Author: Modern Athlete

Robert and Cheryl of Pinelands AC have each done between 20 and 30 half marathons since both took up running in 2005, and they usually go to races together, but once the gun is fired, they set off at different paces. Robert (35), a self-employed IT specialist, has a PB of 1:28; in contrast, Cheryl (29), a credit controller for Medicross, has a best of 2:13, also set in Knysna this year. However, despite the difference in their normal racing pace, they plan to run the Cape Town Marathon together, with Robert slowing down to stick with his wife the whole way.

“I like stretching out my legs in shorter races, but with this being our first one, we want to do it together. I can see myself doing more marathons, but not for fast times, more for the lifestyle. That’s why I am very comfortable running it with Cheryl. I like running with her, not just because I feel she is safer, but also because I like spending time with her, doing things together.” Cheryl picks up the story here. “I wanted to run my first marathon in 2009, but got bronchitis just before the race, and couldn’t recover in time. Now I feel more experienced, and my training has also been more consistent, whereas two years back I had no set plan. I knew I had to start early in my training for this, so I’ve been following Tim Noakes’ 26-week training programme.”

BEYOND THE MARATHON
This first marathon is just part of a bigger picture for the couple, as both are currently re-evaluating their career paths and setting new goals for themselves – and they see conquering the marathon as one symbolic stepping stone to achieving this. Robert says he is trying to take his career to the next level. “I’m bouncing off the wall after doing a business course through the University of Stellenbosch School of Business and am more aware of opportunities out there. I recently met with a UCT lecturer to help me work out a business model to take my business global, while still focussing on local underprivileged communities.”

Meanwhile, Cheryl says she doesn’t want to be stuck behind a desk anymore. “I want to get into environmental tourism, where I can use one of my passions, bird-watching, in my work, so I’m planning to become a nature guide here in the Western Cape. Therefore, we both have a philosophical side to wanting to do this marathon, because setting ourselves targets and achieving them helps us to set even bigger goals in life, and then go achieve them.

Two sub-2’s, please!

Within a few hours of meeting, Jeanette Wearing and Liezel Coetzer knew they would not only be great friends, but also great running partners, because their goals and their stories are so similar. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Just a few weeks ago, Jeanette Wearing was introduced to a work colleague’s girlfriend, and as soon as she started talking to Liezel Coetzer, she knew she had found a kindred running spirit, despite Liezel having done several ultra-marathons, including two Comrades, while her longest run was only 21km. Despite this, they are now in training to go after their goal together of trying to break two hours for the half marathon.

Jeanette (46) works as a real estate agent for the Leapfrog franchise in Gordon’s Bay, which is co-owned by her husband Kevin, an experienced runner of 15 to 20 years. “Kevin inspired me to start running three years ago and join him at Strand Athletic Club, and I’ve now done about 30 to 40 half marathons, with a best of 2:27, but I want to get that down to under two hours by the end of February. Problem is, I’ve never really trained before, just done shorter runs, and mostly on the treadmill, so I’m going to use a training programme for the first time.”

Liezel (32) is a financial manager for City Sightseeing, the company that runs the open-top bus tours of Cape Town. She lives in Blaauwberg, having moved down from Johannesburg in 2008, and has been running for four years, with a half marathon best of 2:10 and a marathon PB of 4:55. She’s also run the Comrades in 10:58 (down) and 11:35 (up). “I want to bring my 2012 time down to between 10:00 and 10:30. To do that, I have to do lots of speedwork, which is why I want to improve my half marathon PB to a sub-2:00. To achieve that, I’m going to do more club runs with my Atlantic Triathlon Club, but also do more runs with my new training partner here.”

