World champs reunite for 2012 Breede marathon

Ant Stott and Cam Schoeman have revived their partnership and will be taking on the SA K2 River Champs down in the Cape this weekend. I have pasted in a press release from the race organisers who reckon they are favourites for the race.

The crew is going well having returned from their recent tour of Spain where they finished 5th in the famous Sella descent (pictured below)

Robertson - When the normal entries for the 2012 Breede river canoe marathon that will host the SA K2 River champs on 8 and 9 September closed, the names of the former K2 world marathon champions Ant Stott and Cam Schoeman attracted the most interest.

The Pietermaritzburg duo stunned the paddling world by winning the world title together in Tyn Nad Vltavou in the Czech Republic in 2008 before going their separate ways, and only reunited a few months ago for a successful campaign in Spain in August where they finished fifth in the famous Sella Descent and went on to win the Rio Miño race a few days later.

"It was sad the way we ended our partnership after winning in 2008, because I had a longstanding commitment to Shaun Rubenstein to challenge for the marathon worlds after the Beijing Olympics," said Stott. "We both chatted and decided to get together again to give it a good go as I feel I might be approaching the end of my racing career and Cam is committed to his farm."

Their good form from Spain is being sustained as they plan to aim for excellent results in the Breede and Vaal K2 races in the coming months before the season shifts to K1 championship races.

"We have trained hard together and enjoying the combination," said Stott, who is a two times Breede champion. "Cam has a hard head and he gives it his all to get the where we want to get to."

While Stott has substantial experience on the Breede, he is fully aware that they will be at a disadvantage over the local crews.

"It helps to know all the channels and sneaks, so we will be at a disadvantage oiver the locals who are racing their in the buildup to the race," said Stott.

"The Breede is great for marathon racing," he added. "There are lots of long flat pools where you can race in big bunches, and there are a few small rapids and weirs which make it interesting."

With the Breede hosting the SA K2 river championships this year, Stott is fully aware that most of the top K2 combinations will be on the startline.

"We don't quite know what to expect because we haven't tested ourselves against these guys, which makes it quite exciting," said Stott.

The Breede River Canoe marathon starts with a 37km first stage from Robertson to Bonnievale on Saturday 8 September and ends with a 34km final stage from Bonnievale to Kambati River Resort on Sunday 9 September 2012.

Bridgitte Hartley is an Olympic medallist!

I think it was about 18 months ago that mutual friend Ant Stott convinced Bridgitte that she could be helped by seeing a Chiropractor.
Bridgitte had already experienced Beijing in 2008 and was focussed on the London 2012 goal.  Only this time she was aiming far higher- the 500m K1 final.  
She has swung through some very low times (it looked like she had failed to qualify for this years' London Olympics when she failed to qualify for the "A" final at the 2011 World Champs), some highs (when she found out that her World Record setting performance at World Champs last year had in fact got her in!) and bucket loads of hard work (mostly on her own under the tutilage of her coach, Nandor Almassi).
And now, after 4 years of training her butt off in relative anonymity and travelling all over Europe in her efforts to train and race with the best, she is an Olympic medallist!

Bridgitte Hartley (on far right) with fellow medallists Kozak and Osypenko

She earned her bronze medal on Woman's Day in South Africa, and had a tear in her eye as she received the medallion.  The realisation of her long journey perhaps hitting home.

A proud South African as she wipes away a tear

Welcome home and well done Bridgitte.
You deserve every accolade.
You have done your country proud.
On to Rio perhaps?

Bring on the Olympic Regatta!

Well, with less than a week to go before she competes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Bridgitte Hartley is raring to go.

Having watched Cameron van den Bergh and Chad le Clos swim themselves to the top of the Olympic podium and Team SA to 10th on the medals table (as at the morning of 1 Aug) Bridgitte is feeling inspired and motivated to add another medal to the count.
She has completed final preparations away from the fuss and frenzy of the games, and has been in Austria with her coach Nandor Almassi for the last few weeks. She flies into London on Friday, and will have 4 days to prepare on the competition course before her 500m K1 heat just after 11am SA time on Tuesday, 7 August.
The venue has been kind to her in the past, with a 2nd place at the test event at the end of the racing season last year.
Here's to hoping for another awesome result for Team SA. 
This time, it's all eyes on Dorney Lake!

London 2012, 1 month to go!

