Mark And The Millennial

AN ‘80S RUNNER TIME-TRAVELS 35 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE – AND FINDS SOME THINGS HAVEN’T CHANGED AT ALL.

- Lisa Abdellah

RUNNING TODAY ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE…

There was nothing unusual about the morning of 3 April 1983. Mark had invited his friends to join him for a time trial (he’d sent each of them a message by carrier pigeon, which was how people used to communicate with one another back then).

He put on a cheap cotton T-shirt, and a pair of basic ‘jogging’ shorts – not tights, mind you, because he wouldn’t have been seen dead in those. And on his feet? A brand-new running shoe, only just on the market – the Nike Pegasus.

His group started running, and Mark was so excited about his new kicks that he left his mates for dust. Picking up more and more speed, he began to leave a trail of fire behind him; until, at exactly 88km/h, he appeared to be struck by a random bolt of lightning, and vanished into thin air…

…and suddenly reappeared – but on the mean streets of Braamfontein at night, when mere moments ago he’d been enjoying a morning run on Sea Point Promenade. In front of him sprawled an urban jungle of gaudy lights, loud music, and graffiti-covered walls.

Mark was still running, though – but with a ‘crew’ of 60, all with beards, and all wearing matching high-tech shirts. Worst of all, they all wore tights... paired with calf-length socks!

“What year is it?” Mark asked a ‘crew’ member, bewildered.

“2018, of course,” replied Stuart.