Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 103, February 2018 | Page 14

ROAD RUNNING
Known for always running races with
a big smile, and still often finishing
on the podium, Candyce Hall is
also a driving force behind the fast-
growing Carbineers Running Club of
Cape Town, and recently took over
running Western Province Cross
Country as well… but it all started in
Pietermaritzburg. – BY SEAN FALCONER
Candyce’s dad John went on to run the race 12 times,
while her mom Eileen ran 10 to earn her permanent
number, using her father’s same race number 388.
Candyce continued that family tradition by taking
over her father’s number 2247 and she now has 14
medals to her name. John, meanwhile, turned his
focus to race organising, and today the Maritzburg
City Marathon and Capitol Classic are his “babies,” as
Candyce puts it, and her parents help organise a host
of other events as well.
SIMPLE
BEGINNINGS
Given her family’s running history,
Candyce ran her first 10km race aged
eight, but says she was very slow. “Later, I
ran my first half marathon at 16, and finished
stone last in 2:32, with the ambulance driving
just behind me!” She only started running seriously
while studying BA Human Kinetics and Ergonomics
in Grahamanstown, but she says she came to love
running far more than her academics. “Admittedly,
I was not a great student… I would run in the early
mornings, fall asleep in lectures, and then run in the
afternoons again. It turns out you can absorb quite a
lot when a