Well the London Olympics are a month away. For Bridgitte Hartley, as she winds her training in the next few weeks down it's been a far longer journey than that.  Having qualified at the ICF World Championships in September 2011, Bridgitte started her Olympic build up in November last year, and has lead a largely solo journey to the Olympics since then.  She has spent weeks corresponding with her coach in a different country and apart from the odd session has spent hours in solitude on the water as there simply isn't anyone good enough and willing to train hard enough to keep her company

Bridgitte Hartley saying goodbye as she left for the London Olympics a few weeks ago

As a fellow paddler who knows how hard she works, and as a Sports Chiropractor, who knows what it takes to get into the tip top physical condition that gets and athlete within shouting distance of an Olympic final and hopefully a medal, I wish her all the very best.  Hopefully her visits to the ChiroSport office have helped along the way (and I'm sure there are others who have helped too), but most of the credit must go to Bridgitte herself.


Hamba Kahle Bridgitte. There will be lots of people willing you on back home.
Paddle hard, race well, and most of all enjoy every minute of it!

Comrades can sometimes be a race to the start line!

Well this year, the Chirosport office has had an eventful last few weeks before Comrades.
I have been treating 3 athletes who are in a race to make the start line outside the PMB City Hall!
While Gold medal hopeful Prodigal Kumalo (PK) has picked up an ITB niggle during his taper and has been forced to rest more than planned, I am also picking up pieces for 2 other athletes who trained with niggles and are hoping to make the start.  What's the moral of the story? 
Look after your body and it will look after you!  The high mileage required for Comrades training is demanding on anyone who takes on the challenge, and it is always advisable to 'service the engine' every now and again. This year PK has been away up country training at altitude, and hasn't visited the Chirosport office much during the high volume period of Comrades training. 
The old addage 'prevention is better than cure' is a true one indeed.  
Especially for ultra marathon novices, it takes time for your body to build the strength and endurance required to cope with Comrades training and it is unusual to go through the 4 months up to and including the race without an issue.

Robyn and Claire trot through Kloof during their 'route tester'  5 weeks ago

While I am not running this year, my wife is going to be taking her 1st bold steps as a Comrades novice on 3rd June.  She has done superbly in looking after her body with the odd treatment, and building her endurance and fitness through a 15 week training program.  I am 100% confident in her ability to beat my time from PMB to Durban in 2010.  There really is no secret to being well prepared... time on the road with a well structured training program is the best prep you can get.
I'll be waiting at Kingsmead on Sunday between 3pm and 3:20pm (and I'm prepared to bet on that time) for my darling Claire and her training partner Robyn to cross the line.  You'll have to excuse me if I have a tear in my eye when she does.
Hopefully PK can come right and breeze through to a long awaited Gold medal. If he does, it will prove what rest can do.
Good luck to everyone. I'll be on the side of the road all the way down to cheer you all on.


The plan is for runner 28756 (that's me) to be back on the road again next year for the up run.
I'm still going strong, slow and pain free after 4 weeks of barefoot running (achilles rehab) and did my 1st road run this last weekend.
I'll post about that at a later stage when I have something interesting to write.

I joined Robyn and Claire for their last training run- the traditional Regents Harriers Chelsea Bun Run.
The ladies' last proper run before the Comrades, and my 1st since January!

World Cups done... Now to the Olympics

For 2 weeks I've been holding off writing about Bridgitte Hartley's pre-Olympic World Cup trip, confident in the knowledge that I would have something better to write about after the fact.  She left SA a few weeks back looking in visibly better condition than she was last year when she broke the unofficial World Record and qualified for the Olympics... and there is good news!

Bridgitte flying her National flag high overseas

Bridgitte headed off a little uncertain of her form, having not raced seriously since the Nelo Summer at the end of last year's European summer.  She has been putting in a monster effort in training and has lead a largely solo journey towards London 2012.
Racing in her 1st regatta in Poznan, Poland she finished an excellent 5th in the a final of her Olympic event, the 500m K1. The following week in Duisburg Germany, after a dissappointing semi-final in which she missed the 500m A final by a tenth of a second (and the won the B final), she surprised herself by racing to and A final in the 200m, and finished 8th in her unfavoured event.  That's 2 A finals in 2 weeks competing against the best in the world, and she was racing under a heavy training load as her training has been structured solely towards the August goal of the Olympics.
Bridgitte's finish is clearly the strongest among the top ladies in the world. She would be an unquestioned favourite for Gold at the Olympics if the ladies paddled 1000m at the Olympics, and she is a definate medal contender in the 500m.  She is praying for rough conditions in London, as being a Saffer with a background in river paddling, she copes better with the waves than the other top sprinters who have grown up paddling around in the flattest water possible. So we'll be praying for wind around Eton on a few days in August then!
Bridgitte comes home for 2 weeks now before heading off on a trip that will take her all the way to the London Games.

