Permanent Number Club

Do you have a permanent number at any marathon or ultra marathon?  A permanent number is a magnificent achievement and all Wingate members who have a permanent number will be recognised on an honours board in the clubhouse.  

If you qualify, please forward the following information to us via email before the end of March:

Your Name; 

Race Name; 

Year you achieved your Permanent Number.

Please note that in order to qualify for the honours board, you must have run at least 3 of the 10 races in Wingate colours.

Race report: McCarthy Toyota

7 February 2009: Rietondale Park, Pretoria

A crisp summer morning welcomed a massive field of over 3800 runners to the 26th running of the McCarthy Toyota Half Marathon, 10km & 5km fun run.

As usual, Wingate was well represented with many of our members running brilliant times on the half marathon. And then there were those, like me, who ventured back onto the road even though it was only a 5km fun run. Well done to all who participated! To see the race results, click here.

For more pics of this event, click here.

The future athletes were there too!

Comrades Update: 100 days to go!

Today marks one hundred days till the cock crows for the start of the 2009 Comrades Marathon!! Yes, you’ve got exactly one hundred days left to prepare yourself for yet another Comrades Marathon, the 84th one to be precise.

Since the start of the annual Road Show in Bethlehem on 20 January, there has been a very distinct air of excitement among the attendees (runners/athletes). Almost every workshop had a full house with Benoni topping the numbers with a whopping 180 athletes in attendance! The statistics also show that a growing proportion of those attending are novices, which augurs well for our objective to attract 20 000 runners in 2010.

This year the CMA has launched a brand new “Novice Project” sponsored by Bonitas Medical Fund, one of our Major Sponsors and presented by Runner’s World Magazine. The Bonitas Novice Project is available online on the Runner’s World website at www.runnersworld.co.za and provides daily updated training advice to novices and an interactive facility where novice runners can directly address questions to the Comrades Coach, Lindsey Parry.

Race T-Shirt
The CMA has also undertaken to ensure that each runner receives the correct size t-shirt he/she ordered. For this reason we have sent the following clubs a Medium and Large sample of the official race shirt. Please do visit these clubs to ensure that you have ordered your correct size. If the Medium is too big, then order a Small and if the Large is too small order a X-Large. Please note that these shirts are unbranded and serve only as a sample and that they are not the official race shirt that will be included in their registration pack.

Arcelor Mittal AC - VT
Benoni Northerns Athletic Club
Berts Bricks Athletic Club
Bethlehem Marathon Club
Boksburg AC
Carlton Athletic Club
Charlo Athletic Club
Chatsworth Athletic Club
Eskom Gijimas - KZN
Eskom Gijimas - MPL
Goldfields Athletics Club
Hillcrest Villagers AC
Irene Road Running Club
Klerksdorp Marathon Klub
Knysna Marathon Club
Nedbank Bloemfontein Achilles
Nedbank Running Club Eastern Cape
Nelspruit Marathon Club
Oxford Striders
Polokwane Athletic Club
Rand AC
Richards Bay AC
Rocky Road Runners
Rustenburg Marathon Club
Secunda Marathon Klub
South Coast Striders
Stella Athletic Club
Strand Athletic Club
Varsity Old Boys - WP
Worcester Athletic Club

Underprivileged Runners
The CMA will once again provide assistance to underprivileged runners seeking accommodation the night before and after the race. The venue where runners will be housed has not yet been finalised due to the unavailability of the Royal Show Grounds at the time of the Comrades Marathon. As soon as this has been finalised more information will be made available to all clubs and provincial federations. Application forms are available from the CMA office.

National Youth Run
Another successful project launched in 2008 was the National Youth Run sponsored by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation. This year the event will take place in Durban on Saturday 23 May (the day before Comrades race day) offering a 5km and 10km challenge. Though the race is primarily for the youth, senior athletes are welcome to join in the fun and celebrate in the spirit of the occasion.

Reminders
If you have a novice under your wing, remind her/him of the special opportunity they have to earn a “Double-Down Medal” by completing both the 2009 and 2010 Comrades Marathons. It is also important for all Comrades runners to be reminded that entries for the 2010 Comrades Marathon will in all probability open in September 2009, giving those who have qualified by completing the 2009 Comrades Marathon, the opportunity to secure their entry in the limited field for 2010.


Closing Date of Entries is 31 March 2009.

Enough talk, now run!!

Development Fund

We have a few athletes in our club who are in need of financial help to practise their sport. On request of one of our members the committee decided to extend the Development Fund that we started last year. From this fund we will help the athletes with shoes, entry fees for certain races, transport to races, club fees etc. Any donations will be appreciated, and in future we will have a Development Box at the time trial and Tuesday functions where you can deposit these funds. If you would like to make a bank deposit, please contact me for bank details.

Coming Soon: Training Programmes

Keep a look out for our training programmes to be launched soon, right here on our blog.  

Our coach is busy preparing training programmes for 10kms, half marathons and marathons - whether you are a beginner, intermediate or a speed-freak, you will definitely benefit from these training programmes.

You can stay in shape during the winter off-season, by subscribing to our cross training programme too.

Watch this space for more details!