Persistance Runner

We are all Runners! Humans survived and thrived because of 'persistence hunting'. Ability to run longer than any other animal, made humans what they are. So Run

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

2 June is apparently Global Running Day.
Who knew?
#ThingsYouLearnFromYourGPSapp

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Loving my Tues mornings out with the Primary School XC team. They do 1 lap, Comrades Dad starts early and tags a 2nd lap on at the end.
Next week will just be 1 lap though. #MinDaeNou

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Come and join in at Regents on Sunday 7 June.
All runners welcome to join in on a long running tradition.

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

On this day in 1921, a few hardy souls set out from Durban for PMB in memory of lost Comrades in WW I. In 3 weeks @ComradesRace will repeat the journey for the 99th time.

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Getting close now. Time to plan the day for your Seconds. Itbis almost th same this time. https://t.co/69zJNpDI0n

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Winter mornings mean running in the dark and finishing with the sunrise.

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Some info from the Route tester yesterday. 5 weeks to go https://t.co/O3segdCu3Q

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Today's weather reminds me of Comrades 2013.
Hot Berg wind and over 3 deg!
Like running into a hairdryer

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

The view from the Comrades route near Bayat's store yesterday.
#RouteTester

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Loving the autumn weather, but the mileage is still hard work. #JustLessSweat

[ComradesRace @ComradesRace]

The official distance for the 99th Comrades Marathon Up Run (Durban to Pietermaritzburg) on Sunday, 14 June 2026 has been confirmed as 85.777km — making it the shortest Up Run in recent history!

Route adjustments due to ongoing roadworks, including the Umlaas Road cut-through and changes to the finish at Scottsville, have helped shape a slightly shorter and more efficient course — while also improving safety and race-day operations.

🔥 With a faster route and exciting performance incentives, record-breaking runs could be on the cards once again! 💥

💪 Runners, the final stretch of preparation is here! Stay focused, trust your training, and keep showing up — every run, every kilometre counts. The work is almost done… now is the time to sharpen, believe, and get race ready.

👉 Read the full press release: https://t.co/uEq7eVp62Z

#Comrades2026 #SkaFelaMoya #TheUltimateHumanRace

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

85,77km it is!
That might be the shortest #Comrades I have ever attempted.
Might end up being the slowest time...

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Time to start planning fo @ComradesRace day. For runners- just keep moving. For 2nds the day is far more stressful https://t.co/0gXMYvjzuB

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Finally had a good run this morning. Hope on the horizon for #Comrades2026
7 weeks to go. The legs are coming, but the head is more important.
Today the battle was getting out there in the 1st place after another tough weekend of battling the tar

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

1:59:30!
That's 2:50/km.
Oh my word

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Concerned to see hundreds of runners going straight up the M13 through Westville this morning. There are smarter options people! Stay legal

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

The scariest finding in this paper: the subjects couldn't tell it was happening.

UPenn ran this study on 48 healthy adults. One group slept 8 hours. Another slept 6. Another slept 4. For 14 straight days. They tested cognitive performance every 2 hours from 7:30am to 11:30pm.

The 6-hour group's reaction times, working memory, and sustained attention deteriorated on a near-linear curve. By day 14 they were performing at the same level as someone who hadn't slept at all in 48 hours. The 4-hour group hit that threshold by day 6.

Here's the part that should unsettle everyone who thinks they "do fine" on 6 hours: the subjects' self-reported sleepiness flatlined after the first few days. Their brains kept getting worse. Their perception of how impaired they were stopped updating. The cognitive decline was invisible to the person experiencing it.

The researchers found a hard threshold. Any wakefulness beyond 15.84 hours in a day produces cumulative neurobiological cost. That cost compounds every single day you exceed it and does not reset with a weekend of sleeping in.

About 35% of American adults sleep less than 7 hours a night. 40% of those get 6 hours or less. In 1942 that number was 11%. We built an entire professional culture around a sleep schedule that this paper says is functionally equivalent to pulling consecutive all-nighters.

"I'm fine on 6 hours" is the most common response to sleep research. The first thing chronic sleep debt destroys is your ability to notice chronic sleep debt.

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

As winter runners, @ComradesRace training does bring with it some beautiful sunrises 🌄 while we still have some light. Making those last few kms pass a bit faster

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

Good to hear the @2OceansMarathon went well this morning.
After recent problems, it seems like new race organisers have made huge strides forward.
Put it back in the school holiday window, and it will tick all the boxes

[Persistance Runner @Persist_Runner]

@ComradesRace route runs can be tough and leave you wondering about life choices. Today was out to Westville and back.
The impact coming back had the teeth gritted. All the way up in 9 weeks