Bridgitte will be joined in London by youngster Tiffany Kruger, who will paddle the 200m, in an effort to expose Tiffany to the pressures of Olympic comptetition and vibe ahead of Rio 2016, by which time it is hoped she will have progressed to an elite level where she can compete with the best.
You can follow Bridgitte on her website http://www.bridgittehartley.com or on twitter follow @for_bridgitte.
Tiffany's twitter feed is on @Tiffany_Kruger
And remember to wear Green and Gold on friday's in support of our Olympic Athletes!

World Cup time!

Well it's World Cup regatta time... and not only 1 World Cup, there are 2 in 2 weeks!
So after months of preparation and training it's time for SA Canoeing's medal hopeful, Bridgitte Hartley to measure herself against the world.
Having not had much in the way of real competition yet, Bridgitte is literally itching to get on the water and race it out with her fellow Olympic contenders.

Wow, I want one! A boat with my own name in it. I'm jealous

Just this week, she took possession of her brand new Nelo sprint boat, and will be spending this week setting the boat up and preparing for her 1st serious racing since starting her training program way back in November 2011.

Bridgitte with her new machine. Check the green and gold map of Africa on the deck

From the Chiro's side of the treatment table, Bridgitte is looking an awesome physical shape.  The steps she has made in her conditioning since last season are visible and should make a tangible difference to performance.  And with Bridgitte having set the current K1 500m World Record last season, we are hoping that puts her out front with all the other girls chasing! 

A pic from 2011- The cut and thrust of sprint racing, where there is no margin for error and mistakes cost positions

Good luck Bridgitte. We are holding thumbs and will be waiting for news.

Barefoot running! What's all the fuss?

So, most of you who are involved in the various forms of running will have heard of this.  Especially amongst trail runners, barefoot running seems to be generating intense debate. Some love it, and some seem to be unable to do a decent amount of mileage without the help of a cushioned shoe.
While I agree with many of the principles of barefoot running, you will not see me running on the road barefoot! 
However, there is enough literature and talk out there to intrigue me. So I've decided to give it a try.
According to the fundis, the way to do it is gradually, concentrating on a very short stride and a forefoot strike, and with absolutely no footwear whatsoever.  So my return to training will be perfect, and if it works, the barefoot running should be a great way to rehab my achilles tendon, which took a battering during Dusi training.
I'll post more as I progress, and will be sure to give a verdict.
And if you want to join me out training, the Kings Park Outer Fields and Windsor Park Golf course it is!

2 Oceans Time

Well, it's Easter so my wife and I are down in Cape town again as she takes on her 2nd 2 Oceans Marathon. With organisers claiming the title 'world's most beautiful marathon' it certainly is picturesque around these parts ('when the weather is nice' shouts the Durbanite in me)

Claire, taking a rather chilly dip at Kosy beach... the Atlantic a more appealing option than the bath for a pre-race icing session

This year Claire is also taking on the Comrades Marathon, and her training program has been structured aound using 2 Oceans as a stepping stone to the longer ultra. I am going to be on the sidelines this year having chosen to take a break from training after 2 years of virtually non-stop training.
Apart from that we'll be hitting the slopes of Table Mountain on foot and MTB with Claire's brother Dave and his wife. Check out this awesome movie Dave and a friend made on his self built trail known as "the other Woman" (a name coined by his wife...)  http://player.vimeo.com/video/39570248
On Sunday afternoon we'll be heading up the mountain along whatever path is most weather friendly and camping out in the Mountain Club hut for the night.
Most of all we'll enjoy taking some time out to relax, enjoying sleeping in late and relaxed sundowners. Just a pity we couldn't bring the pets to enjoy it with us... we miss them!

A peach of a sunset  over the Atlantic on a calm evening

Where do injuries come from part 2

Last month I wrote a post about how injuries are often a result of poor habits in and around the workplace and home.... Well today I'm going to attempt to start explaining how.


More often the not, the typical recreational athlete will have an 8-5 job and be spending significant amounts of time 'chained' to a desk, driving or various other activities that are sedentary, and spent largely not in the ideal position.  For example, most people will tend to sit slumped after having been seated for a period of an hour.
The slumped position is an example of a posture where the body does not have 'mechanical advantage' and the same jobs and actions that are usually done with ease take just a little more effort.  (eg. holding your head upright) 
So what's mechanical advantage? Well when you have a 6 year old and a 12 year old on a see saw together. The 6 year old can move the 12 year old if one of 2 things happen... if the fulcrum is moved towards the heavier kid or if the heavier kid moves toward the fulcrum.  That creates mechanical advantage for the lighter kid because his lever becomes longer making the force he exerts more effective, and its how our joints move massive load with relatively little effort.


