It has been a month since I have taken over the Run Walk for Life branch at the Bryanston High School. Things have settled quite nicely and it is now time to start making things happen. One thing I have learnt on my journey over the last couple of years is there is no time like the present to get started with something. I always had to wait for a Monday/a new month/a new year to start with an exercise regime or a diet. You know what it is like I’m sure. I always used to start a week off with a bang and then fizzle out by Wednesday or Thursday. I then used to say “it’s to close to the weekend, I’ll start again on Monday” and that pattern got repeated around the 20^th of every month and then again in about October. I’ll start again in the new year. Sound familiar?

Let me share with you what I have learnt. There is no better time to start than now. If you fall off the wagon today that is fine but tomorrow it starts again. The same applies to eating healthily. If you have a bad meal at lunch time there is no reason why your evening meal can’t be healthy. Do it now. Don’t wait until Monday, next month or next year. Do it NOW!!!

With that in mind I’m running an awesome promotion for December at my Run Walk for Life Branch in Bryanston. If you join as a full paying member between 1 and 31 Dec you will receive a FREE pair of New Balance running shoes*. Free, nada, mahala! Why wait for Monday, next month or next year? Do it now! We have three training sessions three times a week at 16:30, 17:00 and 17:30 on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon at the Bryanston High School. If you want to find out more pop me a mail rwfl@bradbrown.co.za

Don’t forget you can also follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook

The December Run Walk for Life Promotion

*Terms and Conditions Apply

Another Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge is done and dusted. As always it was a great day out I am not just saying that because I work for 94.7 but it is such a well organised event. The weather played its part on Sunday too. It was fairly cool and the wind wasn’t too bad (In patches it did get quite bad though).

My Mom would have been so proud of what we did on Sunday. A year ago we put together a team of nearly 200 cyclists riding in pink in support of the PinkDrive and breast cancer awareness. This year we doubled that with 400 cyclists riding for a cause in Pink on race day. For only our second year being involved I think Noelene, Sharon ,Cecile and all the other fab ladies at the PinkDrive did an amazing job raising funds and creating awareness out of this event. A huge debt of gratitude also needs to go out to the folks at Garmin for the ongoing support as well (Mich you are an absolute star!)

The PinkDrive Group About To Start

I decided a month or so ago that I wanted to do the double. And by the double I don’t mean Read more…

It is starting to get a bit ridiculous as far as how fast a year passes. We are firmly into the silly season and I got an email last week telling me about an annual event that I did a little write up for last year. LAST YEAR? I actually had to go back and check if it has been a year already. Seems like last month.

One of the things I love about Twitter is that it puts you in contact with people you may not have ordinarily have met. I’m not sure if I paths would’ve crossed if it were not for Twitter but I am glad they did. I am talking specifically about Leanne Opperman. What this young lady has done over the last couple of years is awesome. She suffers from fairly rare condition called Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy (a form of muscular dystrophy) and has not let it dampen her spirit at all. She made the decision to use her life experience to benefit others and put together what was at the time just going to be a once off fundraising event in 2009 called Krazee 4 Kripples. It was so successful she decided to turn it into an annual event. Last year’s event was themed Hanging for Hope and this year it is themed Drifting for Dystrophy. Leanne obviously doesn’t like her life and tries to do these crazy things to kill herself and she’s not content to do it on her own either, she wants others to die with her

Here is an exert  from the email I received about the event:

The Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of South Africa (Gauteng Branch) in association with SupaDrift and XS Promotions, is looking for sponsors of successful companies and businesses to help fund a drifting charity event.

The third annual event of ‘Krazee 4 Kripples’ has been named “Drifting for Dystrophy” and is set to take place on 26 November 2011 at Zwartkops Raceway.

Through your sponsorship, you will fund the following:

•  A member of your company will enjoy the thrill of a drifting experience, while advertising your brand through (for example) corporate clothing; or
• Your sponsorship will pay for an individual suffering from *Muscular Dystrophy to enjoy a drift; and
• A percentage of the sponsorship will go towards the Muscular Dystrophy Association of South Africa, Gauteng Branch.

In addition, we are in the process of organizing extensive media publicity.  Your companies’ name will be published in all media coverage, and the person drifting with your sponsorship should preferably wear a shirt with your company name and logo on. This event will form part of the Drifting Championships, i.e. your company will receive maximum exposure.

Funds raised will be used exclusively for the purchasing of equipment to improve the quality of lifestyle of people affected by neuromuscular conditions.

