Dale Bannatyne
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
The year is flying I can not believe that is already March. When I planned this series of interviews I thought I would have applied for adsense and approached PR agencies. None of this has happened but in my professional life these past two months have been a blessing. There is no better way to start my 2015 academic year.
What is a man? We are given so many definitions of what a man is by the media. Every time a brand has an idea for a campaign that is aimed at men, they often use the words "REAL MEN DO..." which always left me with the thought of whether there are fake men out there. What is the yard stick by which we judge a man?
Through out the year there are so many campaigns that focus on women empowerment. I know this is true in my country, so I decided let me start a campaign to celebrate the men on the streets. The men on the track, the men on the trails. I hope they inspire other men to get out there and not care whether their shorts are too short, because at the end of the race the medal is yours. You race for you and how you look during the streets nobody cares. Everybody is too busy racing against themselves to care about how you look.
I have been searching for these men for the past 3 or so months. I started with men who I know personally who I thought inspire me. Men that I run with, men that I met at #HomiesHalf after all this I took to the instagram streets and I hand picked men who's instagram game was on 1 hundit percent. I am convinced that 50 men in the entire world have instagram. Ladies, please tell me your men to get instagram and to take selfies.
Even harder is to find South African runners who use instagram regularly. So finding men who live in South Africam who run and take selfies was a very hard task. To kick off [x THE MEN] series I present this man whose instagram game is on the 1 thousand percent.
Mayve he can do the #INDIERUNNERTAKEOVER during this month.
On who you are…
I am a young business owner from a small town called Witbank; somewhere between Pretoria, the Kruger Park and the middle of nowhere. I try to balance my life with work, health/fitness and family. I am lucky enough to get plenty of inspiration from many wonderful people that have entered my life in one way or another, and I try my utmost to ‘pay that forward’ as best I can…
On running…
I would never have considered myself as a runner or an athlete. I do the things I do because I really enjoy the type of people that it puts me in touch with. I started out as a squash player who was introduced to field hockey by a good friend. I was later inspired by my brother to try my hand at an Iron Man 70.3 distance triathlon and I was completely taken in by the lifestyle, the people and the ability to set and accomplish terrifying goals. A close friend, Chris, entered me into the 3 day Namaqua Quest trail run (a trail run held just outside a town called Springbok in beautiful South Africa) last year as a wedding gift. It was there that my complete love for trail running was bred…
On Street culture…
Living in a city and trying to get inspired to run around the streets is not easy. It’s about traffic, tight schedules and finding new routes in and around where you live. I would choose to head out to the trail almost every time if it were up to me. My running partners and I have entered the Comrades Marathon this year which will force us to do more road running. I have found a way to motivate myself… I decided to run around the streets of Witbank during 2015 and take a photo of every house numbered with 55. No.55 was my laundry number at boarding school and a number that I became quite fond of. I am using the #washingnumber55 to post my progress and by doing so, I should, by the end of 2015 have pretty much run through all the streets in Witbank and have a new appreciation for the city in which I live.
On Running culture…
Running culture is an interesting one for me. As I am a slower runner, I used to get somewhat intimidated by the ‘racing snakes’. It wasn’t till last year that I got to know some elite trail runners, only to find that they were the same as everybody else there. Just trying to give everything they have on that given day. They have the same love for the sport as we all do, they just enjoy it quicker. A running culture for me is a culture of runners. It’s the people and places that make the experience.
On gadgets…
I LOVE gadgets. I can’t get enough of them. I am a firm believer in using a HRM and I feel almost naked without mine. It could very well be the distraction but I love it anyway. I like to run with my GoPro as often as I can, it takes awesome snaps in good light and reliving the run in front of the computer is a highlight for sure. On a long run I love my hydration pack and believe me, it’s got all the gadgets in, just in case…
On injury…
Make sure that you are running in the correct shoes. Injury is inevitably going to occur I guess and it’s never lekker but by wearing the correct shoes you can save yourself many hours of unnecessary pain.
On achievements…
I have accomplished many races that I am extremely proud of...
Day 3 of 2014’s Namaqua Quest took me to some very deep, dark places but I managed to pull through with the help of my running partner.
Sitting having a beer with my wife, both brothers and close friends after the Sani Stagger marathon was something special.
My greatest sporting achievement is undoubtedly when I crossed the finish line of Iron Man South Africa with my brother in 2013.
These are all special times and accomplishments but as far as achievements go; quitting smoking, getting off the couch and changing my lifestyle about 5 years ago would have to be right up there.
On future goals…
‘Set goals that scare you’ is a motto that I am very fond of. My comfort zone is a very dangerous place and I like to be out of it as often as possible.
My ultimate goal is to stay healthy for as long as possible and to continue to have fun doing it.
On your social media…
I am a bit of a sucker for social media, I have fallen in love with Instagram. It’s just lots of fun. I find all forms of social media very helpful with communicating club activities and it’s an awesome way to motivate with inspiring stories and pics. The modern day campfire for our story really.
On Pink…
Well, if you were to go through my wife's wardrobe and then through mine, you wil undoubtably find more Pink apparel in mine. I love pink and I am very comfortable in Pink. So there...
On Pain…
As an endurance athlete, I am no stranger to pain, before, during and after, long events. There is something about the pain that we go through that keeps us interested. A friend, Shelby, refers to it as the 'stupid gene' and she is convinced that we have it in lumps. Some say its addictive and the more painful the experience the better. All I know is that we keep coming back... Something for nothing though, there is no pain like not completing an event, for whatever the reason may be.
When I die…
I don't spend time thinking about this inevitable truth. I'm very busy living.
#RunRevolution
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