Get over the bump and run better with TRAIL 26!
Cross-train with kettlebells and Pilates for whole-body strength and coordination, take on the most slippery, bouncy floating bridges, and make the best of Coach Neville’s nine biggest racing fails. TRAIL 26 will have you motivated, strong, and well-fueled for anything 2018 can throw at you.
Read digital? You can buy TRAIL 26 and all previous issues digitally.
Get ready for new beginnings and read on to find out what’s in TRAIL 26…
You can relive eleven of South Africa’s biggest trail events from September to December, and get the scoop on recent international races.
Survive summer on five cool routes around SA, sheltered by forest and misted by waterfalls.
There’s tons more: discover it all when you dive into the pages of TRAIL 26.
What else is waiting inside TRAIL 26?
Reader experiences
- Take a peek into the lives of other trail runners in our reader photos section, when you float over the rainbow at Jonkershoek shot by Charl Heunis.
Read Conrad du Toit’s honest letter where he explains how he manages to work full time, parent two children, and race ultras all over the world! Conrad and two more letter writers are rewarded with StaminoGro hampers for their trouble.- The highlight of any trail run is the wild encounters. This issue in TrailTalk, hear about fellow readers’ animal interactions, from snakes to buffalo.
Gear
- TRAIL 26 has a glorious eight-page gear guide, packed with 34 products! We feature a selection from Balega, Breezing, Brooks, Dr Cool, Enduren, Feetures, First Ascent, FuelBelt, Hi-Tec, Hoka One One, Nature’s Delicacies, Pekant, Salomon, Saucony, SWIZA, Sziols and Thule.
- Get advice from Craig Gornall of The Sweat Shop Bedfordview on how to buy gear as a gift.
- Decide whether to wear orthotics on the trail with advice from podiatrist Chris Delpierre and run technique coach, Sean Tait of Off the Mark.
- What’s the ultimate trail running shoe? A myth. Grant Bryant of RUN Specialist Store explains how the perfect shoe depends on you, and the job you expect it to do.
Elangeni Falls in Mpumalanga is an incredible stop on the 24km route.
Locations
- The summer heat can really put you off your long run. We provide five cool trails from around SA that will keep the sun off your back and a smile on your face!
- Catch up with South Africans racing across the globe: André-Hugo van Zyl, Conrad du Toit, Andy Wesson, Frikkie Pienaar, Rubin Mehta, and Peter Purchase in Reunion, Matthew Dove, Iain Don-Wauchope, Robert Graham, and Andre Redingera in Peru, and Deon Braun in Ecuador.
People
- Full-time PhD student and mountain junkie Mmama Kubjane shares her manifesto.
- Plant-powered athletes can use the sun’s energy to get onto the podium! Meet Rachel Manyathi, Zoe Papadakis, Govan Basson, and Gavin Shaskolsky: four green trailies.
- Trail running gives you a smile, and Robert Rorich, Timothy Chambers, and Beth Hechter ran barefoot to give a child a smile! Find out how they raised R5k for Smile Foundation.
- The best adventures happen next to your best friend. Besties Zanele Jele and Nontuthuko Mgabhi, and married couple Genis and Tanya Pieterse share their biggest trails with each other, and with you!
- Look back at the best of the best and the best of the worst with the 2017 TRAIL Awards!
- Cover athlete Carla van Huyssteen has had an epic multisport career, and in 2017 set her sights on the trail. She won every race of the Mountain Challenge Series, and blazed podiums across the country, including her first Otter African Trail Run. Hear from coach Tim Ellerbeck, get inspired by her tenacity in overcoming illness, and grok her physiotherapy brain.
- When life takes a turn, you are defined by how you make sense of it. Kevin Light makes sense of his quad tear the only way he knows how.
Training
- Do as Coach Neville says, not as he does… Neville Beeton shares his nine worst racing fails from his 42-year running career, so you can learn from his mistakes instead of making them yourself.
- Since trail races like to stick a tricky floating bridge at the end of the event, we collected advice from experienced floating-bridge-crossers Robert Rorich, Landie Greyling, Iain Don-Wauchope, Nicolette Griffioen, and Robyn Owen.
- Life throws curve-balls, and when it does, you can’t change the ball, but you can change your reaction. Life coach Marie Snyman-Jacobs uses her own Achilles injury and injured adventure racer Ruan van der Merwe’s experience to guide you over the obstacle.
Bodies do weird things when we run. If you’ve ever wondered why your hands go bright red, or why your nose runs, you’ll love what Dr Jack, Dr Mpinga, and Dr Carey have to tell you!- Run with power: strengthen your core and glutes with Pilates! Sasha Ehlers has a side-lying series that looks easy, but will get you where it hurts.
- A cannonball with a handle can give you maximum results with minimum time in the gym. StrongFirst coach Rhain Hoskins shows you how to kettlebell swing and squat your way to a strong posterior chain, and explosive power.
- Prevent and treat the three most common knee injuries for trail runners: iliotibial band syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and osteoarthritis. Physiotherapist Francis Rogan explains how.
Experiences
- Anton Böhmer grew a tumour on his brain, and overcame with modern medicine, power of will, and trail running. Relive his ordeal.
Sit in awe of six tales from Otter 2017: a newbie, a sea otter, a Bloukrans beast-tamer, a son and a father, and young water-watchers.- More in the theme of overcoming obstacles, Deon Braun went to Ecuador to run, eat, and experience the Amazon. On his very first trot, some aggressive street dogs bit a chunk out of his fun. He’s still overcoming the rabies scare.
Nutrition
- In case you needed another reason to eat your greens, find out about the incredible nutritional properties of chlorophyll.
- Get an energy boost with Matcha Bites, recipe from Sara-Jane MacShane!
- Burgert Maree shares his favourite green smoothie recipe.
- Get the latest on cholesterol research: there’s more than just LDL and HDL.
- Maximise your nutrients with advice from Dr Greger.
Events
- We look back at some of the bigger trail races that have taken place in South Africa, including Baviaanskloof Trail Run, Uitsoek SkyMarathon, Golden Gate Challenge, the inaugural Harrismith Mountain Trail, Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, Sneeuberg Traverse, Salomon SkyRun, Lesotho Ultra Trail, Ultra-trail Cape Town, and Otter African Trail Run.
- There are over 100 events lined up from January to July 2018 from across South Africa, and internationally. Get the details and start lining them up with the help of our calendar!
Planet
- Beware the stiletto snake – this critter looks like a harmless mole snake but you shouldn’t pick it up, warns Johan Marais of African Snakebite Institute.
- Get the highlights of the international water crisis 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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