Category: Advertorial

Under Armour Launches Performance Eyewear Collection in SA

Apollo Brands, the official distributor of Under Armour in South Africa continues to take performance innovation to the next level with the unveiling of their new, best-in-class eyewear range.

The collection has performance, innovation and quality at its core and sets the benchmark for athletic eyewear. Designed to meet specific athlete needs, whether going for a run or engaging in high impact sport, the eyewear range protects an athletes eyes from harmful rays and enhances player performance.

Designed with the lightest weight thermoplastics to provide the highest level of durability and maximum flexibility, the frame construction provides an anatomical fit that auto-adjusts without pressure points.

Under Armour Eyewear boasts vision performance solutions you never knew you needed and can’t imagine living without. From the scientifically engineered lenses for ultimate visual clarity and precision by sport to the 100% UVA & UVB lenses featuring enhanced impact protection that provide the armour to protect your most valuable asset, your eyes.

There is no bouncing and sliding down off the nose when engaged in high impact activity, nor any side of the head “squeeze” that causes discomfort. Athletes can experience Under Armours renowned comfort and fit that stretches and recovers with your movement to let you perform at your highest levels.

PERFORMANCE

Every Under Armour piece of eyewear offers key performance features and benefits. Whether it’s the Nose Pads, Temples, or Lenses there are no shortcuts to provide long lasting wear and all day comfort. UA is built on performance and key to the eyewear is making sure athletes are prepared to perform at the highest level with no setbacks.

 

 

INNOVATION

Innovation is a fundamental pillar for Under Armour. UA Tuned TM performance lenses are built to give athletes an advantage in varied sport environments. Under Armour has developed UA ArmourGrip and UA BubbleGrip Nose Pads for the utmost levels of comfort with added performance benefits, giving an edge on the competition.

QUALITY

The collection is manufactured with top technical materials. For example, TR90 Frames lock on the face to avoid stress fractures or eyewear bouncing or sliding off during exercise. Rubber nose pads fit more securely whilst sweating and built-for-Sport Temples are flexible and designed with laser engravings for comfort.

 

LIGHTWEIGHT, FLEXIBLE AND ADJUSTABLE

All of the frames enhance the capacity for longer wearing during sporting activity. Lightness is important for zero distraction which is key for extended sessions of running, training, cycling, golfing, or even high impact sports like baseball.

WATER AND SMEAR RESISTANT

All Performance Sunglass lenses & UA TUNEDTM lenses have hydro/oleophobic coating applied to the front & back of the lenses. The hydro/oleophobic coating repels water, dust, oil and dirt from the lenses and stays clean longer offering optimal visual results.

UA TUNEDTM

UA TUNEDTM performance lenses are scientifically engineered for ultimate visual precision by sport. Each UA TUNEDTM lens filters in the light you need to create a sharper colour separation enhanced visual detail and heightened contrast within varied sport environments

• 100% PROTECTION – defends against 100% of harmful UVA/B/C rays
• DEPTH PERCEPTION – increase depth perception and deliver the brightest field of vision with maximum image definition.
• SHARP VISION – the right compromise to see higher contrasts and vibrant colours in their surroundings and details of the environment with more balanced colour perception.

POLARIZED LENSES

The Polarized lenses contain a filter that polarizes the light, blocks reflections, and prevents glare.

High contrast polarized lenses have filters with a special dye inside the mixture which blocks the areas of overlap between the colours offering greater contrast between the colours and consequently higher definition of the image.

MIRROR LENSES

Multilayer mirrored lenses are a combination of mirror coatings offering top quality, performance, durability & scratch resistance. Specific colours, such as the Infrared Mirror, additionally absorb harmful infrared waves offering further protection to the eye.

To shop the new UA Eyewear Range visit the website: https://underarmour.co.za/collections/sunglasses

The Threshhold Hillcrest Marathon & Half Marathon celebrates its 40th anniversary on 10 February with a new title sponsor, but the same great race that has become a firm favourite amongst KZN runners.

It was 1978… On Robben Island, Nelson Mandela celebrated his 60th birthday, unaware that in 17 years’ he was destined to become SA’s first black president. Meanwhile, we filled cinemas to watch Superman and Grease. Dallas kept us riveted to TV screens, which had only been in the country for two years. Our own Margaret Gardiner was crowned Miss Universe, and pop royalty Queen were chanting ‘We Will Rock You’ – on vinyl records, of course.

And in KZN’s sleepy town of Hillcrest, with less than 5000 residents, the fledgling Hillcrest Villagers Athletics Club with all of 25 members staged its first club race on 5th February 1978. Roughly 500 entrants took on the 24km from Hillcrest’s rugby fields through the barely developed countryside to Forest Hills and back, and the race was won by DAC’s John Cafetero in a time of 1:24:32.

