Author: Modern Athlete

Last year Laurie Lewis suffered a great personal loss just before the Comrades Marathon, and had a really difficult run as a result, but this year he has coached and motivated a team of 18 runners to the 2014 ‘Big C,’ and we want to say a huge thank you – BY DERRYN SHORT

Our journey started this year, runners congregating at Virgin Active in Roodepoort to take advantage of the treacherous hills of Weltevreden Park. It’s a daunting task getting 18 runners of different abilities in sync with each other – but not for Laurie! He believes in us so strongly that he put two training programmes together, one for the speedy Bill Rowan candidates as well as a Bronze programme for the endurance bunnies. After a few weeks, the strongest connection of camaraderie became part of our Road 2 Comrades family. We’re always sharing a race, pushing each other up a hill and celebrating as each of us qualified for our 89km pilgrimage on 1 June.

We always talk about what we had to do to get there, but what we don’t talk about often enough is the support. Laurie is a hero that’s assisted a team of novices and experienced runners alike to live out their Comrades dream, but he’s travelled a tragic road. You see, he lost his son, Chad, in a motor accident just before the 2013 Comrades. It was Laurie’s dream to run Comrades with his son, supporting each other on the route and crossing the line hand in hand, but last year, Laurie ran the gruelling 89km in Chad’s memory, and I will never forget the moment he moved to the centre of the stadium after his finish, with a bunch of balloons, then let them go – his son’s spirit symbolically reaching the heavens.

MOTIVATIONAL MENTOR

Laurie motivates us all, religiously sending out training programmes and pace charts at the beginning of every month, and every morning we wake up to another inspiring message from him. He’s advised us on what to do when we pick up injuries. He helps us with eating right and choosing the best supplements to make our journey easier.

Although Laurie wasn’t able to run with Chad, he’s trained and will be running with 18 of his ‘children’ this year, including me. Laurie found me in a dark place last year. I had lost faith because I failed to finish Comrades 2013, and he took me under his wing. He’s been my pillar of strength, voice of reason and gift of hope. This year, it’s all about running the world’s greatest ultra for Laurie and Chad.

LOVE FOR LAURIE

ALAN ROBB: “My wife passed away a week before the 2012 Comrades and my son died in a car accident years ago. Laurie and I didn’t have good runs last year and he caught up to me with 2km to go, and we walked to the finish together. We shared tears and hugs as we remembered our lost loved ones.”

CHANTEL: “I’ve been sticking to Laurie’s training programme and it has paid off greatly. He is always prepared to share his vast knowledge on running and his years of experience. He has been inspirational in my own journey to my second Comrades.”

VANESSA: “Laurie has helped me with info on my injuries. Without his help, I wouldn’t have stayed focused. He is the reason I’m staying on track to complete my 10th Comrades!”

RIAAD: “Laurie has restored my confidence by talking to me positively. Without his help, I’d be out in the wilderness and wouldn’t have a positive attitude.”

FRANCOIS: “Laurie and the team were incredible. Laurie did a tremendous job with the training programmes, training routes, arranging water points and always having a positive attitude in tough times.”

Last year, Charne Bosman shone in her debut Comrades Marathon, placing fifth and also the first SA woman home. She chats to Modern Athlete about eyeing a podium spot this year, and running in memory of her late father.

In 2013, Charne’s move up to the big ultras fell perfectly into place: Having won the SA Marathon title early in 2012 and then finished second later that year in the Bonitas City to City 50km, she ran a sparkling 3:40 in her debut Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, placing third in the women’s race. This was later changed to second following the disqualification of winner Natalia Volgina for a doping infringement. Then she followed that up with a 6:53 in her first Comrades Marathon to take fifth place, and was also the first local woman over the line. “After Comrades, people saw me as a proper athlete. I had no idea how huge it was! If anything, it’s South Africa’s own Olympics,” says Charne. “I’ve put the race on this pedestal, so it was always going to be my main focus this year.”

GETTING THROUGH IT

However, Charne’s build-up to this year’s ‘Down Run’ has been far from easy. Shortly after her stellar showing in last year’s Comrades, her father passed away in July, and for Charne, who says he was her biggest supporter, it was a life-changing moment. “He was always at races with my mom. He went with me to medicals and travelled to see me compete. I think the positive thing I can take out of it, was that he knew I was running well at that stage, and this year’s run will be for him.” She says she will pin a small photo of her dad onto her kit at Comrades and he will be her inspiration in the race. “If I want to give up, I will just remind myself that I’m running with him. He will be there with me through every kilometre.”