PAINFUL MEMORIES
Besides sharing a goal time, the two friends have similar painful memories of their first half marathons. Jeanette says Kevin convinced her to enter the Two Oceans Half three years ago, but said they should first run the Kleinmond Half as training. “Everybody warned me it was a nasty race, and I think I cried more than I ran in that first race, but afterwards I was ecstatic. Problem was, within half an hour of finishing, I could barely move!” Liezel’s debut half was even more sudden: A friend who had entered the Two Oceans Half dared her to also run it – the night before the race! Liezel accepted the challenge and finished without problems in 2:40, but just remembers being sore afterwards. “I couldn’t walk for days! And I live on the third floor of a building that has no lifts! But I enjoyed the race so much that I began running more 21s, and fortunately ended up far less sore afterwards. Not even Comrades made me as sore as that first half!

Both women now say they are confident of achieving their target time, because after those first painful half marathons, and in Liezel’s case the Comrades as well, they think they can overcome any challenge. “Putting our goal in writing does put pressure on us, but it will also motivate us and help us to remain committed,” says Liezel.

It’s close to 9am on a Thursday morning in one of South Africa’s biggest prisons; the Pretoria Central Prison. The sights and sounds inside the four walls of the prison are exactly as one would imagine: Huge keys noisily locking and unlocking several thick wooden and steel doors, stern-looking prison wardens going about their day while several orange overall-clad prisoners each concentrate on their daily tasks while curiously looking at the bunch of visitors entering their ‘home’ for a couple of hours.

After a thorough body and equipment search, we are allowed further inside the prison and led through several sections towards the gym and exercise area. Walking through parts of the prison and past the dark brown brick walls, concrete floors and many barred sections, the first thought crossing one’s mind is: Freedom has a new meaning. However, after making our way up a narrow stairwell we reach the gym/exercise section of the prison and once inside, you could easily be forgiven for quickly forgetting that you are inside one of the country’s biggest prisons, where some of the most dangerous prisoners are housed.

SETTING THE SCENE
In one end of the gym a prisoner had set himself up as a DJ and was playing music and setting the scene for the ‘race’ which was soon to start. Against a wall, 12 neatly lined treadmills were set up for the 50km City2City run, followed by another 17km which the prisoners decided to add on in recognition of Madiba. (The number ‘67’ is symbolic because it is the first part of Nelson Mandela’s 67-4-4664 prison number on Robben Island, and central to the 67 Minutes for Madiba charity drive each year.)

The prison runners were also joined by a selection of top athletes from Bonitas Team Elite and the Nedbank Running Club, who were all ready to test their skills against the Pretoria Central Prison team on treadmills. Some of the prisoners were tackling the distance solo while others ran in relay teams.

RUNNING REHAB
Nick Bester, former Comrades Marathon winner, was there to support the prisoners and elite runners. He has supported the running team at the prison for more than 10 years, alongside the team’s chairman and runner Wolfram Abbott, nephew of boxing legend Jimmy Abbott. Most of the runners only began running once they were in prison and Nick coaches them regularly, often by telephone. He has seen firsthand how running has become an important part of the prisoners’ daily lives and rehabilitation.

“These guys have been training for many months in preparation for this event. Their days revolve around the training and it’s also an incentive for them to stay healthy and avoid behaviour which could impact their performance, such as smoking. Anyone can make a mistake and these prisoners are serving lengthy prison terms for their crimes. Running provides an outlet for them and it is part of the rehabilitation process, giving them some hope for the future,” says Nick.

The prison team trained on a 200m route inside the prison walls and more recently on treadmills donated by private individuals. Nick also supplies them with running gear, including shoes.

RUNNING DREAMS
As most road runners know, running on a treadmill, especially for longer distances, can be difficult, tiring and most of all, boring! But the prisoners were all determined to show what they are made of and all said that running has kept them sane in prison.

Hendrik Slippers, a member of the Offenders’ Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, who helped to organise the event, says the prison has its own running club called Central Boys Club, with about 50 members. “All of us in here did something wrong, but we can’t go and just lie down while in prison. Sport helps with discipline and takes people away from bad things,” says Hendrik.

