My Team

Ernie Gruhn

I’m honored to call this man my coach, my friend and a person who believes in me and pushes me to be the best that I can be.

I started training with Ernie just before World Half marathon champs in 2014 and it was one of the best decisions of my running career. He has taught me the value of consistency and has given me belief in my abilities and myself.

Ernie has coached since 1985, he has the WHOLE package as a coach. He writes very personal training programs according to what works for the individual and he is an AMAZING communicator, which is an integral part of a relationship between an athlete and a coach. Ernie GETS ME, he understands how I tick and knows what works for me. I have the utmost respect for him and know we will be going far together.

Wayne Holroyd

Wayne Holroyd is an SASMA accredited sports physiotherapist and holds a masters degree in sports physiotherapy. He is a senior partner in the Holroyd & Goodenough Physio group and consults from the Center for Sports Medicine, Umhlanga.

Wayne is my “Mr Sticky”, he makes everything possible in this journey to reach my dreams. Wayne constantly maintains my body and muscles, keeping them in good condition allowing me to train and race at an elite level. He quiet literally holds me together like sticky tape.

There is no injury he cannot fix. Wayne is not only there as my physio but is the most amazing mental support, he knows me so well and knows just when to lend a shoulder or to tell me to harden up.

Wayne as a physio is a cut above the rest; with injuries he wont just fix you, he will explain exactly what the injury is, how it came about, fix you and give you knowledge to avoid the injury reoccurring. I’ve never met a person who gives so much of his time to his patients and has a brain the size of an encyclopedia. There is nothing this man cant fix. I trust him with my life, he never lets me down.

Wayne is truly a world class physio and a rock star friend. I am so grateful for this awesome guy I call Mr Sticky.

Website: https://www.sportsinjuryclinics.co.nz/

Brent Grimsley

Brent is the director and Chief of Clinical for HG Physio which has 9 Practises and 26 Physios on staff. He qualified in 2003 with a B.Sc Physio (cum laude) UFS. His interests are  sport injuries, biomechanics and rehabilitation of elite athletes. (Lucky me)

Brent joined my team in 2018, he stepped in to take over from Wayne Holroyd who recently immigrated. I am very impressed with his work and how he is keeping my body in good condition. Brent has quickly learnt to multi task when it comes to treating me, and has passed with flying colours, I certainly do challenge my team. He has been an awesome support to me since I started with him and I look forward to a long journey together.

Website: https://hgphysio.co.za

Jaryd Rudolph

MR SPUNK as I call him, formally known as Jaryd is a practicing Biokineticist and Strength and Conditioning coach at the Prime Human Performance Institute. The world class Facility boasts state of the art equipment and he strives to give each of his athletes the individualistic and optimal attention they need whether it is in the form of rehabilitation or sport specific strength and conditioning programming. Every body has the ability to move and loco-mote, therefore every individual is classed as a athlete. Our bodies are designed to move efficiently, however poor posture, limited focus of form and daily stresses from strict training regimes can alter movement patterns resulting in dysfunction in body segments occurring. Jaryd has a keen interest in movement mechanics of a variety of different sports and strives to get his athletes to move optimally within their own physical characteristics of there body make-up. One of his key aspects, and is the foundation of all his rehabilitation, strength and conditioning programs, is the focus of maintaining optimal tissue quality and mobility in the correct joint segments and soft tissue structures of the body. Staying mobile, and having improved tissue quality leads to overall better performance and aids in injury reduction. I see Jaryd weekly and we are constantly working on improving my movement patterns, with a strong emphasis on my mobility programming. I look forward to a long journey ahead with this Mr Spunk.

If you wish to find out how you can improve your ability to move, please don’t hesitate to contact him: Email: jaryd@primehp.co.za

Website –http://www.primehp.co.za

Mark Wolf

Mark is a nutrition, wellness and physiology expert with over 20 yrs of experience. He is an innovative out of the box thinker and constantly brings exciting and creative developments to the forefront of health and nutrition. His experience as an endurance athlete over many years has brought a lot of knowledge and guidance to the many amateur and professional athletes he works with on a daily basis. Mark is the co-founder of 32Gi an energy supplement provider in the sports industry that focuses its brand around balanced and sustainable energy for endurance sports. Having a complete focus on health Mark has ensured the products are clean and provide only what they are intended to do as a supplement. The range is child and diabetic friendly.

