Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 103, February 2018 | Page 9

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
SUMMER = SUN + RUN + FUN
I kicked off 2018 with a very happy heart filled with gratitude after a lovely December holiday shared with loved ones. Not
only did we spend our first Christmas as a family of three together, but I also managed to combine two of my great loves,
travelling and running.
T
QUICK CHANGE
o begin with, travelling with a nine-month-old
also gave us an excuse to do a slow, three-
day road trip down to the coast, eventually
arriving in Mossel Bay to spend the first half of the
holiday with Andre’s family. The first stop and run was
Richmond, where I was joined by some local kids on
my afternoon session while running 2km laps around
town. “Gaan Antie moreoggend weer hol? Ons sal
vroeg opstaan,” they asked. Unfortunately, the ‘auntie’
ran alone the next morning, enjoying the flat plains of
the Karoo, but it was only at breakfast that I realised
I caused quite a stir in town, when our waitress said,
“Sjoe, mevrou het omtrent gehol vanoggend!”
Our next stop was just outside De Rust, where we
visited our primary school teacher, Juffrou Maggie, still
running an amazing guest farm called Oudemuragie
at the age of 74. I will forever be grateful to her for
inspiring me to start running almost 30 years ago…
and what a journey it’s been.
RUNNING VACATION
Driving back to Joburg, we passed through Addo
National Game Reserve before a final stop in
Bloemfontein. We arrived in Bloem at 5:15pm, quickly
finding a guest house, checking in, changing into
running clothes (and also changing a nappy) and still
making it to the Runners Emporium time trial at 5:45.
Always funner with a runner… and while Andre took
Karli for a spin in her Thule pram, I could stretch the
legs after the time spent in the car.
Hartenbos Street Mile together, where Nicole Louw
won an exciting women’s race with a final kick to the
line.
After a lovely 10 days spent with the Van Wyk Ouma
and Oupa, it was time to do a road trip again to
Jeffrey’s Bay for a ‘Kalmer Kersfees,’ where Karli was
at her happiest just playing with a tiny strip of gift
wrap instead of all her gifts from Father Christmas.
What I enjoyed most about our time in Jeffrey’s is
the fact that Christine and I could train together. We
trained both early mornings and late afternoons, but
still managed to fit in a lot of time on the beach. We
also logged some solid long runs, finishing off the
year with a 37km run to St Francis. The scenery was
spectacular, and it was also a time to reflect on the
year that had passed, taking stock and setting goals
for 2018.
Another highlight of our time in Bloemfontein was
finally meeting and also running with blind runner,
Louzanne Coetzee, who recently made her marathon
debut at Soweto, running 3:31minutes. All I can say is,
respect! We did a session together the next morning,
running 15km at 4:30/km along with her guide, Claus
Kempen. I also admire his willingness to take on this
great responsibility, to ensure her safety and guiding
her between runners, traffic, etc. When asked about
this, he jokingly said: “I was a bit irresponsible during
my university days, so I guess it’s time to pay it back
now.”
Louzanne is an amazing person, and I am inspired and
motivated by her commitment and dedication, despite
facing huge challenges. And I’m full of confidence that
she will smash that T11 class marathon World Record
of 3:13:15 very soon. Till next month…
We arrived in Mossel Bay just in time for the Somerson
Half Marathon. I was grateful that I was able to run
21km again, and the first post-pregnancy win was an
extra bonus! A year ago, at six months pregnant, I had
to settle for the 5km dash at this event, and I remember
sprinting the last stretch on the sand with my ‘beach-
ball’ in my tummy to finish third, to the amusement of
myself and everyone watching the race. I was pretty
disgusted that I didn’t even get a handshake for that
final push – no pun intended! Guess you will never get
the competitiveness out of me…
It was also great to catch up with Elana Meyer
and Nolene Conrad while watching the Bestmed
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