A social running club for men over 50

Clayville-Running is not only the best way to stay fit, but also the best way to bring people together. Brooks is a recreational running club with a membership consisting of men in their early 50s upwards. The name Brooks was derived from the running shoe with the same name. Currently, Brooks has about 15 members, but each month the group seems to be attracting new members. According to Brook’s chairperson, Tshepo Monamodi, all Brook’s members come from different career backgrounds, such as law, finance, aviation health, and others. “What happens is that we meet every Saturday and do our runs. Some of the members are road runners, while others are not,” Monamodi said.“When we started it in 2019, Brooks was only a social running club, but as time went on, it went beyond just that. After our runs we allow married men to discuss a wide range of social issues,” he added. Monamodi said they were greatly disturbed by the issue of gender-based violence, and decided to have a 10 kilometre run called Men Against GBV. Brook’s treasurer, Jones Makhubela said he joined Brooks when he was working towards adopting an active lifestyle. “Prior to joining this group, I used to train on my own. And there was no motivation to do it. So as a group we motivate each other, advise each other, and we have targets that we have set for ourselves. Another great thing about this group is that you always look forward to meeting with other people,” Makhubela said. “As you know that we live in the times when we (as professionals) don’t get a chance to socialize. So this is the only time when we can do it,” he explained. Makhubela said when he joined Brooks he was overweight and had a high cholesterol problem. “The doctor said you must do something to reduce your weight. So as I was doing it on my own, I couldn’t benchmark myself against other people. And I can tell you right now that when I go to the doctor for my regular check-ups, his machine doesn’t pick up anything,” he revealed. According to Makhubela, regular exercise helps in controlling chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high cholesterol. In 2019, some of Brook’s members entered the Comrades Marathon, and they are looking forward to entering for another race in 2021. “We’re looking forward to entering next year. There are few guys who are fit enough, (like myself). We’re told that it might be around September; which means we have 11 months to prepare ourselves,” he said. One of the fittest Brook’s members is Bra Klaas Mabasa, a 63 years old man who is as fit as a fiddle. So far Bra Klaas has entered 9 Comrades Marathons and he is looking forward to entering his 10th race next year