But going back to the patterns that develop when we sit, stand and slump lazily for long periods...This results in adaptive patterns that are not quite as efficient as they could be, and these patterns become learned because the activity (or lack of activity) is repeated and repeated. We then go out training and competing on weekends with a body that has learned patterns of movement that are not efficient and can cause issues with joint movement in the extremities because your arm or leg is dependant on your spine and pelvis for stability.  Examples of these patterns are things like forward head posture (which would have an impact on neck, thoracic and shoulder biomechanics and plays a huge role in many headache sufferers) and the short hamstrings with posterior pelvic tilt syndrome that causes a myriad of lower back issues as well as precipitating 'overload' injuries in the lower limb... ITB, achilles, piriformis etc. and may make you think that you have a leg length inequality (when its actually merely a pelvic tilt).
So how do you prevent this slippery slope towards being crocked?
Well you have to balance the consequences of what you are doing during the day at work with a program that specifically targets the areas that get lazy, and stretches the areas that get tight.
More about that next month....  

TOTAL Tour Natal Rally

A sporting passion of mine since a young age... Rallying!
My Dad used to compete, so it was in my blood from a young age.
This weekend my Dad and I helped out at the Total Tour Natal.
It was a lot of fun to be so close!
Check out what I saw...  YouTube Total Tour Natal 2012

Olympic Queen off overseas... until the Olympics

Bridgitte Hartley on her way to 2nd at the Olympic test event at the end of last year

Bon Voyage Bridgitte! SA's Olympic Canoeing hopeful has left our sunny shores for Europe and is heading for London 2012.
With 19 weeks to go till raceday, Bridgitte will only return home for 1 week prior to the games.  At the moment she is in camp is Seville, Spain, and will embark on a solo journey taking her to the World Cup circuit and to various training venues around Europe before checking in to the Olympic village.

Bridgitte has been a frequent visitor to the Chirosport office over the last few months, and even put Stuart to shame in the gym one day.  Physically she is stronger and more symmetrical than ever (that's a bit technical, but trust me it's a good thing, and we've been working on it for ages).
Just to give reader's a good idea of how fast Bridgitte is at the moment, the thursday prior to leaving for Spain Bridgitte jumped in a double with a fairly unfit Ant Stott at the KCC dice (that's paddle speak for a time trial). Off the start they were ahead of a front bunch including Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt, Brandon van der Walt and Matt Boumann, a Czech international paddler and Len Jenkins. They settled in and gave the all male crews a chance finishing with the bunch, and ruffling a few egos in the process.


All the best B. We'll be praying you bring back some medals!

Where do injuries come from

Working in a Sports Medicine practice, the largest proportion of people seen at Kings Park Sports Medicine Centre are recreational sports people, who have normal jobs.
So often, this type of active person will suffer an ache, pain or even injury while they are doing their chosen form of activity. And hence they believe the cause of their injury is related to that activity.  It's a simple cause and effect relationship.
Or maybe... NOT?  The truth is very often that poor ergonomics in and around the work environment, as well as poor habits and coping strategies result in mechanical issues (joint and muscle problems) that then rears its head when you are out having fun.
Food for thought...
More on this topic soon.

Unlimited Dusi 2012- a post mortem!

Well, sometimes you prepare for something and put massive effort in, only for circumstances to deal you a harsh hand and you miss out. That's the way I feel about this year's Dusi.
With our brand spanking new race machine courtesy of CC&A insurance and a lot of training and tripping under the belt we could not have been much better prepared. Then I picked up a rather severe tummy bug (probably from Midmar Mile the previous Saturday) and was man-down for the 3 days before the race. Although I felt normal again on race morning, half a days food wasn't enough to keep me going and I finished day 1 in a bad way with glucogen depletion for 90 min of the day- not feeling well! Day 2 and 3 went much better and we managed to pull up to 36th place at the finish.  
Not a bad result considering, but we didn't really get a chance to race properly.

Ant Stott and Steph Bester smiling their way into Durban
with Chirosport support

Ant Stott had an awesome fun race with 2 partners strangely. When Bonang Matheba had to pull out after day 1 with asthma problems, the Unlimited CEO stepped in and did day 2 and 3 in the back.

Bonang Matheba sporting the chirosport logo!

