THE SWEETEST WIN
Charne Bosman raced to victory in the 2016 Comrades Marathon , despite breaking her toe just a few weeks before the race , and we chatted to her about what it was like to claim her first Comrades title .
Q : Many people say that the path to winning the Comrades Marathon starts years before you actually win it . Is this true
for you as well ?
CB : Definitely ! To win Comrades was my
dream when I started running 24 years ago , and I always said to myself , “ One day when I am big I want to run Comrades and win .”
Q : What was the hardest moment of this
year ’ s run ?
CB : Physically the race wasn ’ t hard , it was
more of a mental struggle . When I got to 10km to go and heard Caroline was 11 minutes ahead of me , that was hard … I thought , oh well , second place again , but I just decided to run my own race and not to think about it . I had my husband Carel seconding me , assisting me every step of the way , and that really helped to keep me going . I couldn ’ t have done it without him .
Q : What got you through the last 20km of
the race ?
CB : The final stretch is mentally challenging ,
but you have to just keep going . With 15km to go I also had some Biogen Recovergen , which proved to be successful . It helped me push on to the end , and I wasn ’ t affected by cramps or anything .
Q : Take us through the last few kilometres of the race . What went through your mind
when you realised you were in the lead ?
CB : For me it all started at 4.5km to go . On
TV the route looks flat , but it ’ s actually quite a drop , and when I saw the lead vehicles ahead , I realised I would need to pass Caroline at speed , so if she chose to follow me , I would have the edge , having already built up speed . When I passed her , I kept looking back to see where she was , but there was so much noise around me , I didn ’ t know where she was , and the kilometre between 2km and 1km was the hardest part , because I was so scared that Caroline would catch me . I had asked Carel to wait at the 1km mark for me , so that I could know where she was , and when I got there he told me I was clear , that she wasn ’ t following me . Then I could breathe and enjoy the last kay .
Q : How did it feel running over that finish
line to win the Ultimate Human Race ?
CB : I could hear Chariots of Fire and had
such a big smile , I couldn ’ t believe what was happening . I just put my hands in front of my eyes as I crossed the line and cried , because it had taken so much to get there . It was a really sweet victory . Obviously , the person I most wanted to see at the finish was Carel , but because he had waited for me at 1km , it took him a while to get to the stadium . He is always the first person I want to see – he wakes up every morning with me , he comes to all my training camps , and he supports me in everything – so when I saw him , the tears were flowing , because I was so happy . We work as a team and it was nice to share that moment with him .
Q : Have you reached your ultimate goal by winning the Comrades , or do you still have
bigger running goals to chase ?
CB : One of my biggest dreams was to win
Comrades , and I would love to win another one . But if I don ’ t win again , it will be fine , because the first one will always be the sweetest .
Q : What are your plans for the 2017 edition of Comrades and what are your thoughts on this year ’ s campaign , Zinikele – It takes all
of you ?
CB : The race takes everything from you ,
so it ’ s very appropriate . For 2017 I am going to take a more aggressive approach to push myself , but I will still follow my own plan again , and focus on racing my own race . I need to get to the race healthy and injury-free , but I ’ m not worrying about anything , I am just going to do my own thing .
Images : Courtesy CMA
8 Comrades Training & Information Guide 2017