Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 101, December 2017 | Page 12

MY GOAL
Athletes with a Cause
We have many athletes in South Africa hitting the roads and trails to raise money for or awareness of important, deserving
causes, and we want to give them the publicity they deserve for their efforts.
Servant of Development
By PJ Moses
W
hile supporting his brother Keith at the Winelands Marathon in November
1986, Bernie Temmers fell in love with the sport: “That is where the
running ‘gogga’ bit me! Running around on the Papegaaiberg during
the fun run, I was hooked.” In fact, he loved it so much that two months later he
signed up to do the Bay to Bay 30km in Helderberg Harriers colours, and smashed
it in a time of 2:01. “I decided after Bay to Bay to run the Peninsula Marathon, but
I was still a newbie, so I didn’t push the last few kilometres and just cruised home
in a time of 3:00:31. I still laugh at myself for doing that, especially because just a
couple of months later I ran a 2:45 marathon.”
At his peak, Bernie clocked 2:36 for the marathon, and earned three consecutive
silver medals in the Old Mutual Two Oceans 56km Ultra-marathon, but his focus
soon changed from running just for himself, to serving the sport he had come to
love. “It was never my intention to be involved in the administrative side of things
but I felt that there was a need for people to put up their hands and assist in taking
the sport forward.”
That saw Bernie and his brother put their shoulders to the wheel in the early 90s
when the sport of running in the Western Cape was reconstructed and amalgamated
at the dawn of a new democracy in SA. “I look at the healthy state of the sport
these days, and at the good structures we put in place back then at WPA, and I can
honestly say that I have absolutely no regrets in my decision to rather be the man
behind the curtain than the man in the spotlight,” says Bernie.
Development Goals
Feeling that he had made a substantial contribution to the Gugs club and knowing
the club and its runners were in capable hands, Bernie set off to do the same
Proud running
achievements
Bernie today in his Langa colours
thing at Langa Athletics Club. “Langa is the oldest township in Cape Town and we
need to nurture and develop a running culture there as well. I’ve been blessed with
people at my side who see the potential that I see, and are willing to invest in the
talent that Langa provides. I have high hopes for the future of running there.”
Unsurprisingly, all the success on the road required a lot of time and effort behind
the scenes, but Bernie says he was happy to make those sacrifices. “The running
world has been a big part of my life for more than three decades, with many nights
spent going from one meeting to another, then getting home at 1am and still having
to be at work by eight later that morning. It has not always been easy on me or my
family, but I feel it has been worth it. My daughter Tamlyn calls me her ‘Legend in
Running Shoes,’ and to me that is all the motivation I need to keep going. Nothing
has made me happier in my life than to see my kids be proud of what I have done
in running. None of my medals come close to that.”
Annual Must-Do Race
Bernie in his
Helderberg days
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ISSUE 101 DECEMBER 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Back on the road, there is one specific race that Bernie never misses, the Voet
of Africa in Bredasdorp in October. “That race is close to my heart, because my
grandfather was born and raised about 30km outside of Bredasdorp, in the small
town of Elim. Going to Voet is like a pilgrimage and keeps me in touch with my
roots. I did my first Voet at the age of 24 and my 30th this year at the age of 54,
and I’ll keep going back till I can’t run anymore.” This year, Bernie also dedicated
his 30th Voet to his late brother Lionel, who was always supportive of his running.
“He wasn’t a runner, but he was always there for me. I remember times where we
could only leave the morning of the race and Lionel would pick me up and take me
through to Bredasdorp so that I wouldn’t miss it.”
Behind the scenes, Bernie’s main focus has always been development, but he
disliked that the word was thrown around in the early days with no substance
behind it. “If I was going to talk development, then I needed to be part of the
process to actually implement the ideas. I therefore left Helderberg Harriers and
moved over to Gugulethu Athletic Club to help Marshall Moila steer the ship in
Gugs. We only had a few juniors back then, but now after many years, Gugs is one
of the biggest clubs in Cape Town and their runners podium on regular occasions.”