition
- Calm your stomach with home-made ginger gummy bears: recipe bySara-Jane McShane.
- Get ready to love avocados and wine even more when you discover the favours they do your health…
- What the Health do we know? Find out in this film review.
- Discover the major risks for death. Clue: knives and sharks are the least of your worries.
- Potatoes are you friend. Dietitian Laura May uses scientific evidence to get starches back on your green-list.
Events
- We look back at some of the bigger trail races that have taken place in South Africa, including Ultra-Trail Drakensberg, TRAIL’s own Mountain Camp, The Munga, The Hobbit Journey, Klipspringer Challenge, Mnweni Marathon, Giant’s Cup Trail Run, Van Gaalens Trail Run, and The Oxpecker.
- There are 142 events lined up from July to September 2017 from across South Africa, and internationally. Get the details and start lining them up with the help of our calendar!
Planet
- Are you a carnist? Find out what it is and if you’re among them in the Carnage film review.
- Two members of the trail community, Kelvin Trautman and Heleen Mills, ran 100km though Cape Town for their #RunningDry100 campaign. Find out why!
- Get the highlights from international eco-news in the Global Green column.
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.
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