Wolfram proudly shows his running logbook that he has kept over the years in prison. In 2005 he clocked 1535.8km, in 2006 another 2004.5, in 2007 he covered 1007.4km and in 2008 he managed 1241km. In 2009 he ran 802.1km and last year 1004.6km. Wolfram was instrumental in starting ‘races’ in the prison after phoning Nick a couple of years ago and asking for advice on running. “When I don’t run, I can feel something is missing. Sometimes it is difficult to run on a treadmill for so long but we all still do it and enjoy it. Some weekends we run up to a marathon distance on a treadmill. My biggest dream is to one day run the Comrades.”

THE RACE
Wolfram, Sipho Khumalo and Stefaans Coetzee ran the full 50km Bonitas City2City Marathon and then relayed for the last 17km. The rest of the team broke into three relay teams which completed 22km each. They were accompanied by Nick, as well as Nedbank Runner Sibusiso Nzima and Bonitas Team Elite runner Aaron Gabonewe. While Nick’s relay team won the 67km race in just 3:31, solo runner Wolfram came a close second in 3:35.

Director of Offenders’ Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Fezile Sipamala, attended the event and was touched by the positive effect it had on the prisoners. “The event not only boosted morale at the prison, but has proven a good example of how sport can help prisoners channel their energy towards a positive outcome.”

Nick was delighted with the performance of the athletes on the day. “They have worked so hard for today and achieving their goal has given them some hope for the future and something to look forward to when they finish serving their sentences and return to normal life. It was an uplifting and emotional day for us all.”

The team plans to run more marathons in the future and Nick says more inmates in the prison are becoming interested in taking part in the training and working towards this goal. “We hope that Madiba, as a former prisoner and keen sportsman, would be proud of what these men are trying to achieve,” he says. The entire team signed a birthday card for Madiba, which was delivered to him.

The Pretoria Central Prison athletes also recently completed the Two Oceans 56km marathon, also on treadmills. The runner with the best time clocked in at 4:05, missing a silver medal by just five minutes.

Bonitas City2City Ultra-marathon
With just two months to go before the start of the 2011 Bonitas City2City Ultra-marathon, many of South Africa’s top runners have started intensifying their training for the event. Last year’s defending male champion, Zimbabwean Prodigal Khumalo, is back this year to defend his title. Prodigal, who is part of the Mr Price team, finished the race in 3:11:14, just 24 seconds ahead of countryman and Nedbank athlete, Brighton Chipere. The top female runner from 2010, South African Riana van Niekerk, whose finishing time of 3:34:40 beat Julanie Basson’s 3:45:32, also has her eye again firmly on the top prize.

The Bonitas City2City Ultra-marathon boasts total prize money of R200 000 and the country’s top running teams, including Nedbank, Mr Price, Toyota, F1 Bluff Meats and Bonitas, have begun training in earnest, aiming to set themselves apart at this year’s event. Bonitas Team Elite’s Farwa Mentoor says she has set her sights on gold, having finished fifth in the women’s category at the 2011 Comrades Marathon and being the first SA woman home.

But it’s not only the top runners who are getting in shape for the big day. Runners entering the 21km and 10km City2City races should begin training as soon as possible to get the most out of their race day. A specially designed training programme can be downloaded on www.city2citymarathon.co.za, along with valuable tips on how to prepare for the big event.

Entry forms can be downloaded from www.city2citymarathon.co.za or completed online at www.entrytime.com. Entry forms and race numbers for the 2011 City2City Marathon are now also available at Sportsmans Warehouse and other selected sports stores. Entries received before 1 September for all distances will receive a commemorative race T-shirt and goody bag. Enter online and you also stand the chance of winning a package trip for two worth R120 000 to run the New York Marathon.

In 1991 at the age of 36, I was a mother of three young children and an occasional smoker. In July of that year, I was persuaded to join The Run/Walk for Life (RWFL) programme by a family member in order to stop smoking and it didn’t take long for me to be hooked. Something about exercising outdoors, walking the beautiful streets of Johannesburg, admiring the gardens and seeing the seasons change, as well as the camaraderie of talking to fellow walkers, made this an entirely pleasant and rewarding way of spending time. Up until that point, I had always played team sport and did not consider myself very competitive, but I soon discovered my competitive spirit.

