ROAD RUNNING
Crane , he said go up to 40 , and then the ball is in my court . He said , if you want to finish , you can , but you don ’ t have to . But if you want to , you can .
Cian holds her own at the shorter distances against the best of Africa
I wanted my first marathon to be fast , I wanted it to be special , something that I ’ d remember , so going through the halfway point at Johnson Crane , I just had goosebumps . The people were screaming and shouting , and I was not just leading the women ’ s race , I was sitting 11th overall , and just having so much fun . My boyfriend was seconding me on the route , and when I got to about 25 kilometres , I said I was thinking of finishing . He said he thought I should do that , so I asked him to call my mum , so that I could bounce the idea off someone sitting somewhere else , and thinking logically at this point . Well , at the next water point he told me mum said go for it , so I said , okay , I ’ m ready for this .
I was cramping a little bit at 37 kays , and I knew kilometres 37 to 40 were a bit harder , but that the last two kays were downhill . So at 37 , I told myself , Okay , you already made the decision to go the full distance , you can ’ t cop out of that now . And you know it ’ s downhill from 40 , so just hang on to the planned number , and then you ’ re going to feel good again .
SF : As I recall , you crossed the line in 2:39 ? CO : Yes , that ’ s right . I just had the most amazing debut that I could have asked for . I think in that moment , I was like , I ’ m going off a feeling , and I just wanted it to be great , and it was . So , Johnson Crane was not just my marathon debut , it was a fun race as well !
SF : Let ’ s turn now to your incredible streak of running personal bests . The question I have is , does it ever get to you ? Does it put extra pressure on you that everybody calls you Miss PB ?
CO : No , it doesn ’ t bother me . In fact , I quite enjoy it . I think it shows that consistency pays off , and you are going to improve if you ’ re doing the right things . Also , I think people only put this pressure on you because they believe in you , and because they ’ re wishing for you to do well , so I try to see external pressure as something that ’ s not against me , but for you . That said , I ’ m not really setting personal bests at the moment because I ’ m focused on marathon training , so I ’ m not nearly as speed-focussed as when I am training for 5km , 10km or the half marathon .
SF : You often talk about your mum and your boyfriend James , so it sounds like you ’ ve got a really good support team in your camp .
CO : I think they believe in me so much . Last year , when I turned around to George and asked if he was sure about the marathon , he answered , yes , he thinks I can . My boyfriend was sitting next to me , and he said , I think you can do it , too . I then told my mum , and the first thing out her mouth was just belief and excitement . I think that ’ s been my whole running career … from family to teachers at school and coaches at varsity , I ’ ve always had people who believed in me .
I still live at home , and it ’ s a really nice thing with my mum , because she is also a runner , and understands a bit about it . Mum has done a number of marathons and the Two Oceans Ultra , and she has finished one Comrades , but outside of the 12-hour cut-off , and she started two others where she didn ’ t make an intermediate cut-off time . She actually only started running when I was in Grade 4 or Grade 5 , because she was taking me to training all the time . Before that we often used to spend our weekends flying remote controlled model aircraft , because my mom and my late stepdad did that , but then I started getting into running and I was doing well with it , and from there we also went into mountain biking and triathlons .
I see James every day , and we sometimes train together , because he competes in triathlons . Even if we don ’ t train together , we motivate each other , because we both understand the training structure , and the effort and discipline that needs to go into it . I think a good support system goes a long way for any athlete , and I think it is often overlooked how much support you actually need , especially when things are getting hard . For example , during my injury rehab after the Durban Marathon , I had to cross-train a lot , and I was doing two sets a day of two hours in the pool … and I don ’ t like swimming ! Some days I just did not want to get in the pool , but James would say ,
Coasting 18 in to a ISSUE 2:39 finish 172 | www . modernathlete . co . za at her Johnson Crane Marathon ‘ training run ’