When did running begin for you?
My running journey started in a less than auspicious way and, over many years, has been characterised by bursts of great enthusiasm followed by long periods of inactivity. So really it has had many beginnings.
At the very beginning there was school, where every effort was made to avoid running! And yet, due to a strange confluence of birth dates and school calendar, I ended up being selected to run the 3000m for my house on sports day in my final year. It turned out that there were only about 5 boys in the open age group for each house to cover off an entire athletics program. I was ‘volunteered’ for the 3000m, the shot putt and the triple jump. Now, dear reader, I can assure you there was no chance in hell of me running 3000m in front of the entire school and our parents. So, together with some of my fellow ‘volunteers’, we locked ourselves in the bathrooms until the event was over and it was safe to come out. My other events ended equally uninspiringly. I could hardly lift the shot put, let alone throw it; and the triple jump is impossible to complete for any normal human being anyway – I was happy to finish up covered in sand and with 2 feet still pointing in the right direction. And with that, my athletics career came to an end. Or so I thought.
The next step of my running journey was harder to shirk and ultimately far more inspiring. Every ‘able-bodied young white male’ growing up in South Africa in the 1980’s was called up for 2 years national service. For reasons too complicated for me to understand now, let alone explain, I volunteered for the Marines (on the coast, cool uniform, etc), and for the 10 months of basic training I ran, and ran, and ran – along roads, along tracks, up hills, along beaches, up sand dunes, through bushes… everywhere and anywhere. Dressed in full kit, with army boots, a steel helmet and carrying a rifle, we ran across half of the Western Cape. And along the way, I discovered two amazing things … one, I was actually quite a good runner, and two, I absolutely loved it. This miraculous revelation was the start of a love affair with running that has remained with me for my whole life.
After finishing with the army and passing through university, I started work in Cape Town. In my cohort at work, I became friends with a group of athletically minded types, and for a while I took running seriously. I joined my first running club (Atlantic Athletics club) and completed 6 half marathons with an average clock time of around 1h:40. Chip timing was a long way off in those days. However, work and work-related travel began ramping up, training became more difficult, and eventually I stopped running.
From the mid-90’s to 2010, I found myself caught up in a cycle of long work hours and travel, and I completely lost my running mojo. It was only when we moved back to South Africa in the mid 2000’s with a young family that I stepped back from a crazy work/travel schedule, and after 15 years I was able to settle into a normal life with time to spare. I joined another running club in Cape Town (Harfield Harriers) and had an immensely enjoyable 10 years running around the southern suburbs of Cape Town and on the Table Mountain nature reserve. These runs became a time to catch up with friends and wind down after work, and I found myself in a great space, with a community of friends that existed even in a world without Garmin watches and Strava.
Moving to Cranleigh in 2015, I was determined to keep the running going and to try to re-establish the community spirit I’d enjoyed in Cape Town. I contacted the Cranleigh runners but got no answer and gradually running fell away and work and travel took over again. It wasn’t until Covid when my then16 year old daughter wanted to go for a run with me that I realised how much I had let things slip. I went online and contacted Waverly Harriers, and to my amazement, Alex responded the next day, (thanks Alex!) and before I knew it, I was back on the horse. Once again, with a wonderful bunch of friends, I was back doing something I enjoyed, and this time work could not get in the way as ‘working from home’ had kicked in. With Waverley I was inspired to push myself again and this time I found myself doing what I had vowed never to do, running marathons, and I loved it. And then I was introduced to park runs – and my Saturday mornings were complete.
Why do you run?
These days there are three things I get from running.
The first is undoubtedly the social aspect, I love the club runs and the Saturday morning Park Runs with a great bunch of people.
The second is for the occasional burst of competitiveness that leaps out unexpectedly and drives me to go off and do a marathon or try for a PB.
And finally, of course, it is great to be fit throughout the year.
What race or moment in your running career holds the most significance and why?
When I was in the army there was this thing called a ‘2.4’, that struck fear into every conscript’s heart. Basically, it was a weekly timed 2.4km (1.5 mile) training run in full kit. At school, knowing you would end up in the army when you turned 18, you would break into a cold sweat just thinking about these 2.4’s.
During Basic Training our unit had a particularly difficult 2.4 course, you ran up a couple of hills, up a long sand dune and back again. The 10-minute barrier had only been broken twice in the 10 months I was there, and on my second last run I just managed to sneak home on 9:59 and become the third person. This was the moment when I realised I really could do this running thing.
Who is your running inspiration?
Two names really stand out here, the first is Bruce Fordyce and the second Tim Noakes.
Bruce won the Comrades Marathon 8 consecutive years from 1981 to 1988 and again in 1990. He was simply a legend in South Africa in the 1980’s. As an aside, while checking these records I found out that he introduced Park Runs to South Africa, which just enhances my admiration for him.
Tim Noakes is another South African long-distance runner and one of the world’s leading sport scientists and is a very prominent and wise voice in the running world. He has run more than 70 marathons and ultra-marathons (I just googled him) and wrote the brilliant book “the lore of running” that was, and still is, very popular with runners in SA. Well worth checking it out!
What event, past or present, would you like to take part in and why?
Comrades Marathon, late 1980’s to early 90’s.
David version 1990’s fitness levels and stamina, David version 2025 mental headspace (and some kit from 2025 – watch, shoes, shokz, and spotify).
I’m not one to look back with regrets, but it would answer my great ‘What if’ question … how far could I have pushed it.
What golden piece of advice would you give to other runners?
Enjoy yourself.
For me, having a bit of structure is key and I need a club to provide that. Find a club that fits your personality and make the time. The great thing about a good club is that, no matter how bad the weather or how crap you are feeling, there will always be someone waiting for you on the corner or in the car park.
Thanks guys!
What’s next?
Whatever comes my way.
I’d like to do a few more marathons, maybe one with my daughter, and a lot more park runs… dreaming of a sub 23 min park run (probably not at Broadwater to be fair, but maybe elsewhere…)
Who would you like to nominate?
It’s got to be the one and only … Holly Giles.