Sponsorship of a drift will cost only R2 000, but further sponsoring is welcome

The Drifting for Dysrtophy event poster

If you want to be a part of this great event or maybe just want to throw a few bucks their way please contact Leanne on Leanne@k4k.co.za. You can also follow Leanne on Twitter at @LeaVille

A lot can be said for varying up the races you do but I love doing races that I enjoyed over and over. It allows you to see how you are improving year after year. I am also not a big one for racing weekend after weekend so it is nice to get out amongst other athletes to see how you compare.
It has been exactly a year since my first triathlon ever. I did the 11 Global up at Sun City last November and am looking forward to going back tomorrow. Looking at my splits from last year I am actually quite impressed with my first outing for a tri. I did a 30:35 swim, a 1:25:30 bike and a 1:01:54 run for a total time of 3:01:49. I remember it being quite hot too so all in all it was a good day out.

I am definitely not as nervous for tomorrow as I was this time last year. Having a few more Olympic distance triathlons, 3 half ironman distance tri’s and an ironman under my belt has definitely given me a bit more confidence. I was hoping a pb (a 2:45 odd) would be on the cards tomorrow but the weather conditions don’t seem to be playing ball. With Gauteng in the grip of another heat wave it looks like it is going to be a scorcher tomorrow. The splits I am hoping for tomorrow are as follows: a 26 minute swim, a 1:15 bike and then a sub 57 minute run.

I tend to be really conservative in the water and I want to see what I can do if I push it in the water. I’ve been working really hard in the pool to get my times down so I’m keen to hammer it in the water and see what happens. You only use your arms for the swim right? It’s what I like to call the “Go until you blow” race strategy. Let’s see it how it goes.

Bidvest’s Proudly Pink Campaign is set to gain serious momentum over the next two weeks with two fundraising events set to take place. The Group’s mission is to raise awareness of cancer by raising funds for two selected charities: the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) as well as The McGrath Foundation.

The 2011 South Africa vs Australia Wanderers Test is the first international Test to turn pink, paying homage to the success of the Pink Test in Australia and South Africa’s original involvement in the inaugural Pink Test. The 2008/2009 Australia vs South Africa Test was the first Sydney Test to be turned pink for the McGrath Foundation, as part of Cricket Cares, Cricket Australia’s community action program, in memory of the late Jane McGrath, wife of Australian cricket legend, Glenn McGrath. Worldwide statistics show that nearly one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer, that is one woman every three minutes whilst nearly 2 000 men are diagnosed each year. Read more…

Cyclists are cocktonsils. I know I’m generalising but that is what people tend to do when an individual that forms part of a group and behaves a certain way, people tend to lump them all together. A quick twitter poll just proved my point. When I asked “Are cyclists cocktonsils?” Not one person stood up for them.’

I had a really unsavoury incident on my ride this morning that reinforced the stereotype that cyclists are a bunch of idiots. Let me firstly say this. I ride my bike, so from an outsider’s point of view I’m a cyclist. But as far as I’m concerned I’m a runner that does triathlons. The bike part is just a necessary evil. I am not a huge fan of cycling (especially on the road) for safety reasons and I also find the cycling fraternity are generally on their own mission. An example of this is how few cyclists actually great each other (or runners) that they pass on their ride. It also irritates me that cyclists generally demand respect from motorists and other road users for no other reason that they are road users too. Even though the rules of the road obviously don’t apply to cyclists

Through Nic White, I learnt of the Right 2 Ride campaign and I agree whole heartedly with what they are trying to do. The basic premise is that if cyclists want to be respected as road users they need to respect the rules of the road, as all road users are expected to do.

This morning’s ride left me with a really bad taste in my mouth. I was riding along Voortrekker Road towards Keywest shopping centre at about 5:20 when I passed a lone cyclist, I greeted him and carried on along towards Keywest. As I approached the next set of traffic lights they changed to red. I stopped and waited for them to change again. While waiting this cyclist that I passed a couple of minutes earlier had caught up and proceeded to ride through the red light. I shouted to him that the light was red and he retorted “who cares? And who the f&*k do you think you are anyway?” And off he went. The light then changed and I set off after him. At the next big intersection (the cnr of Paardekraal and Voortrekker) he had stopped because the light was again red and there was quite a bit of traffic so he wasn’t able to jump this one. I pulled up behind him and his little rant began “who the f#%k do you think you are telling me what the f%$k to do?” I told him to relax and tried to explain that if he, as a cyclist, wanted motorists to respect him and look out for him on the road he needs to respect the rules of the road. Needless to say he wasn’t buying my argument so I just decided to leave it and let him have his little tantrum. And boy did he vent. “Are you the f%$king metro police? You don’t tell me what to f#@king do you f*$king c#*t!” And on it went until the light changed to green. As we pulled off he kept on going, I turned to him and said “have a great ride” to which he responded “I hope you get hit by a f#@king car”. I legged it, dropped him for the second time and I never saw him again.