I sort of knew how to race walk, but I realised if you wanted to go fast and be competitive, mastering the proper technique really is the only way to do it. Luckily, I picked it up easily and I really embraced the rhythm of walking. I did my first 10km road race on 10 October 1991 in a time of 71 minutes and I was the second walker home. Kay Cotterell, my RWFL branch manager then encouraged me to go to a clinic organised by Norman Janet, a local race walking expert. He coached me for two years and worked a lot on perfecting my technique and encouraging me. At the end of 1993 I attended another clinic, held at the University of Johannesburg (RAU at the time). This proved to be a turning point in my walking career, because I met my second coach, Dawid van der Merwe there. ‘Oom Van’ had ambitious plans to make me a Springbok, and as he pointed out, I had left him very little time to do it.

CHAMPIONSHIPS, MEDALS AND RECORDS
In September of 1994, I walked for the then Transvaal team in the National Road Walking Championships in Cape Town and won the silver medal in the 20km walk, in a time of 1:57:28. In April 1995, at the age of 40, I earned my National Colours as part of the South African team at the 17th IAAF/Reebok World Race Walking Cup in Beijing, China. Even though we were completely outclassed by the amazing speed of race walkers from other countries, it was a most wonderful experience. I did my 10km race in a then personal best time of 53:35 and became totally committed to the sport of race walking, and highly motivated to discover just what my potential might be.

Since then I have walked all over my city, my country and the world, and have won 33 SA national titles, nine gold medals at senior (all ages) National Championships and 24 gold medals at SA Masters National Championships (above 35 years old). I have twice been the All Africa record holder for the 20km event after becoming the first woman in Africa to break 1:50 on a 20km in Durban in 1996, before breaking my own records when I walked a 20km in 1:43 in 1998 in Naumburg, Germany. I have also broken 18 South African national records and in 2000 I broke the World Record in the 45-49 age group when I walked a 5 000m track race in Oudtshoorn in 24:14.

As a Masters race walker, I have won 12 World Masters Championship titles in distances of 5 000m, 10km and 20km. I won my first world title in 1997 in Durban, two more in Brisbane, Australia in 2001, and a further two in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 2003. In San Sebastian, Spain in 2005, I won another title, and in Riccione, Italy in 2007, I won three more gold medals, before winning another three golds in Sacramento, California earlier this year. These accolades have been wonderful, but they are only moments in time. What is important for me is that I get out there nearly every day of the year to enjoy my walking and enhance my life.

2011 IAAF WORLD MASTERS CHAMPS
I attended my eighth World Masters Athletics Championships in Sacramento, California in the USA from 6 to 17 July. A team of 32 South Africans participated along with 4 800 athletes from more than 90 countries, in a full track and field programme as well as cross-country, road race walks and the marathon.

Sacramento was in the midst of a heat wave and we raced in temperatures of over 40 degrees. I approached my races with caution to handle the heat and make sure that my technique was acceptable. There were 27 walkers in the 5 000m race (women 55-59) and I won in a time of 27:05. The 10km road walk was around a park and was shady with lots of beautiful trees, but with quite a steep camber. I was pleased with my winning time of 54:58 against 23 other women and a new SA record for age 55-59. At the 20km walk, my legs had not fully recovered from the 10km and we were walking on the same route, so this time I really struggled with the camber, but out of 11 women in my age group, I won my third gold medal in a time of 1:56:46.

In total the South African athletes attained 21 medals (five gold, six silver and nine bronze). Our walkers acquitted themselves very well, achieving seven of the 21 medals.

WALKING TO A BETTER LIFE
I believe that the quality of my life has been greatly enhanced by exercise. Physically, my health has improved in so many areas. My asthma is under control, my lungs are better than ever, and my medical practitioners are constantly impressed by my heart rate, blood pressure, bone density and the consistency of my weight. Not to mention my dramatically improved energy levels! Mentally, it has enabled me to have a significantly improved positive outlook on life due to the sense of empowerment accomplished by achieving exercise goals on a daily basis. It has also given me a sense of being in control of my life and responsible for my choices.

