MULTISPORT control of about 1.5m in front of me . On the track I can bang out four minutes a kay easily , but on the road I ’ m lucky to do seven minutes a kay .”
Next Challenge , Please
At 31 Helen felt she needed a bigger challenge . “ I decided to run the Comrades , because that ’ s what you do in SA … I did lots of marathons , but for two years I couldn ’ t get any faster to qualify . Then in 2012 I began doing speed training , and got my marathon down to 4:30 . Starting my first Comrades was a big thing for me , but by 20km I felt exhausted and overwhelmed . I couldn ’ t overtake people because I have no depth perception , and then just before halfway I tripped on a cat ’ s eye and fell . I was covered in blood and my knee was really sore , but I carried on till Cato Ridge at 68km , where I eventually dropped out . It was only afterwards that I realised I had a broken bone in my hand and torn ligaments in my knee !”
Helen and Caroline cross the finish line in Kona
“ I went back in 2014 and finished the race , but again the start was difficult and I couldn ’ t cut across other runners to get water , so I did 30 to 40km without water . I ran it again 2016 , but by then I had already decided I wanted to do Ironman , even though I was terrified of the water .” In fact , Helen says just trying to swim in the pool left her literally unable to breathe from anxiety , but she still went to the Ironman in PE to help as a volunteer and see what the race was like . “ I heard people say look at the swimmers at the buoys . I couldn ’ t even see the water ’ s edge , let alone the buoys … and the people were doing 60 kays an hour or more on the bikes . I thought I could literally kill somebody if I did the wrong thing at that kind of speed !
Down , But Not Out
Feeling devastated , the PE trip made Helen realise she would need help if she wanted to achieve her Ironman goal . “ From a young age I had been told I would never be independent , or live by myself , but I had gained a lot of independence through running . It was therefore a huge thing to accept that I would need a guide and a tandem bike to do Ironman . That ’ s when I contacted Derick Marcisz , as I had several friends who had been part of his Dare to Tri programme . He very kindly offered to fetch me in the mornings and guide me in pack runs , and helped me find a borrowed tandem to ride .”
Kona Conquered
The Ironman World Champs race in Kona , Hawaii , is considered one of the toughest sporting events , and when blind triathlete Helen Webb crossed the Kona finish line this October , she added yet another chapter to an already impressive and inspiring story . – BY SEAN FALCONER
“ Now the challenge was to find a female guide , as per the ITU rules , and I needed somebody who could deal with my panic in the water , and also put up with my slow speed on the bike and run . In the end , we made a desperate plea on social media late in 2016 and found Desi Dickinson , an elite age grouper who said she wanted to give back to the sport . From the end of October 2016 , she dedicated her training time to me for Ironman 70.3 East London , and then Ironman Port Elizabeth . I had never expected to find somebody of her calibre willing to give up everything for me !”
Born with just 10 % vision caused by albinism , a congenital disorder characterised by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin , hair and eyes , Helen Webb has spent her whole life trying to change perceptions of people with disabilities . “ I was bullied at school and told that I was a monster , and even though that stopped when I reached my 20s , I still felt I was not good enough ,” she says . However , that all began to change when she set out to show what she could do , both academically ( she has a Ph . D . in chemistry ) and physically . “ Prior to running and triathlon , I felt like I was not really achieving much in life – it was just about how I viewed myself – but triathlon has helped me see myself as an |
|
|
|
extraordinary visually impaired person , and I hope my story will inspire others to do the same .”
Helen ( 37 ) was born in London , spent 10 years in the USA and then moved to SA at age 11 . Growing up in Johannesburg , she says she was not at all sporty . “ I was actually not allowed to participate in sport , because I had a severe lack of eye-hand coordination , on top of albinism , which meant I couldn ’ t spend that much time in the sun . Then in my early 20s a friend took me for a 5km run , and to my surprise , I didn ’ t die , so I began running , up to half marathon distance . I found that my eyesight was not an issue , but I ’ m not particularly fast , because I ’ m only in
|
When Helen went to East London in January , she was still panicking about the swim , and to make matters worse , the sea was so rough in the days leading up to the race that she and Desi could only do one short sea swim . “ I did that first swim in a panicked state , feeling like I was going to drown . I was actually incredibly lucky that Desi had lifesaving skills , because after just 300 metres I had physically given up and she had to pull me back in . Once back on the beach I collapsed from shock . That evening at supper I told Derick I didn ’ t think I could get back in there tomorrow , but he just said he wasn ’ t going to entertain my doubts , and that he knew I could do it … so I thought , why not .” |
Images : Finisherpix & courtesy Helen Webb |
14 ISSUE 101 DECEMBER 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za