On top of her huge loss, Charne’s health also took strain this past year. Last November, she noticed her heart rate going off the charts during a training run, and was subsequently diagnosed with an overactive thyroid. After receiving medication, Charne hit the road again, but it seized up a week before this year’s Old Mutual Om Die Dam 50km. “I felt tired and lost a lot of weight, and I remember struggling on race day from the 34km mark. Eventually, the doctors and I found out that taking my kelp supplements only makes it worse!” After cutting the kelp out, Charne got back to training feeling positive again. “I was scared the 2014 Comrades would be out of reach, but I did a few long runs in March and felt strong again. Despite everything that’s happened, I knew I’d get through all of this. I’ve always believed that you won’t get tests in life you can’t survive. Running has also helped me through it all.”

STICKING TO THE PLAN

Even after her incredible ‘Big C’ debut, she’s determined to correct a few mistakes from 2013. “I think I over-trained last year, and I was struggling with a knee niggle, so I was distracted by that, too,” she says. “Then I didn’t eat on the route and was sent to the medical tent for drips at the finish. This time, it’s about arriving at the start healthy, and I’ve been introducing bananas and potatoes in my training runs as well.” Her husband of eight years, Carel, will also be a constant support on the route, once again riding on his motorcycle from water point to water point. “He was there to give me drinks throughout and keep me going. He’s a cyclist, so he knows the kind of lifestyle I live.”

Now it’s all about getting the small stuff right for Charne. The introduction of strength work into her training has helped her quads and the Nedbank running club’s training camp in hilly Graskop was the perfect mimic of the Comrades route. “I just want to enjoy the moment. I have a plan, so I must concentrate on keeping my head, not going too hard at Field’s Hill, and then getting onto that podium. It’s time for South Africans to shine again!”

Follow Charne on Twitter: @charnebosman

In 2006 Achmat ‘Sharkboy’ Hassiem was participating in life-saving training off Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town when a 4.5-metre Great White Shark attacked him. Despite losing most of his lower right leg, Achmat’s indomitable spirit saw him return to sport, going on to win a Paralympic bronze medal in swimming at the 2012 London Olympics, as well as running and playing other sports.

I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Sunday morning and I went to the beach with my younger brother, Tariq, to practise for the upcoming lifesaving exams. After deciding that Nick, Tariq and I would be the patients and the others would be the rescuers in the rubber duck, Nick was dropped in fairly shallow water, I jumped out at head height around 50 metres out, and my brother went deeper.

I watched them pick up Nick, then I caught something out of the corner of my eye, a black shadow, and this big fin broke the water. The shark was heading towards my brother, so I screamed for the rubber duck to get out to him. They didn’t understand, so I started drumming on the water, to draw the shark’s attention. Immediately it spun and came towards me, and then the fin disappeared. I knew that sharks like to attack from the bottom, but it just bumped me and its tail whacked me. I lost sight of it, but could see my brother was screaming something at me. Then I saw it coming back, its mouth open. I put my hand on the shark’s head and tried to push myself on top of it, but I couldn’t swing my right leg over… then I saw half of it was in the shark’s mouth.

SURVIVAL INSTINCT

It started shaking me violently; it was terrifying, but there was no pain. I was in absolute shock… It pulled me under, then headed towards deeper water. I was still trying to get out of the shark’s mouth, but I was getting short of breath and I remember thinking, why don’t I just let myself drown – that would be better than what the shark would do to me. Then I decided, no, fight! I hit the shark with my fists. It was like hitting a tank wrapped in sandpaper and soon I had no skin on my knuckles, but I had one good leg left and I tried to kick the shark. Then it shook me again, so hard that there was this loud cracking sound.

I swam for the surface and stuck my hand out of the water, and that’s when I saw my brother in the rubber duck. He grabbed me and as he pulled me into the boat, this massive 4½-metre shark came back and hit the side of the boat. It absolutely dwarfed the boat! My brother jumped on me to hold me, closed my eyes so I couldn’t see what had happened, and said that everything was going to be okay. And still I felt no pain.

I was airlifted to hospital and when I awoke in intensive care, the first thing I saw was my brother crying. He said, ‘Thank you for saving my life,’ then he said ‘Do you know what happened? Look under the blanket.’ I was scared, but I looked, and saw my leg was gone – that was the first moment I really knew what had happened. I’d always played sport and dreamt of representing my country some day, and I went into this great depression.