I am passionate about walking and race walking, and became the coach at the Wanderers Club because I wanted to give back to the sport that has given me so much. I really enjoy seeing my walkers grow from strength to strength and achieve their potential. I advise potential race walkers to join a club that has a walking section with its own coach, because it is much easier and much more fun to learn the technique in a conducive environment. A strong self-esteem is also required, as runners are prone to pass smart comments when you pass them on the road and you are walking faster than they can run, but many more will give you a compliment and show their respect for what you are doing. Once you get the hang of the technique, you will get a great deal of enjoyment from race walking. Besides that, there are all the fantastic physical benefits, as it really does tone the whole body.

LIFE LESSONS IN WALKING
My walking career has had good times and bad, and I have learnt from both. There are days when I don’t feel like going out and sometimes I don’t, but often when I override the ‘I don’t feel like it today’ feeling, I really get to enjoy the training session and feel better for the rest of the day. Experience has been a great teacher and I have grown and changed my attitude towards racing over the years, from the early days of pressure and expectation, to expecting to have fun out there when I race these days. I am excited and enthusiastic on the start line about how is it going to turn out today, and I often reflect in races that I am so blessed to be able to do what I love doing, and in such wonderful natural settings.

Being outdoors everyday and taking in the fresh air, the blue skies and the wonder of nature (even in an urban setting) has taught me so much about the human spirit. I can’t help but be uplifted and energised from walking. It has allowed me to grow and to challenge myself in so many ways, and the journey of each race has been insightful and revealing. Training and racing have brought a lot of joy into my life and really added much value to my life. It has given me a positive outlook, taught me patience, discipline, humility and how to take risks, and made me realise how resilient I am. I enjoy taking myself to “my edge” and see each race as an opportunity to find out how well my training programme is working. I am committed to giving my best in training and in racing, and my ultimate goal is to pursue excellence. If I walk away from a race knowing that I could not have gone any harder, then I am satisfied, no matter what the outcome, and this is really my biggest achievement in walking.

Sport has taught me so much about life, including the ups and downs of both, and on reflection, it has been an amazing journey over the last 20 years. I am so grateful for my good health, and the wonderful support I have received from my husband, children, extended family and friends, as well as my great team of coaches, physiotherapists, massage therapist, Pilates instructor and Tai Chi teacher, who have all contributed to my success.

Barbara’s PB’s:
3000m  14:34     Potchefstroom            1999
5000m  23:44     Port Elizabeth              1999
10km     47:53     Port Elizabeth             1999
20km     1:43:32  Naumburg, Germany  1998

Fanie Matshipa (33) lives in the small mining town of Steelpoort in Mpumalanga. Until recently he was a jockey on the local golf course but now works full-time as a maintenance operator at Samancor Chrome, making sure water levels in the mine’s several dams are sufficient. To make time for his training, Fanie combines his daily commute with running and he runs the approximately 10km to work every morning. When going home he takes a slightly different route and covers about 15km during his afternoon sessions. At home, there isn’t much time to train because he spends time with his wife and two young children, but he makes time for long runs on weekends, usually about 40km, or a little less than three hours.

When Fanie trains he is usually alone on the roads of Mpumalanga and has only his own determination to urge him on. Coached by John Hamlett, Fanie receives his training programme every Sunday but remains on his own for most of his running, with no-one shouting words of encouragement next to the road. He joins John’s training group about five times a year for a training camp in the mountains, but John says the fact that he doesn’t see his athlete every day is not a problem. “Fanie is a very committed, determined and fighting kind of guy, and if I tell him to run for three hours, I know he’ll do it. He doesn’t need someone to look over his shoulder.”

THE ATHLETE
After winning the 56km Longtom Marathon earlier this year in a time of 3:39, Fanie arrived in Durban determined to win the Comrades. He had run the Big C four times before, claiming three silver medals and taking his first gold last year when he finished in fourth position. His times had mostly been improving steadily since his first Comrades in 1999, and he was confident of doing even better.

