Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 12

for the distance, and then getting tripped and falling
with 7km to go. The following year, I finished third at
Two Oceans, in one of the best races of my career. I
was lying ninth at Constantia Nek, but then I started
catching everyone. I was hammering it over the
last few kilometres, and if the race had been just
1km further, I could have passed Tabtitha Tsatsa for
second place... which would have meant I would
have become the winner when Natalya Volgina was
disqualified.”
With that really successful 2013 Two Oceans
debut still fresh in her memory, Charne then made
her Comrades debut, finishing fifth. Ultra-running
clearly suits her, and in the years from 2013 to
2018 she has earned four gold medals at Two
Oceans (finishing in positions 2, 5, 4 and 3, with a
best of 3:40:16 in that 2013 debut) and five golds
at Comrades, with an equally remarkable finishing
record of positions 5, 2, 1, 3 and 5, and a best of
6:25:55 in the 2016 Down Run, when she won the
race.
“In 2018 I was trying to do my long training runs
in races, and I think that was one of my mistakes,
because even if just training, you naturally go five
to 10 percent faster. Lindsey says he will join me in
some races this year to hold me back, and will keep
an eye on me to make sure I stick to what is planned.
I still won at Johnson Crane, and may go down to the
Cape for the Peninsula Marathon, but I am running
according to a strict plan. I learnt a big lesson in 2018,
that to do well at Comrades, you can’t race all the
other races. You have to train and race smart.”
Looking Ahead
Charne has been running since 1991 and says she
instantly fell in love with running the first time she
ran with her cousin. It also soon became apparent
that she had serious running talent. “When I was 16
years old, I did a VO2max test and they said I scored
69, which meant that I had lots of potential to be a
long-distance runner. They also said I was built like a
Kenyan, with long legs and a short torso, which gave
me still more encouragement.”
Even now at 43, she says she still loves the way
running makes her feel. Nevertheless, she has
reached that part of a pro runner’s career when one
inevitably has to begin thinking of what will come
next, when your competitive years at the top are over.
“You can’t run competitively forever, so I am already
thinking ahead. I studied teaching way back in the
day, then only taught for six months before turning pro
in 1998, but last year I actually updated my CV for the
first time in years because several schools asked me
to help them out as a relief teacher.”
“If schools need me again this year, I will be available,
as long as it fits into my training schedule, but to be
honest, I can’t see myself going back to teaching
fulltime. On the other hand, I can see myself as a
running coach, helping with children, because I love
to work with kids. I’m already coaching junior athletes,
and enjoy giving back in that way. Also, Murray &
Roberts are supporting the Vorentoe Academy, so
if there is an opportunity and they want me to help
there, I would love to get involved. I’ve actually just
done some coaching courses with ASA, and it made
me realise that I actually enjoy studying, so even
though it’s been a long time since my varsity days,
I may look for something to study after Comrades,
like sports marketing. You’re never too old to try
something new!”
No matter what the future holds, for now Charne says
she is still fully focused on her running. “The older I
get, the stronger I seem to get, so I do not see my age
as a barrier... but I do listen to my body more now. I
know what works for me, and of course, what does
not work. Experience has taught me to focus only on
what I can control, and that is running my own race.
My rivals must do what they need to do, but all that
matters to me when I cross the finish line is that I want
to know that I gave it everything I have. If I can tell
myself I did that, then I will be happy with the result,
no matter that my position is.”
worked for her in the past. In the build-up to her 2016
Comrades win, she won the Johnson Crane Marathon
and finished fourth at Two Oceans. In 2017, she didn’t
finish the Peninsula Marathon, but then took second
place at the Om Die Dam 50km. Last year, however,
she probably raced too much, winning the Johnson
Crane, Bestmed/Tuks and Deloitte marathons, as
well as the Sunrise Monster 32km and at Loskop.
This year she has already finished second in the
Dis-Chem Half, and followed that up with another
win in the Johnson Crane Marathon, posting a
new course record of 2:44:52, but she says she is
actually holding back.
Planning for Success
When asked if she would like to go after the win
at Two Oceans, to round off her collection of top
five positions in the race, she says no, because
Comrades is her main focus this year. “It would be
nice to win Two Oceans, but this year it’s too close
to Comrades. Last year I learnt my lesson when I
won the Loskop 50km in 3:22 and broke the course
record for veterans, then had my biggest training
week at altitude in Graskop the very next week. I
hadn’t actually raced too hard at Loskop, but the
big week on top of it broke me, and that affected my
Comrades.”
“So I will see how Two Oceans goes, but I will have
worked out with Lindsey what I need to do, and
then I will run a sensible race. If there is something
in the last few kays and there is a chance to win
it, as Caroline did, then I will go for it, but that is
not my main focus. Lindsey always says I need to
run certain times, and I am going to listen to him,
because I feel this year I have the opportunity to do
well at Comrades again.”
That careful planning also includes going back to what
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ISSUE 115 FEBRUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
“if you’re
hungry enough
for success, you
will get to that
start line. I’m
hungry again
this year”