Andy Birkett masterminded his 3rd victory in a row and defended the K2 title with Jason Graham. They were untouchable, winning by 10 minutes from the much vaunted crews who chased them all the way.
The last 2 people to do 3 is a row were Martin Dreyer and Graeme Pope-Ellis! And Andy is way younger than they were at the age of 21. Could he dominate this race for years to come? All indications are that he will.
I'll add some pictures soon, but here is one of Andy and Jason chasing down Thulane Mbanjwa and Sbonelo Zondi on day 1.

Andy Birkett and Jason Graham, too hot to handle at the Unlimited Dusi 2012
Once they took the lead here, they were never seen again

Well done to my partner Trent Lamble, for pipping me in the Dusi biathlon (beat me by 25 secs at Midmar Mile and pushed me to 2nd this year) and huge thanks to him for pulling me through on day 1, and for all the fun down the river.
Haven't seen any Ironman results yet. I'm pretty sure I have a chance of a top 3 there, but my next Comrades is gonna have to be a bit faster to get a better result.
So that's 9 Dusi's done, and 2 Ironman's.
Next time I cross the line at Blue lagoon I get a permanent number!

It really is Unlimited Dusi time! And this year we're Insured by CC&A

With the gun set to fire in 2 weeks, the hard work is done and it's almost time for the Unlimited Dusi 2012.
The crews are all set to go, and all the rumours of hotshot combos are out in the open.
Sadly, Chirosport's favourite Dusi athlete, Ant Stott, will not be racing at the sharp end of the field this year with his Achilles problems putting paid to his training. The race is expected to be fought out by defending champs Andy Birkett and Jason Graham, valley favourites Thulani (Mike) Mbanjwa and Sibonelo (Eric) Zondi, and the hotshot crew of Len Jenkins and Hank McGregor.  There might be other crews in the top 3 by the time they reach Durban, but I'd say one of those 3 will win it, and whoever does will have to take risks to do so.
For the CC&A crew (that's us), we are currently seeded 19th and hoping to stay on the all important front row of A batch. (That's the top 20 seeds, and there is one seeding race to go!)
On Monday, we got our hands on our sleek new racing machine and it's all fitted out and ready to race.
Trenton Lamble (my partner in the front of the boat) is feeling strong, and if my Achilles can get settled down, we'll be in for a fun race to Durban. (see this link for an idea of what I have been doing to myself to get healed...http://yfrog.com/oetf4llj)
Thankfully we have been able to spend some good time in the valley with some good water over the last few weekends, and are looking forward to taking some sneaky lines... :)

A huge thanks to Duncan Osborne from CC&A, who has helped us with some moola to allow the purchase of a brand spanking new race boat.
Hopefully we can paddle and run it to Durban as fast as possible.

The World of Cricket is unpredictable!

Talk about making a mockery of the ICC ranking system. The No. 1 team in the world is 3-0 down to the 4th ranked team, and to be honest, it doesn't look like India should even be playing in the same league as the Aussies. They got rolled by an innings in 2 and a half days in Perth!
At the same time, Sri Lanka are struggling in South Africa (apart from 1 test where the South Africans really forgot to wipe the sleep out of their eyes) yet the sub-continental team are considered top contenders on the world stage.
The truth is that India reached the top of the rankings by hardly playing a game out of the sub-continent in 3 years and that Sri Lanka are only competitive in similar conditions where they can pick Mendis in their bowling attack and the likes of Dilshan can flail his bat with relatively low risk. (Mendis was dropped on the English tour and didn't play a test in SA- simply not a threat in these conditions)
So what's the problem? Well the planning of tours is clearly the issue. The top players from all countries should be forced to play in all conditions regularly. It is clear that the Indians and Sri Lankans have been sheltering in the safety of the sub-continent and simply can't handle the heat elsewhere.
Come ICC, sort it out and let's watch all 5 days of a test match for a change!

Dusi plans coming together with CC & A Insurance Brokers

Well, its a new year and that means Dusi is top of the priority list for the next few weeks in the Chirosport office.  As well as trying to get myself fit for the Unlimited Dusi 2012, the usual assortment of paddling related niggles always pass through the door.  So far so good and everyone is on track for the race.
As for the racing side of things, I have teamed up with old partner and good friend Trenton Lamble for the race.  With our strong history together (4th in Non-stop Dusi 2009, 11th in SA K2 at Umko in 2010 and 17th at Fish in 2010) we are confident we will be a strong combination and at the same time will have some fun getting to Durban in February. 


We are most grateful to CC & A insurance brokers for supporting us by sponsoring our race boat. A new boat will be a great help getting us to the finish. 
Particular thanks to Duncan. Please give him a call if you have any insurance related queries.

http://www.ccainsurance.co.za