Ethiene Marais is running 56km at home

Ethiene Marais usually inspires other people to get fitter as a coach at Sandton Run Walk for Life, but now he has inspired himself to run 56km at home.

Since the nationwide lockdown, Marais had been reading up on other home and virtual running challenges people have been doing, with the hope he could do something similar.

“I am a passionate runner and I didn’t enter Comrades this year so I decided to spend the year training instead,” he told Sandton Chronicle.

“I decided to do something at home to help motivate people to stay positive.”

Marais decided to run the distance in 83m laps around his house over six days. He started on 6 April and is running 7km per day until the final day, 11 April, when he will finish with a 21km (half-marathon distance) run.

This is 85 to 90 laps per day for five days and then 255 to 280 laps on the final day, depending on how much distance he has left for himself, and no lap is ever exactly 83m.

“Underfoot I experience paving, grass, cement and firm soil with one section that has lovely tree branch covering. The route has six sharp turns where I have to run through garden gate sections and past house corners.”

He said each day his dogs get excited when he starts and chase him around. But after a few laps they get bored and just watch him.

“Challenges I am experiencing on the route include strain that the regular sharp cornering puts on my ankles, knees and hips after a while, the need to focus much more while running so that I don’t step wrong and twist my ankles or knees, navigating the dogs and I can’t run my normal roughly five minute per kilometre pace due to the sharp and regular route cornering. My pace on the route is roughly seven minutes per kilometre.”

Marais hopes people will stay positive during the lockdown by being grateful for the good things they have, reading good books and engaging in their hobbies.

“If you are in a position to safely help others that are less fortunate in this challenging time, do so.”

Related article:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/247663/watch-regularly-change-fitness-plans/