Jacques van Rensburg has started an initiative which should see a potential boost in both uncovering athletic talents in the Stellenbosch wine region, as well as increase the morale and fitness of wine farm labourers.
Van Rensburg has started a group called Shadow Chasers, where farm workers, so far only from Spier Wine Estate, are encouraged to partake in extramural athletic training.
However; funding, as well as the lack of participation from other wine farms, is still an issue.
“We started the Spier thing two years ago. Angus McIntosh thought that he would lift morale by ending shifts earlier on some days and let farm workers focus on training with an incentive of running the Cape Town Marathon and 10km.”
Van Rensburg is a former professional middle-distance athlete, and after all the enjoyment that he reaped from the sport, he thought it would be nice to give back.
Jacques van Rensburg enthusiastically coaching at the recent Monday session. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
“Obviously as a coach, I’m committed to the runners,” he says, while also saying that the lack of funding makes it difficult, as well as the fact that the initiative is stagnantly sitting with just Spier at the moment.
“I was hoping that after the initial article [by EikestadNuus] that one or two farms would contact me or reach out, by so far none have.”
In the group, currently, are two potential stars, namely Dennis (a.k.a. Tambo) Muokwa and Deon-Lee Hendricks (22).
Dennis Muokwa and Deon-Lee Hendricks, amongst others, warming up before their session. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
Muokwa recently ran his third ever 800m race at 1:57, the same pace at which Caster Semenya would run the 800m, against trained athletes who have been running for at least 6 years, more or less.
The Olympic qualifying time is 1:45, and McIntosh has made an inquiry with the Zimbabwean sports board as to Muokwa’s eligibility for the next Olympic games.
“There is a year until the Olympics. He needs to run at least a 1:47. I will give him a daily training schedule which he can follow, and then come and join our group training sessions when we have them,” says van Rensburg.
“He looks like he is smoother when he runs faster, almost as though he is floating,” he continues, explaining why he suggested that Muokwa should redirect his aim from 10/21/42 km races to shorter 800m events.
Hendricks, on the other hand, is currently focusing on 10km races where he aims to break 30:00 in his next race. His personal best is currently 30:09.
According to Hendricks, “You can expect to be on the podium if you know you can run a 30:00 10km”.
He also exclaimed how he enjoys the training sessions, and that “[he loves] the feeling that [he gets] here; you always stay on top. There are no negative vibes.”
Hendricks leading the pack into the sunset while running on the Coetzenburg mountain paths, a free resource of which van Rensburg stands by as a training facility. PHOTO: Mike Wright.
Van Rensburg is convinced by the positive impact that the training group will have, saying that “there must be thousands of [cases such as] Tambo’s, just waiting for [their unknown] opportunity.”
It is this unknown potential that van Rensburg is wanting to tap into with the ultimate goal of setting up an inter-wine farm athletics meet once a year to see which farm is the fittest in the Stellenbosch region.