Shawn Combrink ’ s running journey began in Cape Town back in the early 80s when he found a training plan for the Two Oceans Marathon in a newspaper . He was already a social runner , regularly doing Saturday morning 5km Heart Foundation Fun Runs with a group of mates , but admits “ this was more an excuse to enjoy a few post-run beers with the boys .” However , when he started following the Oceans training plan , he says he was hooked . “ Unfortunately , I had to relocate to Johannesburg for work , which meant that I was not able to run that year ’ s Oceans after all , but in Joburg I continued running , joining a group of colleagues for a 10km run every lunch time .” In 1987 Shawn ran his first marathon – the old Pick n Pay Hyper to Hyper in Pretoria – which he managed to finish in 3:25 , even after arriving late to the start line thanks to the dodgy navigation skills of his running partner . He chuckles as he remembers painfully running the last bit of that race on the yellow emergency lane line . “ I was convinced that the paint would stop my feet burning , because it wasn ’ t as rough as the tar !”
Where ’ s Wally ?
At that stage , Shawn says he didn ’ t have any intention to run Comrades , and actually knew very little about the race , but a year after his first marathon , when a friend wanted to run Comrades before emigrating , Shawn agreed to run a section of it with him . They therefore started training and running races together , one of which was finally Two Oceans , and then they
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lined up at Comrades together . Content with the idea of running just the first 20km or so , Shawn says he actually got to the start line not really knowing what he was doing – mostly because he and his friends had enjoyed a great night out after experiencing the vibe at registration …
By the time Shawn and his friend got to Pinetown , he felt strong , so he told their seconders that he would continue running and meet them a bit further along . “ That was the year that Wally Hayward was making his long-awaited return to Comrades at the age of 79 , so I suggested to my friend that he only needed to run consistently until Wally caught up to us , and then he could just follow his pace , which would ensure that he finished on time .” However , they had just crossed the little bridge in Camperdown when they asked a spectator if he had seen Wally , and were told the great man had already passed that point about an hour before !
Seriously disgruntled , Shawn and his friend walked the next 5km trying to fathom what had happened to their strategy , but they continued running , and Shawn landed up crossing the finish line in 10:37:45 – nearly an hour after Wally – after deciding at each landmark to just go on just a bit further . “ I have to admit , I was overcome with emotion as I got to the top of the grass embankment overlooking all the gazebos at the finish line , just before entering the stadium . I realised that if I could do that , I could do anything ,” says Shawn , and it was exactly this attitude that saw him reach the Comrades finish another 11 times – and later saw him
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return to running again , when he thought he never would .
Back to Basics
Years later , after completing the amazing Marathon du Medoc ( a . k . a . The Wine Marathon ) in France , Shawn and his partner in life and adventure , Paula , were spending a few days on a barge in the French countryside , when he accidentally took a tumble from a jetty . Having seriously hurt his back , he resisted seeing a doctor for almost two months when back in South Africa , but says “ not even a brandy-painkiller combo could numb the pain , and so I was off to the surgeon , who explained that surgery was my only option , and that it would be a long road back to health . He added that I would be the only one to determine whether or not I would run again .”
As so many injured runners experience when they can ’ t hit the road , Shawn suffered a bit of depression after his surgery , but he was determined not to be another complacent couch-surfing-formermarathon-runner , as he puts it . He was advised by his physiotherapist to walk as much as possible , so he took to hobbling around the house and was soon venturing outside to see how he would manage a kilometre . “ It was 14 minutes of pain and discomfort , and I was flat on my back for the rest of the day , but it was also the beginning of my road back to running ,” says Shawn .
He challenged himself to complete a kilometre every day for two weeks , which then turned into a month ,
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Images : David Papenfus & Courtesy Shawn Combrink |