Unfortunately, it was not quite to be, as Fanie explains he did not feel 100% on the day. Despite this he still pushed Stephen all the way to Polly Shortts, matching his every step for almost half of the race as they ran for a long time out ahead of the chasing pack. It was only about 10km from the finish that Stephen managed to pull away from Fanie, his greater experience and strength shining through and eventually being the difference between first and second place. But Fanie is confident of returning next year and claiming the title for South Africa, now that he is more experienced. “With about 30km to go I had to work hard to keep up. It is a tough, tough race and Stephen only beat me in the last 5km. I think I can go faster and next year I want to be back and win the race for South Africa. I want that cup!”

THE COACH
Fanie has been training with John for almost three years now and says his running has improved significantly because of it. “When I don’t train with a coach, I don’t run as well, I need a coach to help me run better.”

John remembers when Fanie first approached him. “He was all over the place at the beginning and it took some effort, but he’s gone from a mid-range athlete to top class. He was really struggling financially back then and couldn’t even feed himself properly at times. He has a fulltime job now and a bit more money, and that has helped him to focus better. Last year he finished fourth at the Comrades after an intense eight-week training programme in the mountains and one year later he came in second. I honestly think he should have won this year, but Stephen wanted it more. Saying that, I think anyone who wants to win the Comrades next year should know that Fanie will want it more and he is going to be a huge threat. He’s very committed and determined, and I have no doubts that he can win it in 2012.”

FANIE’S COMRADES:
Year   Direction   Position  Time
1999   Down           122nd       6:38
2006   Up                18th          5:58
2008   Up                274th        7:16
2010   Down           4th            5:39
2011   Up                2nd            5:34

Born and bred in Bloemfontein, Kate loved all things sporty from an early age. She started running at 11 and earned provincial colours for cross-country within a year. Provincial colours for middle distances, road running, biathlon and swimming followed, as well as national colours in biathlon. When she was 17, she switched to triathlon when the sport was accepted as an Olympic sport. “I first thought that I would try to compete at an Olympic Games as a track athlete, but when triathlon made its debut at the Sydney Games in 2000, I realised all I needed to do was add cycling training to my swimming and running combination, and then perhaps I could fulfil my Olympic dream. I started competing in triathlons that year and have been hooked ever since.”

She was very successful on the local triathlon circuit in her first five years, but it was only in 2005, after completing her B.Com degree at the University of the Free State, that Kate entered the international professional circuit. She qualified for the Olympics in 2008 and managed 32nd place, but it was in 2010 that she really turned heads as she achieved fantastic results on the International Triathlon Union (ITU) circuit. In that year’s World Championship series, she never finished lower than 12th, with her best results being fourth place in Hamburg and at the Triathlon World Cup in Australia. This successful run started when she won the African Triathlon World Cup event for the first time in 2009, becoming the African Triathlon Champion and defending her title successfully in 2010 and 2011. Unfortunately, 2011 has not been as successful and Kate is working hard to get 2010’s form back in time for next year’s Olympics.

TOUGH TIMES
Kate admits it is hard to stay motivated sometimes, especially when things aren’t going her way. “It certainly has been a challenging year for me and I cannot pinpoint the exact reason why I am not racing as well as last year. I took four months off after the World Champs Final in Budapest last year, as I was injured, burnt out and demotivated, so I think it is just taking me a bit a longer to find my form again. In hindsight, this may be the best thing for me in the lead up to London, because if I continued to have the same form I had last year, I may have been burnt out by the time I got to London. I am definitely improving each day, but I have had to adapt my goals for 2011, and it has made me realise how fortunate I am to be living my childhood dream.”

It is Kate’s determination to succeed that has been the difference between being good and great. “I believe anyone can be anything that they want to be with proper motivation, hard work and discipline. I think exceptional people have a special talent for identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and can convert setbacks into future successes. This year in particular has been a disappointment compared to the breakthroughs I had last year, but I don’t see myself as a failure and I know that I just need to keep fighting hard. I believe that a true champion is one that can pick herself up from the difficult times.”

