Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 113, December 2018 | Page 9

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
THE PEOPLE’S MARATHON
On Sunday 4 November, a day after my 38 th birthday, I toed the start line of my second Soweto Marathon, nine years after
making my marathon debut at this event, and winning the race, in 2009. Still busy with my comeback, this time around
the goal was not to cross the finish line first, but just to try and finish in the top10.
W
e had a ‘Kalmer team meeting’ the night
before the marathon to discuss which
family member was going to second me
where on the route. The plan was for Andre and Karli
to be at the 15km mark, my parents to be at the 27km
mark, Andre and Karli at 33km again, and then for
Christine to run the 21km as fast as possible and to
then support me in the final 10km.
The atmosphere on the start line was electrifying,
with thousands of runners ready to start their journey
through the streets of Soweto. We sang Shosholoza,
the National Anthem, and then Shosholoza again as
we waited for the clock to strike 6 o’clock, and I made
sure my shoes were tied with a double knot as I tried
to see who my fellow competitors were. With all the
excitement surrounding the launch of the new Murray
& Roberts Running Club (and my birthday, of course), I
didn’t have time to study the start list before the race.
I spotted Irvette, Charne and all the ‘local foreigners’
like MamoralloTjoka from Lesotho and the Ethiopians
all running in their green vests.
The gun went off and I felt like Simba in a scene
straight out of the The Lion King, where Mufasa got
trampled by a herd of raging wildebeest. Luckily Simba (me) managed to stay on
my feet and after a kilometre of pushing and shoving I managed to find my rhythm
and start logging kilometres at my goal pace. My aim was to run as comfortable
and for as long as possible at 4:00 to 4:10min/km. My first milestone was to
hit double digits, and at 10km I told myself it is only 5km before I see my lovely
husband and daughter. At around 10km my Cape Town Marathon partner, Altus
Badenhorst, caught up with me and I shared my goal with him as we ran together. I
got new energy when I spotted Andre and Karli at the 15km water point, and Andre
confirmed that I was on target, and that I went through 10km in 10 th position.
again I had ‘communion’ with my fellow runners,
sharing my energy drink around.
After the last nasty “little hill,” I was very relieved
to finally get up close and personal with the FNB
Stadium and to finish the marathon in the iconic
stadium. I was delighted to come home in seventh
position in a time of 2:57. I’m in total awe of Irvette
van Zyl, who defended her title in fine style with a
new course record of 2:33:43. That’s a remarkable
performance, considering the tough course at
altitude.
Highlight Experience
I loved every minute of running the streets of Soweto
again, and there is a reason why they call it “The
People’s Marathon.” On one corner you will find a
guy with two quarts in the hand supporting you,
still in good spirit (and spirits) from the party of the
night before. On the next corner, a couple will be
supporting you on their way to church, and all the
township kids come out to hand out water sachets
or to collect high-fives. It’s a great celebration of
running!
Later that same day the ever-smiling Gerda Steyn had the whole SA running
community on the edge of our seats when she smashed her PB by six minutes
to clock a blistering time of 2:31:04 at the TCS New York City Marathon.
That’s definitely one of the Major Marathons that is still on my bucket list, so
#watchthisspace!
Support on the Road
At the 27km mark my parents were missing in action, so I decided it was time to
use my backup GU that I stuck in my crop top for an emergency. I was delighted
to spot them 2km later down the road, and once again I was recharged with new
energy, not only from the energy drink. I reminded myself just how lucky I am to
have such an amazing family and support structure.
At the 33km mark, Andre and Karli were once again on duty, with my pink adidas
water bottle. I shared my energy drink with Altus and the rest of the guys around
me. I know they say you should never try anything new on race day, but with less
than 10km to go, when your glycogen stores are depleted, you are desperate
to either avoid “hitting the wall,” or to get over the wall, and the guys happily
accepted. I spotted Christine with 5km to go, with my last energy drink, and once
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