Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 13

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
NO REGRETS
To say that my build-up to the 2019 Two Oceans Marathon in April was shaky would be a complete understatement.
“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” This quote from John Bingham perfectly
summarises my race experience!
I
have been toying with the idea to step up to ultra-marathons since 2016, but then
I was blessed with my beautiful daughter Karli, who was born just 10 days before
the 2017 Two Oceans. Later that year I convinced my younger sister Christine that
we should debut together at the 2018 Two Oceans Marathon. “It would be fun,” I
said. Unfortunately, a month before Oceans I was forced to withdraw from the Ultra
and downgrade to the 21km due to very painful calcification in my hip. I was very
proud of Christine, as she still went on to run her first ultra last year, and I also learnt
a lot from her first ultra experience, which was very painful the last 14km…
As I mentioned before, my build-up to Two Oceans this year was far from ideal,
and in my previous life as a pro athlete, I would definitely not have attempted
Oceans after missing out on so many crucial training sessions and long runs. I was
sidelined for most of January with a torn hamstring, and I missed out on a lot of
my favourite races that I normally use as long runs to log miles. Then three weeks
before Oceans I strained my calf while doing a 400m session on the track.
Throughout these setbacks, I forced myself to stay positive and held on to my
Oceans dream. I also kept Bruce Fordyce’s words of wisdom close at heart, that it
is better to toe the start line “overweight and undertrained,” than being underweight
and over-trained. I tried to maintain my fitness by simulating my training sessions
with cross-training on a Watt Bike, Elliptical Trainer or in the swimming pool. I was
only allowed to test the calf a week before Oceans with a slow jog, and I was truly
grateful that the run was pain-free and without any discomfort.
Tough Experience
Race day arrived and I was surprisingly calm­ — maybe it was just the calmness before
the storm. All the elite runners met at the Southern Sun Hotel at 4am, where we had
breakfast and exchanged some nervous chit-chat and smiles. On our way to the start
line it started to drizzle lightly, but the atmosphere was amazing with 13,000 runners
ready to take part in the 50 th anniversary of “the world’s most beautiful marathon.”
As the starting cannon went off, I exchanged some race goals with my Murray &
Roberts clubmate, Leilani Scheffer, and we decided to work together. We ran stride
for stride most of the way, handing each other water sachets at the water stations and
ticking down the kilometres one by one. Just before Muizenberg we were blessed
with a beautiful rainbow and just after that we got completely drenched in a rainstorm.
As the sunscreen ran down my face and burnt my eyes, I regretted not taking hubby
Andre’s advice to run with a cap. Nevertheless, the support in the pouring rain was
amazing and it was lovely to spot so many familiar faces along the route to UCT.
Going up Ou Kaapse Weg was not as bad as I expected, but going down was a
different story, and my quads started to rebel the rest of the way. I sighed with relief
as we turned on to Southern Cross Drive, because I was running on familiar ground
again, having completed nine Two Oceans Half Marathons, and I knew the end was
in sight with 10km to go. The thought of seeing Karli at the end of the race is what
kept me going those final kilometres.
Tears of Joy
I was overcome with emotion when I finally hit the grass fields at UCT. My goal for
Oceans was to finish with a smile and to celebrate my running career of the past
two decades, and that mission was accomplished! I had the best welcoming on the
finish line, with Karli running into my arms
to give me a big hug. She told everybody
after the race that, “Mamma het gewen”
(Mommy won). Sorry Gerda, who am I to
argue with a two-year-old?
To set the record straight, I finished 11 th ,
I missed out on a gold medal and a towel
by 60 seconds, and missed the silver cut-
off by 39 seconds... but I have no regrets,
and would not want it any other way.
I’m wearing my adidas race T-shirt with
pride, and I’m already looking forward to
experiencing Chapman’s Peak next year
when I return to the Two Oceans!
About the Author:
René Kalmer is a two-time Olympian, having represented SA in the 1500m at the
2008 Beijing Olympics and in the marathon at the 2012 London Games. She has
also won more than 40 SA titles in track, road and cross country at youth, junior
and senior level, in distances from 800m to the half marathon.
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