Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 112, November 2018 | Page 6
Have Your SAY
LETTERS
Got something on your mind that you want to share, a burning question you want answered, or a
good story to tell? Then send it to letters@modernathlete.co.za, and add a pic if you can. Letters
should preferably be no more than 300 words long, and pics must be high-resolution to be usable in
print. (Note that letters may be shortened due to space limitations.)
EDITOR’S PICK
Christine Pickup with
daughter Taralyn MacLean
at last year’s Old Mutual
Soweto 10km
MY RUN, MY LIFE…
I was inspired to run Comrades when in the late sixties
our family stopped to make tea with a primus stove
on our way to the Royal Show, and I got to see men
running all the way from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
How it that possible, I thought, are they superhuman?
Well, in 1985 I crossed the line in Pietermaritzburg, and
what an unforgettable feeling! My years on the road
have taken me 17 more times between Durban and
Pietermaritzburg, through the Karoo, and to the Two
Oceans, too many Spar Ladies races and so many other
road races. When the trail running bug bit, I also tackled
the Rhodes Ultra, climbed the ladder on the Mont Aux
Sources, huffed and puffed around Lesotho.
Each medal now hanging on my bathroom door ignites
memories, not just of the events themselves, but of the
hours training – alone, with my dogs or with friends –
and of the sense of achievement that comes from the
completion of a goal I have set myself. Running is an
itch that I have scratched all these years.
After my marriage of 31 years ended, with anger surging through my veins, I ran away
from the conflict in my home and heart, towards peace and a sense of calm that
descends whenever I am running with just my thoughts and dogs. I have run heartbroken
and tearful, barely tripping along with grief, but also joyful with good news tucked away
in my heart. I’ve run when sometimes, that is all I knew what to do with myself.
I have run with legs pumping and ears ringing with shots and the shouting of “Kill the
Boer” through the rainbow to a little school in the Karkloof Valley where I cast my vote
with locals. I have run to the beat of Flashdance on a Walkman, and to the tunes of today
on an iPod. I have run with my children, and dream of running with all my grandchildren.
I have run not only for the benefits of fitness and wellbeing, but for the sheer joy of being
alive in the great outdoors.
I’ve been a runner since I was a tot, and a runner I’ll be when I am teetering on the brink
between this world and the next. For I know I’ll be telling my elderly self this, “Go for a
run, old girl, running has never failed you before.” – Christine Pickup, Durban
Love your words, Christine, very similar to my attitude to running. I run for the views
and fresh air, the conversations and jokes, the camaraderie and friendship, and that
wonderful feeling after each run, that sense of achievement and enjoyment of being
alive, but also to give my mind a break from everyday things. And I also want to run all
the way through my journey. – Ed.
HAVE FUN, SUCCESS WILL FOLLOW
Two of my colleagues in the Fire Brigade were novices in the special Year
2000 Comrades Marathon. When they completed the race, I taunted them
for running that distance when they could easily drive there, until they
asked me a simple question, which had me on the back foot: “Do you
think you can run that distance?” The challenge was on and I found myself
running some crazy distances. I ran my first marathon, the Midlands
Meander in Howick in 2001, finishing in a time of 4:07. There and then it
was decided I would run the Comrades.
Training continued, but bronchitis and the theft of my running shoes
prevented me running Comrades that year. In 2002 I lined up with my
colleague outside Durban City Hall for the grand trek to Pietermaritzburg.
With loads of fun, wanting to bail at Camperdown, and telephonic abuse
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ISSUE 112 NOVEMBER 2018 / www.modernathlete.co.za
from my other colleagues near Maritzburg, I completed the journey
with assistance from my fellow firefighter runners and stood proudly at
the medal marquee in a time of 10:57. Challenge done, bragging rights
earned, and then running gave way to studying.
Fast forward to 2009, when I relocated to Gauteng and found a need to go
back to running, after many years playing football in the Veteran’s League.
I signed up with Benoni Harriers and ran my first Gauteng marathon in
2010. That Pick n Pay Marathon made me realise how popular running is
in this province.
I also wanted to do something for charity and started running races to
support the Pink Drive, hence my nickname became the Pink Panther. My
office colleagues donate money to my cause, and my company doubles
Long before I lined up at any official start, I ran. Nobody
told my three-year-old self that running would keep
me slim and trim, that it would be good for my heart
and great for my soul. All I knew was the sheer joy that
banged in my chest as the wind whipped through my
hair, my heart pumped and my legs ached. Since then
running has taken me all over the country and abroad,
from bustling cities to forgotten villages. I’ve run in rain,
snow, hail and scorching sun, along busy roads, up and
down mountains, through forest trails, off the beaten
track, up the captivating Wild coast, even on the Great
Wall of China.