The Jog Squad was founded in 1984 by Andrew Bell, himself an accomplished athlete, who wanted to make the sport accessible and enjoyable to people of all ages, sizes and fitness levels.

This philosophy is the backbone of the Jog Squad today and there are hundreds, if not thousands of people in the Cape Peninsula who have at some time in their lives
benefited from being part of the Jog Squad.

 

For many, the Jog Squad has been a stepping stone  to other avenues of the sport, such as running with a club or just running with friends or by oneself.

Others have seen that to remain associated with  the Jog Squad allows them the ability, once they have gone through the initial  training, to decrease or intensify their level of training depending on their goals, the season or family pressures.

 

There is no magic to the training program, it is fairly loosely based on a program contained within Tim Noakes’ book "The Lore of Running" which can take you from your Couch to Comrades in 52 weeks - the looseness of the program being the recognition that most people really only want to get fit and can find easier ways of getting from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

If one goes onto the web there are literally hundreds of similar programs that do essentially the same thing which is to promote regular exercise or 40 - 60 minutes a few times a week which, in a controlled manner, converts walking into running.  The only problem with these programs is that they do not take into account the fact that the most difficult part of any exercise program is actually getting out of your front door.

This is what the Jog Squad gives you - a group that meets and exercises on a regular basis and has controls built into the program which does not allow "desperatelykeenitis" to creep in and make people try and do too much too soon and end up with any injury.

 

Obviously results will differ depending on the base  that people start off from, but by the end of a 16 week beginners course the  majority of people will be able to run about 10km.  Naturally this is dependent  on the person actually coming to the group on a regular basis and doing the  homework as well.

 

The charge for the beginners course is R170 per month with a R50 registration fee for first timers.
For the intermediate and advanced courses, where there is less supervision, the cost is R70 per month.

 

Light colours are preferable, so that you can be seen
on the road.  And since you are going to be exercising, bulky jerseys and
tracksuits are not ideal as you will probably end up carrying them! 
 
Note: If you are over 50 or have a chronic medical condition, a
clearance certificate from your doctor is also required.