40 years later and it’s all very different today. In 2019 we’ll probably download the blockbuster Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody to watch on our smart TV’s, which grew out of their clumsy bunny ears decades ago. CD’s came and went. Now we stream music performed by artists who weren’t even born in 1978. We just recently had a second Miss Universe in Demi-Leigh Nel-Pieters. And Hillcrest is a thriving suburb which, along with Kloof and Gillitts, is now home to about 20,000 residents.

Modern, Vibrant Club
As for Hillcrest Villagers Athletics Club, it is now 350 members strong and one of KZN’s most vibrant multi-disciplined running clubs. But that club race, now called the Threshhold Hillcrest Marathon, has stood the test of time. Although the route changed some years back, February 2019 will see the 40th running of the race, and for the past 30 years, this race has also been the first local marathon qualifier for the Two Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons.

“It’s undoubtedly one of the most popular races on the KZN calendar and the 3000 entries go quickly,” says club chairman Marc Allen. “Runners like to test their legs early in the year and take some pressure off by achieving their qualifying times for Two Oceans and Comrades early. It’s a relatively fast run, too. Last year’s winning times were 2:31:57 for Tsholwane Jane in the men’s marathon and 3:04:36 by Lisa Collett in the women’s race. The route plays a big part in its attraction, because it’s a very scenic two-lap course through a tree-lined, shaded route into Winston Park, and the crowd support is always good.”

“We still have a few of the original members from 1978 in the club and it’s fascinating to hear their stories. The Club’s 42 years old this year, so it’s older than myself and many of the members, but all of us really feel that sense of tradition keenly, so to be putting on the race for the 40th time, and with a new headline sponsor in Threshhold, is very exciting. We’re pulling out all the stops to ensure this year is extra memorable.”

The Ideal Supplement
Threshhold, which is a natural supplement that’s clinically proven to provide support and protection for joints, cartilage and ligaments as well as relief of pain and inflammation, comes on board as headline sponsor after co-sponsoring the event in 2018. Made from the world’s best researched and purest form of MSM (OptiMSM), Threshhold is particularly beneficial to runners who often experience joint and muscle strain or injury with inflammation, especially as the season progresses. Used daily, Threshhold helps to prevent injury and strain plus enhances performance by acting as an antioxidant, stimulating muscle and tissue repair, and shortening post-exercise recovery time. In the event of injury or strain, Threshhold is also an effective natural anti-inflammatory that helps repair connective tissue damage.

If that doesn’t already make Threshhold seem the perfect running partner for the Hillcrest Marathon, this may: MSM was first discovered by Harvard-educated Dr Stanley Jacob of the Oregon Health & Life Sciences University in the US in… you guessed it, 1978!

Single mother Thubaelihle Nkomo overcomes challenges daily to create a better life for herself and her son, working full-time as a live-in nanny. Her dream of running a marathon is something she has to work hard for, but that hard work paid off when she was selected as a winner in the Discovery Vitality Run Series, which was a huge stepping stone to get closer to her main goal, Comrades 2019.

Thuba, as her friends call her, only started running last year in November, because she wanted to become fit and healthier, but that soon evolved into a passion for running as she realised what running gave her. “I feel so good when I run, it relieves the stress of a long day and helps me relax,” she says. Training from Monday to Thursday every week has helped her get fit and strong, and she keeps herself motivated by constantly reminding herself that “no matter what job I am doing, there is nothing that will stop me from running, it’s what I love most.”

It is this motivation that made her enter the Modern Athlete Discovery Vitality Run Series Competition, where she stood the chance to win entries into all four races in the series, a customised training programme as well as stylish Discovery apparel, plus a feature in the magazine! “I want to run the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon this year, and running this series would give me the training I need to reach my goal,” says Thuba. “I was so excited when I won, because it meant I could run four races and really work on my running!”

A DREAM WORTH CHASING
Thuba doesn’t believe in doing anything in half measures, so at the start of the series she set herself the goal of trying to finish in the top five in all the races. Starting at the Old Eds Road Race, she ran an impressive 49:22 for 10km, putting her just outside the top 10 in 11th position, running an impressive average of 4:56 a kay, but for Thuba it wasn’t the goal she wanted. “I tried my best, but it wasn’t easy,” she says, adding that it just motivated her to try harder for the next race!