THE LOVE OF THE CHALLENGE
Now based in Australia and Switzerland after growing up in a tight-knit family, Kate admits it is sometimes difficult to be so far away from her family for so long, but she is still happy with her career choice. “I can honestly say that I really love my job and am passionate about what I do. It is very challenging racing on the professional circuit, as each year the level of racing gets tougher and you have to continually search for ways to improve, but I love the challenge. It is so tough to make sure that all three disciplines are on form and there are always areas where I need to improve. I also love the travelling and the camaraderie between the girls that I race and train with, but most of all I love the feeling of being fit and healthy, and the satisfaction of doing well in a race. It is difficult to describe just how awesome that feels.”

Kate says she wanted to be a professional athlete for as long as she can remember, and can’t imagine doing anything else. “It sometimes feels like I’m focussed on triathlon 170 hours a week, even though there aren’t that many hours in a week! Once I break down swimming, cycling, running, gym work and other technical drills, it works out to around 30 hours of physical activity a week. My naps are very important to me, so I always put aside at least two hours a day for nap time. There is just something so appealing about inactivity to someone who is forced to be energetic for a living! Of course, I get those days when I am extremely tired and just want to stay in bed, watch movies and eat chocolate, but I don’t have too many of these. On the whole, I love training.”

2012 AND BEYOND
The 2008 Olympics was one of the highlights of her career, says Kate. “To me, the Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself. I consider being an Olympian very special and something no-one can take away from me. I was able to achieve my childhood dream by competing in Beijing and it was an absolutely amazing experience, but I believe that I can improve on the 32nd position I achieved, so I am giving everything to get to the start line on 4 August at Hyde Park.” However, Kate says she does not just want to make up the numbers in London. “I am working hard towards an Olympic medal next year. I realise it is going to be a tough task, but anything can happen on the day and I certainly will be fighting hard to get onto the podium and make my country proud.”

While her focus is on London at the moment, Kate finds it exciting that she doesn’t know what she will be doing after that. “I aim to do what makes me happy in life and live with no regrets. After next year, I will take some time off from international racing and reassess in 2013 if I want to go for the 2016 Olympics. I would like to have more balance in my life post-London, and that will influence whether I can get to another Games or not. I do know I would very much like to get involved in mentoring up and coming female African triathletes, as I believe we have so much talent that is not being recognised at the moment. But at the end of the day, I just want to be happy and have no regrets about my triathlon career.”

Martha Mokobe grew up in Hammanskraal, just outside Pretoria, and moved to Johannesburg in 1991. She moved in with the Rogers family in Craighall Park 13 years ago when they employed her as a domestic worker, and says at that stage, she had never run before, describing herself as being “very lazy.” Like many women, it was her dress size that convinced her to take up running in 2000. “I wanted to lose weight because I was fat, I was wearing a size 38. I started running, but I wasn’t very serious about it, and sometimes I trained, other times I didn’t.” This routine continued for some time before Martha’s employer Michael Rogers, asked her one day when she returned from a run, if she had joined the local running club, Rand Athletic Club. “I said no, because I didn’t have the money, then he gave me the money and I joined the club. That’s when I started getting serious about running!”

Now she says she has been a member of the club for so long she can’t even remember when she joined! “The people at the club are very friendly and I’ve made many friends there. I run the club’s time trial every Tuesday and in the mornings I run with one of the training groups. We start from the local gym at 5:30am, run for about an hour and by 6:30am I’m back home. Then I take a bath and start work by 7am. I have made lots of friends thanks to running, including my best friend Mmapula Seshabela.”

