Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 24

The Right Choice
I have always been a sportsman, and so in May 2017
I made the decision to start running. My first 10km
race was the UWC Fast & Flat, which I did in a time
of 43:24. It was tiring, but I wanted to go out again
and run some more. Just four months later I broke
40 minutes for the first time, and I still went on to
a 12-hour challenge that same day, starting three
hours later than the rest of the field, and still winning
it after doing 83 laps, which was 83km! I want to
taste victories like that again, so I am still pushing my
running limits!
In the meantime I had joined Brackenfell Athletics
Club and my heart began to grow again as I made
friends in my new club and on the road, like Candyce
Hall, who was always there with advice and help if an
injury came up. It is such a delight when she is in the
pack running marathons, always positive and knows
exactly what to say and when to say it. And Danette
Smith, who saw the potential in me, helped me along,
and became a really good friend. I ran a few races
with her as well, including my first sub-3:00 at the
Peninsula, with her right by my side. I also had a big
reward in my first year as Brackenfell’s Novice Runner
of the Year. I will always be grateful to the club,
who took me in, and their support has been almost
overwhelming.
As I said, I have my first Two Oceans and Comrades
medals, and I recently entered them both again for
2019, because I enjoyed them so much that I want
to do it again and again. But I want to up my game
for an even faster marathon time, to set another
benchmark, so I’m hoping for a sub-2:50 at the Cango
Marathon. My recent times are looking good for that
target: I smashed a 2:04 at the Bay to Bay 30km,
24
and at the tough Red
Hill Marathon I took
my 2017 time of 3:38
down to 3:19!
Chasing the
Dream
This running journey I am
on has only just begun, as
I’m now chasing a goal I never
thought would be possible,
but has become a big dream of
mine. That idea came up when I was
jobless, struggling financially, without a
matric, and did not know what I wanted to
do, so I decided why not wait for something
big and in the meantime focus on my sport. And
then it hit me: That’s exactly where I want to be, on
the road and working in the running community, so I
can concentrate on my running fulltime while working
for runners. Running is my life and my passion, so that
would be the biggest gift and blessing ever, and I pray
about it every day.
From now on the social time on the run is gone. I
want to become a serious runner, and I want to go to
the top, first by going semi-elite, and then attaining
elite status. I have never had a coach or help with
my training, just bits of advice that came my way,
so I have been tracking back through Oceans and
Comrades videos to observe what the top elite
runners do, because I am preparing myself for a very
good time, to get the support to actually go for the
big wins, which will include running for one of the elite
clubs. Also, I’ve never been overseas, but my dream
is to run the Berlin, London and Boston Marathons at
least once in my life.
My other goal is to help others by sharing the story of
my journey, and I have been reaching out to the many
children out there having the same problems I had
with drug abuse. I was one of them, but I have gone
from a past of drug abuse, to running for every single
ISSUE 115 FEBRUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
one
that
struggles
with drug abuse, and
that is thanks to the Lord who
has given me the strength that helped me
to let my story of a rejected boy become a story about
a runner who loves his life and never gives up on his
dreams.
Best Decision of my Life
After seven years of changing my life around, it’s the
running community that has helped me so much in
finding and chasing my new dreams. Nobody knows
what the future holds – every day is what you make
of it, and as a runner it means to give it your all, race
after race. That is exactly what I did. From being
on my own, and starting outside the group, running
became part of my life and my journey. It has been
hard at times, but every time I look at my watch on a
Friday and it says 16:00, I know the weekend awaits,
and I cannot wait to get to the races. Running is a
blessing, and every time I take a run, that is my sweet
victory.
“no matter how hard it
gets, you push on until
you get over that finish
line, and then when you
do, you carry on going:
hero, and his advice to me was always that I should
never give up – that no matter how hard it gets, you
push on until you get over that finish line, and then
when you do, you carry on going. I still miss him
today, but I am blessed and stronger thanks to him,
allowing me to stand up and fight on.