Coach Mo,

You haven’t heard from me in a while but I thought I would give you feedback. We had set a target of achieving a 3:15 marathon which I did in January 2016 and nailed it with a minute to spare and a tight hamstring at the end. Since Comrades I have been focused on improving my running especially my marathon time which is my favourite distance. I went back to all the programmes you gave me to see if I had followed them properly. I realised that I had cut some corners in some instances and maybe had not been consistent by focusing on quantity (distance and time on my feet) rather than more quality in certain sessions. For example, your programme would say 6×1000 @ 3:59, I would do the first 4 on target and maybe miss the other 2 by 3 or 5 seconds but I would classify this as a “successful” session. I decided to change and rather cut the session when I started missing the time target for the speed sessions. The same applies to non-running activities – core/planks, lunges, squats, skips etc. I was not sure of the benefits and therefore skimped on it I stuck to a 5 day training schedule with an occasional 6th session when needing some time. Without changing the programmes but following them (I did 98% of the activities per the programmes), I am pleased that I improved my marathon time at the Chicago Marathon to 3:07 in October 2016 and followed that up with an 86 minute half marathon at the Gun Run two weeks later. These are personal bests which I am achieving after 20 years of running and at age 47. So I am writing to say thanks for your patience and investment in the training programmes. I have also learnt that the programme helps but also following it properly means that someone can overachieve. I could not have done it without your coaching and encouragement.

I plan to reach out to you for guidance and training programmes for the 2017 Boston Marathon (which I have secured an entry) in April 2017 and the 2017 Comrades Up Run. The 12 month plan is to try a 3hr marathon Sept/Oct 2017.

Be well and again, I remain indebted.

Kind regards
Derrick Msibi
Managing Director

It all make so much more sense to me now! Before Coach Mo’s programme I was going out blindly and making very little improvement. My first ever 5km was the 2012 Gun Run – I was running at around 9h30 a km – I managed to finish that in around 46min. I never thought I could run, I thought I would always jog at 9h30 a km, I called myself a jogger. I now run at 7minutes a km on a 5km, that’s after only two months on Coach Mo’s Programme. I am now a runner.

Training with Coach Mo I have consistently run faster and am going out longer and ENJOYING myself! I never imagined running more than 5km before and am now running 10km at 8 minutes a km – this is big in my world! My sights are set on 21km and I know that I’ll get there now. Coach Mo’s programme fits my lifestyle and as long as I put in the effort, I know Coach Mo is there with the advice and knowledge.

I started with Mauritz’s programs at a very basic level of fitness and progressed to being able to complete two Half Ironman distance triathlons, a full Ironman, as well as several trail running events within one year. Working long hours and still trying to spend quality time with my family, made it impossible for me to aspire to any worthwhile sporting goals in the past. With Soulrunning this has fortunately now changed for good!

There are several advantages of exercising with Mauritz’s programs:
1) The programs are adapted according to your individual circumstances. Your time contraints, goals and equipment are all taken into account and the program is therefore tailored to your own unique sitauation.
2) The constant fear of not training enough for a particular event is eliminated. One can rest assured that the training is enough to reach your goals. Likewise, the chance of overtraining and injury is almost impossible exercising in this manner.
3) Mauritz is available for valuable advice regarding the events itself, most of which he has participated in himself. He will also advise how to adapt the program in unforeseen circumstances like illness or travelling, something which is impossible with a generic program in a magazine or the internet.
I would highly recommend Soulrunning with Mauritz’s programs as a way of reaching your goals. It has literally changed my life! My only regret is that I haven’t heard of this earlier!

“Wow, what an improvement in 12 months time…. January 2013 was the start (with Soulrunning) to my training for Two Oceans 21km 2013 and January 2014 I completed the Ironman 70.3 in 07h39min…. What can I say! all credit to my coach, Mauritz Janse van Rensburg.

Mo, the coach who sends you a good luck mail before the race and knows your results before you can reach the website yourself.

Ironman 7.03 was my biggest achievement yet, but because of my coach, Mo, I am entering for more challenging races now…. Two Oceans Ultra Marathon 2014, Knysna Oyster Big 5 2014 and defnitely Ironman7.03 next year again. Thanks Mo!

“Never having entered a triathlon, I was quite blown away when my friend Pieter Du Preez (a C6 Quadriplegic) phoned me to ask if I would assist him in the Ironman West Australia on 8 December 2013, 18 weeks prior. At that stage, of the three disciplines, I was only running + 10km once a week. Apart from that, I was only CrossFitting 4 times per week. So, I was quite nervous committing to the event – 18 weeks of swimming and cycling preparation. Saying yes to Pieter came with bit of confidence in knowing Mo. I knew that if there was one coach who would be able to get me from zero cycling & swimming to the Ironman in 4 months, it was Mo. And so it was!

Four months later I witnessed history being made in SupaPiet becomming the first Quadriplegic ever to finish an Ironman. I, doing the Ironman as his helper, apart from the running leg where I stayed on the bike, completed the distance with him with ease. At no stage did I feel that I could have better prepared for the event. Having heard the hours that most Ironman athletes put in is estonishing, but with Mo it was always quality over quantity, never training more than 10 hours a week, and that’s what made all the difference in enjoying the journey so much. Thank you Mo!

“I have been training with Mauritz for a year and it has made a tremendous change in my life, training and race results. Before I started with Soulrunning, I used to train 6 days a week, getting bored with running, had the occasional injury or two and was not getting any faster! I only train 4 days a week now, enjoy every training session and have not had any injuries! I can run the same route over and over but no run is the same! Shorter training sessions consisting of high intensity speed work resulted in a decreased marathon time of 22 min in only one year.

This guy knows what he is doing, and even when I don’t believe in myself, he believes in me and gets the results! Thank you, Mo!”

“The general perception regarding endurance events is that the training consumes many many hours, which puts tremendous strain on other important aspects like relationships, families, work etc. With that in mind I did not even consider entering for a long endurance event.

However, Mo has a different approach. He taught me his “Ironman for the family man” principles, which entails shorter, high impact sessions and also creative ideas to fit training into a busy schedule and to include the family in the training process. I applied those principles with great success. In spite of a very demanding job, a big family and many church activities I’ve managed to complete events like the Cape Epic, Ironman, Hobbit 100km trail run, etc. Thank you Mo!”

“As a professional balancing career and family, Mauritz has helped me to structure my training with advice and key workouts to enable me to compete in events such as 70.3 Ironman and Sani2C.”

“Really an awesome and very nice experience training with Mo. His training was spot-on and exactly what I needed to improve my Iron man run time by 45min. I like his approach as a coach and human being!”

I am a triathlete, duathlete, mountainbiker and multisport athlete since 1992.

Mauritz van Rensburg is a good friend and triathlon training partner for many years.
When I start to train with Mauritz in 1996 “something” happened with my running ability and running experience:

1. The first thing that happened was that I enjoyed running like never before.
2. There was a consistency in my performance.
3. I didn’t suffer from injuries like before.
4. Mauritz helped me to set some goals and helped me to achieve them consistently.
5. Mauritz used my present performance ability and used my PB’s to work out a scientific running program.