Martha remembers her first race being a 15km in Pretoria. She finished in a time of 2:14 and says it was hard, so she just ran slowly, but since then she picked up the pace and gradually graduated to longer distances, culminating in finishing the big daddy, the Comrades, for the first time in 2007. “I started slowly with the 15km, then I ran 21, 32, 42 and 50km. I did the Two Oceans in 2007 and then I decided I want to run the Comrades.” Martha has now run five Comrades Marathons, earning three bronze medals and two Vic Claphams, and she hopes to earn her green number in 2016.

COMRADES MEMORIES
“The Comrades is a special race, I love it. I can still remember my first one. It was nice and I was excited because I didn’t know the route and I didn’t know what to expect. I ran the whole race with my friend Mmapula, we started together and finished together and that made it very special. Now I don’t have to run it with someone anymore, I can go on my own if they go too slow or too fast, and sometimes I can even help other people next to the road. I like the Comrades, it’s far but it’s nice. There are lots of people on the roads and lots of supporters, so I enjoy it. Every year when I finish and I’m tired and hurting, I say ‘no more, I’m not coming back and doing it again’. But then, when the injuries are better and the tiredness is gone, I decide I’m going back again. I don’t think I can go any faster and just want to finish another five Comrades to get my green number.”

Despite all the pain associated with the Comrades Marathon, Martha admits she prefers longer races over short distances. “I like the long races like marathons because with the short ones you have to run too fast. I like long runs, where I can just go slowly.” She is also most definite that she prefers the Comrades Up run. “I hate the Down run, it hurts too much. You have to train harder to run up, but it is better than running down, because it doesn’t hurt as much.”

A HELPING HAND
She knows she would not have been able to come this far as a runner without the encouragement and support from her employers, Michael and Suzanne Rogers, and is very thankful for their support. “My people help me a lot to run because they see it is a thing I love to do. They help me to fly to races that are far, like Comrades and Two Oceans and when I have an injury, my madam, Suzanne, tells me what to do because she is a physiotherapist. She tells me if I should stretch something or rest something, and then it helps me.”

LOVING IT
Martha gets excited as she speaks about her sport and says the main reason she does it, and continues to do it, is because she loves it. “I really enjoy running. When I’m running I’m not thinking about nothing, I’m just enjoying the running. I clean the house, do the washing and ironing, and look after the children, so I’m busy with lots of work and I need to run to relax. Sometimes you’ve got stress and you go there and run, and when you come back all the stress is gone, you feel tired and you just bath and get in bed and you sleep better. I don’t think I’ll ever stop running, even if I’m old, I like to do it. It’s strange, because I never ran in school, I was lazy. I never thought I would do this now when I’m old! But I love going out to races, because I can go out with my friends and we enjoy it.”

She is eager to share her running advice with others. “You must enjoy the road and keep telling yourself you will finish, then you will. My advice for people when running Comrades is to just go slowly and don’t tell yourself you want to run a certain time. I just always want to finish a race, no matter what my time is.” But she admits that she always pushes herself to finish a 10km in under an hour. Her PB for the shorter distance is approximately 54 minutes, while her marathon PB is 4:15.

LIFE-CHANGING
Through her running, Martha not only lost the weight she wanted to – she went from a size 38 to size 32 without going on a diet! – she also stopped drinking and saw parts of the country she had never seen before. The first time she was in Cape Town was when she flew down to run the Two Oceans, and the first time she saw Durban was when she arrived there to run the Comrades in 2007. Similarly, she has also travelled to Zimbabwe to run the Two Countries at Musina Marathon, and she ran the Longtom Marathon in Mpumalanga, all places she would likely not have seen if it wasn’t for running.

She remembers how she used to drink quite often before she started running, but says since she hit the road, she doesn’t touch alcohol anymore. “You can learn something from running, because before I ran, I used to drink, but when I started running, there was no more drinking. Before, when I saw my friends we used to drink, now I have other friends and when we get together we only talk about our training, where we’re going to run next, which races we’re going to go do, and we plan our weekends. Running changed my life and I’ll never stop doing it. I love it!”

Martha’s Comrades Times
2007 10:56:19
2008 11:00:15
2009 10:48:19
2010 11:16:24
2011 10:48:44