COMING BACK STRONGER

Then one day Natalie du Toit came to visit. She suggested I get into Paralympic swimming, and I soon realised the massive opportunity that disabled sport offers. When I first heard I was going to represent my country it was everything to me. In Beijing I came ninth and I was so disappointed that I didn’t make the final, so in London I swam my heart out, and when I touched the wall and saw the block was lit up, it was one of the greatest moments of my life. My little secret is that I just imagine I’m in the ocean and I’ve got a 4½-metre shark at my feet. It’s definitely good motivation to swim fast!

Being a disabled person that was once able-bodied, I can say nothing has changed. I still go for regular runs, I still play cricket and soccer in the streets at night, and I carry on as I used to. Losing a leg is nothing compared to losing my brother, so I’m just trying to make the best of it. Today I travel all over the world to represent South Africa, and all because of a shark attack and a positive attitude. You have to grab the bull by the horns and live life – and I want to have a positive impact on the people around me.

On the 1st of June a group of 12 runners clad in red socks and fancy dress will line up in the CC batch of the 2014 Comrades Marathon – and if last year is anything to go by, The Unogwaja Challenge team will be running, cheering, dancing and ignoring all the age-old wisdom that warns Comrades runners to start slow and conserve energy! – BY FEIGE LEWIN

The Unogwaja Challenge traces the footsteps of Phil-Masterson Smith, the youngest ever Comrades winner in 1931, aged just 19. Two years after his win, due to the economic depression, he could not afford the train fare to Natal for the Comrades, so he cycled for 10 days from Cape Town, then ran the 89km ultra on day 11, placing 10th! Phil was known as Unogwaja – the Hare in Zulu – and this will be the fourth set of present-day Unogwaja cyclist/runners that will take on the challenge. What makes them so phenomenal is not only that they cycle 1750km from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg in the 10 days preceding Comrades and then run the race on day 11, but that they do it all in the name of charity.

Last year’s Unogwaja team raised R500 000 for the Comrades Amabeadibeadi Charities (The Pink Drive, Wildlands, Worldvision, Starfish Greathearts Foundation, PMB Community chest and the Sports Trust), and when Unogwaja founder John McInroy saw what the 2013 team was able to accomplish, he set his mind on doubling that figure in 2014. “I believe one day, with the full force of the Red Love Train behind us, we are going to raise R10million in one campaign! But this year to raise R1million will be truly remarkable. Just a few years back it would have been deemed inconceivable!” Some might label him a crazy dreamer, but by mid-April the 2014’s team fundraising tally had already passed the R600 000 mark!

INCREDIBLE ATHLETES

This year’s Unogwaja team is a unique mix of exceptional men and women who cross the age divide, from South Africa, Portugal, Germany, Kenya, Northern Ireland and Brazil. However, these basic stats are just about the least interesting thing about them. Take Tiago Dionisio as an example: He has completed 13 consecutive Comrades since 2001 and is the Portuguese Ambassador to Comrades, and in 2013 completed the Unogwaja Challenge. In March, he joined the list of the world’s ‘Mega Marathoners’ by completing his 300th marathon, in the same month he turned 40. His marathon list features multiple international races, including the Western States 100 miler, which he ran a week after his 2006 Comrades finish!

“My 300th marathon was on the last day of an event that included seven marathons in seven days. The previous weekend I had done two marathons, so I had just finished nine marathons in nine days! I had never run so many marathons in a row, so this also made the 300th special,” says Tiago. He also got to share his special moment with his partner, Rita Manso, who will also be part of the 2014 Unogwaja team. She is a full-time mom, professional businesswomen and ultra-runner in her own right, and as Tiago was running his 300th, she ran alongside him to complete her 50th marathon.

IN THE HEART

But what makes Unogwaja truly unique is that the team is not just made up of seasoned athletes, but rather of people that show spirit and heart, like newcomer Danielle Mascher. Dani has two Comrades back-to-back finishes to her name, but only started cycling a year ago, and joining the first day’s ride of the 2013 Unogwaja Challenge was her first public cycle. It was also the first time she put headlights on her new bike – and the first time she knew Unogwaja was in her future! “It feels as though each person’s part in this journey is ordained by something bigger than us all!” says John. “And when the time is right, it cares little for how far you have ridden on a bike before! Let the whispers in your heart be your guide! This journey is not about the bike or running.”