Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 102, January 2018 | Page 17

WALK
THIS
WAY
By Anel Oosthuizen
Comrades 2017...making
more friends along the way
arrived in Ladysmith literally at 4:30am, when the last buses to the start were
supposed to leave, but there was nobody in sight at the finish venue, and the field
next to the venue where we parked the year before had grass about two metres
high! I then drove to the start, and found nothing there either, but luckily I saw a
marshal and he told me the race had moved. I still made it in time to run.”
Julian says one of the highlights of his year is the annual Triple Challenge in
late January, where he and several running friends attempt three marathons in
24 hours. “About 11 years ago, we came up with the idea to run three official
marathons in 24 hours. We started with the Mielie Marathon in Welkom in the
Free State at 6am on the Saturday morning, then drove to Ottosdal in the North
West for the 5:30pm start of their night marathon. When we finished there,
around 10:30pm, we then drove four hours to Joburg for the old Glassfit 42
in Roodepoort. Some of the races have changed, and now we do the Akasia
race in Pretoria and Ottosdal on the Saturday, followed by the Johnson Crane
Marathon in Joburg on the Sunday. Some years we had as many as 10 runners
doing it together, and I see Hazel Moller is trying to get a big group together for
this year’s Triple, so it looks like being another really fun trip.”
FRIENDS WHO
BECAME FAMILY
I
have been privileged enough
to grow up among the amazing
people of the SA race walking
community… people who stand
by you, motivate you, and most of
all, laugh and cry with you. They
have shown me the true meaning
of kindness, compassion,
perseverance and caring and
through the years, they have
taught me what it is to be humble,
to motivate those around you,
and to set an example to those
who look up to you.
More Marathons to Come
With over 700 marathons and ultras under his belt and that 40,000km target
getting ever closer, Julian says he has another massive target to chase once he
has ‘been around the world,’ and that is to reach the 1000 mark in marathons
and ultras. “Not too many people have been able to do that, and I hope to get
there before I turn 65. Averaging around 50 marathons a year means it should
take me another six or seven years.”
Incredibly, Julian still has races on his bucket list, and actually gets quite
animated with excitement when talking about them. “I still want to run the Otter,
Addo and Ultra Trail Cape Town, and I want to tackle a desert race, like the
Augrabies, but I’m still a bit too busy for that, so maybe in 2019. I also want to
go do the Matopos race in Zimbabwe.” Most importantly, he says he will keep
running as long as the passion is there. “I still get goosebumps at the start of
races – the day that stops is the day I stop running.”
Looking at the variety of ages in the race walking fraternity, it varies from the very
young age of 6 up to the very respectable age of 92! I have competed against a
number of these people, and the start of other races is just not the same without
their jokes, which always seem to be funnier because of the pre-race jitters.
There are few opportunities in SA for all race walkers to compete together at
one event, and that makes the annual 50km Inter-provincial Championships so
special – and very close to my heart, because that is where my career as a walker
started! It was when the Champs were hosted in Oudtshoorn that I became part
of the race walking family as an 11-year-old girl. Since then I have competed at
them on a regular basis, and every year I seem to enjoy myself even more.
Julian with old friends at the Heroes Umtata Marathon
I have always been in awe that once a year our race walkers from all over the
country can get together and interact with each other as if they saw one another
just yesterday. I have also seen race walkers bloom and develop at this event,
with the motivation and encouragement of everyone there, and the Champs
always have an unbelievable vibe.
I have so much respect for everyone who is involved in trying to grow the sport
and develop young athletes into confident, successful race walkers, because
that is what the race walking community is all about. We compete against each
other and strive to be better, but we also take hands and motivate, and it is with
a thankful heart that I get to be surrounded with such amazing people!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Race Walker Anel Oosthuizen is a multiple SA
Champion and Record Holder, who represented SA at the 2016 Rio
Olympics. She recently completed a degree in B.Ed Foundation Phase at
the University of Johannesburg.
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