Mark always has MY best interests at heart; he is not only there for me as a nutritionist but also as an incredible mental support and friend. Mark is a top class athlete so understands what it takes to be able to train and compete at an elite level. He calls me his “naughty athlete” because I have such a sweet tooth but he is slowly getting the better of me and educating me in the world of nutrition and the importance of fueling my body to perform at its best.

Website - https://wolffmark.wordpress.com/author/wolffmark/

Dr. Kirsten van Heerden

PhD (sports psychology), BSc (Hons), MA Clinical Psychology, DPhil

One of the things I love about Kirsten is that she was a member of the South African swimming team for 13 years and knows first hand the pressures and demands of elite level sport, and the impact of psychological factors on performance. She completed her studies, majoring in psychology and biochemistry at UKZN while still competing internationally and in 2012 completed her PhD in the area of sports psychology.

Kirsten works with individual athletes and teams from many different sports, from school to recreational through to Olympic level. She is involved with life skills programmes, high performance workshops and lectures part-time at Durban University of Technology. Kirsten also has experience in organizational psychology and has worked individually with business people wishing to apply mental skills to the business arena. She currently works at Newton Sports Agency at the Lionmatch Factory situated in the Kings Park sports precinct area.

I have been working with Kirst for over a year and have seen an incredible difference in myself, she has the most amazing ability to see the good in you and make you see it and most of all believe it. I absolutely love my sessions with her and always come away feeling so good and in awe of her. She is a really special member of my team that I have grown very close to.

Website –https://newtonagency.co.za/

Dr Kevin Subban Sports Medical Practitioners

Dr. Subban has travelled with Team South Africa as the Team Doctor to various world games including: All Africa Games, Commonwealth Youth, Paralympics, African Championships, Inaugural Youth Olympic Games and Olympic Games.

Dr. Subban’s roles amongst others include: the management of injuries for athletes in various levels. His experience includes: management of acute and chronic injuries pertaining mainly to soccer, rugby, volleyball, athletics and swimming, management of Rehabilitation following injury and liaising with coaches, managers and parents of the various athletes. He holds a B.Sc degree in Physiology and Microbiology with the University of Durban Westville, an MB.ChB and an M.Med Sc. (Sports Medicine) with the University of Natal.

I have the utmost respect and trust in my doctor. He is the leader of my team and always has my best interests at heart. He treats my whole family and my daughters absolutely adore him.

Website –http://www.primehp.co.za

Brett Challenor

My husband and NUMBER ONE FAN

Without the love, support and encouragement I get from this guy my running would not be possible. Brett has supported me from the start, he is an incredibly hands on father to our three little girls and is determined to help make my dreams come true. Brett is not only my husband and best friend, he is also my training partner, be it on foot or on his bicycle.

Coming form a sporting background; Brett has represented South Africa in Surf Life saving for numerous years, he has played provincial water polo, is a great paddler and swimmer and also runs. He knows just what it takes to get to the top, which makes him more determined to help me achieve my goals. Brett is MY PERSON and doing life with him is simply amazing.

Website –http://stealthkayaks.co.za/

Dr. Brian Kruger

Special Interests

• Sporting Injuries (including, hips, knees, shoulders etc)
• General Musculo-skeletal injuries
• Headaches

He has been in private practice since 2000, where he qualified from Durban University of technology with a Masters Degree in Chiropractic.

Brian is a new member of my team and one I am thoroughly enjoying working with especially when I need some fine tuning and manipulation.

Website: http://www.beachmed.co.za/chiropractor-dr-brian-kruger/

John Hooper

Sports massage therapist at The Sharks

Durban Area, South Africa Health, Wellness and Fitness

Current:

• Sharks Medical Centre Previous
• Private Practice (Cape Town),
• Cape Institute for Allied Health Studies Education
• University of Cape Town

As an athelte and especially a runner where the sport is so hard on your body its vitally important to look after it, keeping your muscles in good condition while training and racing. John is the absolute BOMB, there is a fine line between too sore and too light and he hits the spot perfectly.