With the Wanderers Aucor Property Race just a week away, it didn’t give her much time to change her strategy, but ever motivated, she decided that she needed to hit the books to see what she needed to change. “I realised that my training still had a way to go for me to achieve my top five result, but the series kept me motivated to keep training, to research how to improve and to mingle with other runners to get advice.”

With the goal in mind of moving up to do her first half marathon soon, she decided to take the next two races as training to learn as much as possible. Managing another sub-50 at Wanderers, Thuba was in high spirits, but knew a big challenge awaited her at the third race in the series, the Adrienne Hersch Challenge, as it features a course with a lot of climbs!

OVERCOMING BARRIERS
Standing at the start line of the Adrienne Hersch Challenge, Thuba had set herself a big goal: she wanted to break 45 minutes for 10km! However, 5km in Thuba realised her goal wasn’t going to happen. “Normally I run a 5km in 20 to 25 minutes, but I was already at 33 minutes and it was just hill after hill – it was my hardest race yet!” Finishing in 51:52, she was disappointed, but knew she had to get over it and move on, as her first 21km was coming up, and she was determined to break the two-hour mark at the Rockies Gerald Fox Memorial Race!

Race Day came and a determined Thuba says she knew this was the last race in the series, so she gave it her all and ran an impressive 1:50:40, putting her well in the Top 100 Women in 51st position, and smashing her goal with just under 10 minutes was the ultimate cherry on top. “This result has motivated me even more to train harder and to run more! Two Oceans and Comrades, I am coming for you!”

With the series well run, Thuba is looking forward to bigger goals, now made more accessible thanks to the grounding that the Discovery Vitality Run Series has given her! And she even has advice for others looking to take up running: “All you need is a pair of shoes and the rest will follow. It doesn’t matter what job you have, if you love running just go for it, as I did. Running changes people’s lives!”

IMAGES: Courtesy Thubaelihle Nkomo

Wietse van der Westhuizen is 60 and has finished the Comrades Marathon an impressive 41 times! Organiser of the weekly Wietse se Run training in Cape Town, he is always asked by people, why he runs. His answer is always the same, “I run because I love to eat and enjoy a nice craft beer and good red wine. My philosophy in life is to do what you enjoy and make the most of every day. Try to do everything in moderation.”

Wietse's dream is to to run 50 consecutive Comrades Marathons, he has been healthy for the last 41 years and trusts that by the grace of God he will reach this goal. But to do this he has to make sure he looks after himself. “I am a firm believer that if you look after your body by doing the necessary training, eat healthy food that were provided by God to us you can enjoy many active years without the worries of the all the modern health problems. Unfortunately, because of the rat race, more stress and hard training, the food that land on our tables today can’t provide us with all the nutrients that we need to get the best out of our bodies. With 1000’s of km run, I need something more to help me reach that dream of 50 consecutive Comrades Marathons.”

With Wietse's experience he has now developed a daily routine that not only keeps him running but keeps him healthy too:

My day starts with Avogel Multiforce Alkaline powder to help me get rid of all the unnecessary acids in my body due to my love for food, wine and beer. That is followed up after breakfast with Threshold MSM because it is a natural anti-inflammatory it helps me to maintain healthy joints, tendons and ligaments. With two knee operations behind me due to a rugby injury and cracking my knee cap on a tile floor, Threshold MSM  assists me with my weak knees while training for my next race. Thanks to Threshold MSM , gone are those days of waking up with pain when walking that first steps towards the bathroom not even thinking of running.

In his running career Wietse has learn't the importance of recovery in his training, he takes us through his recovery process below:

One aspect of running that most runners forget about is what to do when they just finished that race. Most of us are on a high and just want to celebrate our victory, don’t even think about tomorrow, about another run and most of all, about a recovery drink. The first few minutes after your race and even a training session is vital for your recovery!

The best recovery drink for running or any other sport depends on the amount of time you are doing the exercise. The purpose of a recovery drink is to restore fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat, replace muscle fuel used during the run and provide protein to help repair damaged muscle tissue.

If you are running for less than an hour, water is the best drink during and after your run. If your runs routinely last longer than 60 minutes, you will need something more than water for recovery. I usually love to drink Chocolate milk after a long run for recovery because of its combination of simple and complex carbohydrates along with protein. The simple carbohydrate will provide quick fuel replenishment while the protein helps build and repair muscle. Chocolate milk also provides the fluid and minerals needed for rehydration.                                       

To get the most out of you body is to take care of it before, during and after a run and even a stressful day at work. We have only one body and the privilege to live once, make the best of it.

Win a ThreshHold MSM  Recovery Hamper! Simply click on the Enter Now button below and fill out a form and anser the simple question: Name the key ingredient used in THRESHHold

*hint THRESHHold MSM*