Blue Bulls referee creates his own homebound marathon amid Covid-19 lockdown

Werner Nagel had to do 1 000 50m laps on his property, which included running through his house.

Werner Nagel had to do 1 000 50m laps on his property, which included running through his house.

Published Apr 11, 2020

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Johannesburg - Blue Bulls referee Werner Nagel loves to run, but with his favourite road races and trail runs cancelled due to Covid-19, he created his own.

Nagel, a member of the Hartbeespoort Marathon Club, had been looking forward to the Two Oceans trail run and half-marathon this weekend.

Instead, he is locked down at his home at Hartbeespoort. So, inspired by the Garmin challenge to do 10000 steps a day at home, he started planning his own event, a 50km solitary marathon which he called “Om die Tuin” (Afrikaans for around the garden).

Other runners here and abroad have tackled similar backyard marathons, but for Nagel the challenge with a fairly small property meant he had to do 1000 50m laps, which included running through his house.

He was up with the birds to start his race on Tuesday, his 42nd birthday, although he admitted he had forgotten that fact until his wife, Celeste Nagel, a doctor, congratulated him before she set off for work.

Nagel’s running partner was the family Labrador, Missie, but after the first part of the race, where she took some short cuts creating her own track, she gave up and went to lie down.

Om die Dam is the largest inland ultra-marathon and, like Two Oceans in Cape Town, is known for its scenery. By comparison, his home Om die Tuin was rather flat and dull. “It was the same thing over and over again, with a lot of turning round corners.

“Running through the house included four little steps, and those steps were also a big issue,” he said. “I have run many ultra-marathons, but this one took me 10 hours, which is a lot longer than I would normally run, and it was very, very tiring. I had to focus on picking up my feet.”

Another problem with a circuit like that is keeping track of how far you’ve gone. It is not like a familiar race with landmarks, but Nagel said he used his sports watch to monitor his progress and kept his spirits up by joking about some of the landmarks on the Om die Dam route.

When he finally made it “home”, his daughter Xanthe, 11, filmed him running through her makeshift finishing line made of toilet paper.

His advice for others locked down is to set challenges to stay fit although, in retrospect, without space 50km is not something he would recommend. .

“I miss being out, usually on a Saturday I would be with the guys on the rugby field all day, or going for a proper run.

“But I do understand why the government called for the lockdown; I just hope for business, especially small business, that it doesn’t go on too long.”

Saturday Star

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