What a cocktonsil. Just a few points I’d like to make about this chop (I hope he reads this, but with that sort of mentality I doubt he can read) and other cyclists that behave just like him:

1. I was trying to offer some constructive advice to help you ride as safely as possible. What’s the point of wearing that big yellow reflective vest and having that flashing light on your bike if you are going to decide which laws on the road you will obey or not?

2. By you riding like an idiot and carrying on like you did this morning tars me with the same brush in the eyes of the motorists that feel that cyclists are a bunch of arrogant gits.

3. You need anger management classes.

4. Get some legs you chop. If you could ride as well as you can talk you’d be knocking on the door of the pro teams. If a part timer like me can drop you twice in the space of 10 minutes it might be time to take up a new sport.

And if it makes you feel any better about yourself, I didn’t get hit by that f$#king car you wished on me. Cocktonsil.

I’ve been wanting to create a custom landing page for my Facebook profile for a while but  it meant I’d have to take some time to figure out how. FINALLY I sat down this morning and did it. I wish I had done it sooner. It really wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. It does take a bit of basic html knowledge but if I can do it with my limited understanding of html coding then anyone can. I found a really easy tutorial here (although the sizes they gave weren’t right I was able to figure it out).

Below is the result of a couple of hours of work. If you’re not in touch via Facebook yet please pop by my page and see it in real life (you can do so by clicking on the picture below:

Brad Brown's Custom Facebook Landing Page

The Pink BlackBerry 8520

Ok, so here is the deal. I have been getting a few very strange looks over the last few days when people see what phone I am using. The handset in question is a pink BlackBerry Curve 8520. Why do I have a pink BlackBerry you may ask? This is my story and I’m sticking to it (actually it is the gospel truth).

Having lost my mom to breast cancer in May 2010 I have been staunch supporter of The PinkDrive and the great work that they do. When I was approached by Research in Motion (RIM) and asked if I wanted to be involved in this campaign I obviously said yes. Who wouldn’t want a new BlackBerry handset (and in my case even if it is pink!) right? As long as they’re not making me drink pink drinks, I am in!

You can get one too if you’d like. They are on offer exclusively through Vodacom at CNA and Edgars stores countrywide. Not only are they really cool smartphones but in getting yourself one you can support The PinkDrive as well. For every handset sold BlackBerry will donate R20 to The PinkDrive on your behalf. So it is win win for everyone involved. We are hoping to be able to raise R100 000 for The PinkDrive through this initiative and the only way we can do that is if you go get yourself one of these funky smartphones!

Another bonus of getting this handset at any CNA or Edgars store is that you stand in line to win one of ten specially designed Swarovski crystal back covers which are almost as cool as the pink BlackBerry.

I am speechless. I just received this press release from the Justice Project South Africa via email. Something drastic needs to be done firstly about the culture of drinking and driving in this country and secondly about our incompetent police force. The release reads as follows:

JOHANNESBURG – Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) was horrified to learn this morning that the JMPD failed to have blood samples taken from Sibusiso Langa, the accused in the Midrand tragedy that took the lives of 5 “joggers” within the prescribed two hours. Ref here. Jurisdiction has absolutely nothing to do with it, given that SAPS have jurisdiction over the entire nation of South Africa and cases can be transferred between stations if necessary. That is simply an excuse that is not going to wash!

Immediately on learning about the crash on Saturday 22 October 2011, JPSA contacted Superintendent Edna Mamonyane of the JMPD and offered to pay for the blood samples taken from the accused in this case to be analysed by a private laboratory, so as to expedite the matter and bring it to a swift conclusion. We were never taken up on that offer and now we know why.

We can only hope that the rest of the investigation was done properly and that a competent and suitably qualified forensic crash investigator was called in to investigate the crash. At the time of the crash, JPSA also secured the services of IBF Investigations crash investigator, Stan Bezuidenhout, who has over 30 years’ experience in forensic crash investigation – also for free, but did not manage to offer this to the JMPD due to their ignoring our requests for cooperation on the blood tests issue.

At the time of making these offers and soliciting these services, JPSA urged that the accused be charged with the appropriate crimes of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless or negligent driving and five counts of culpable homicide, but that plea was overridden by the Minister of Transport calling for charges of murder to be brought and the NPA obliged.

A motorist convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol can be imprisoned for up to 6 years (on a first offence), 6 years for reckless or negligent driving and 3 years per count of culpable homicide. That comes to 27 years and would send the right message if it were to be imposed.

Driving under the influence of intoxicating substances is the Number 1 killer on our roads and JPSA has recently put a comprehensive proposal to a number of stakeholders to tackle this scourge effectively. People need to come to the realisation that driving under the influence of intoxicating substances has dire consequences and cannot and will not be tolerated any longer. However, this problem must be effectively tackled before people are killed and/or injured as prevention is better than cure – always!

JPSA again extends its sincere condolences to the families of those affected by this horrific incident.