We get a ton of questions in our email inbox, on our Twitter stream and on our Facebook page regarding the use of pain medication and anti inflammatories during marathons and ultra-marathons like the Comrades Marathon.

This week on Run Talk SA, we chat to the Comrades Marathon Coach Lindsey Parry who has some strong views on the use of pain pills. Even though most over the counter medication is not on the banned substance list the dangers of using them are evident by the amount of people who end up in the medical facilities after races. Lindsey also believes that besides the dangers of using these drugs, pain and overcoming the pain is part of the process of running hard ultra’s like Comrades and if you use pain meds you don’t deserve your finishers medal. What is your take on this? Do you agree with Lindsey? Or do you feel he is way out of line calling you a cheat for using pain medication during Comrades? Please email or tweet us your feedback.

We also feature one of the most iconic races on the Gauteng road running calendar this week, the Wally Hayward Marathon. Francois Jordaan, chairman of the Alpha Centurion Runners and Walkers joins us on the show to tell us more about this fantastic race. If you would like to find out more about The Wally Hayward click here or click here to enter online.

If you are an international runner coming to South Africa to run the Comrades Marathon please would you take a few minutes to help us create training to help you specifically by answering these three questions.

Also as discussed, if you are interested in the Low Carb High Fat Diet and Running, please take a few minutes to help us create training specifically for you by answering these three questions.

This episode of Run Talk SA is brought to you by fitCal. fitCal is a better way to find and share your running, swimming, cycling and multisport events. Access the website on your mobile device or laptop at fitcal.co.za to build a customised race calendar to your preference and export it to iCal, Outlook or Google Calendar. Visit fitcal.co.za now, follow @fitcalapp on Twitter. Tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter about fitCal with #fitCal, or submit a new event on the site, and you could win a R2 500 Sportsman’s Warehouse voucher. Your events, your calendar, your way!

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