Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 119, June 2019 | Page 28

ROAD RUNNING
One of the happiest
people you are likely to
meet in races is Michelle
Williams of Cape Town,
whose exuberant smile and
laughter is sure to help pass
many a fun-filled kilometre.
– BY PJ MOSES
Enjoy
Every
Minute!
M
ichelle Williams admits she was an avid
goodie bag collector before she started
running. She had completed quite a few
10km walks, and says the goodie bags at these
events were a big drawcard for her, before the lure
of extra vitality points persuaded her to give running
a go. “A friend told me that you get double the
Discovery Vitality points for running than you do for
walking, so I decided to enter the Gun Run 10km race
as a runner and not as a walker,” she says.
“Little did I realise that the information the friend gave
me was actually incorrect, and that Vitality issues the
same points to runners and walkers. But after running
my first race, I was hooked, and even though I still
walk on occasions during races, I am a fully-fledged
runner now. It is amazing what a bit of false info can
do to change your goals!”
Born and raised in the suburb of Grassy Park
on the Cape Flats, Michelle has always been an
active person. At school she was a field athlete
and also played softball when she was younger. “It
unfortunately was not for me. I found that my hand-
eye coordination was not the best, and eventually
I stopped playing. Running has proved my saving
grace, though. It is the one thing that inspires me to
get out of bed every day, and the desire burns bright
to make it to every start line that I can.”
Now a veteran of over a hundred 10km races
and almost a hundred half marathons, plus a few
marathons and ultra marathons thrown in, Michelle
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ISSUE 119 JUNE 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
certainly feels that she has found her path in life, and
her people. “Running is one of the best things that
has happened to me. It has helped me find my
passion, and allowed me to live it, all while
discovering who I am as a person, with
each sweaty step forward!”
BIT OF A ROUGH START
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing
for Michelle in the early days of her
running. There were a few times that
she questioned herself, and this new
lifestyle, but as Billy Ocean sang in
his famous song, “When the going
gets tough, the tough get going,” and
Michelle would not let a few hiccups
stop her from achieving her goals. “My
first half marathon in Atlantis was very
tough. I started out well, but it became tougher
after the halfway mark, and by the time I got
to the 18km mark I just sat down on the side
of the road and started to cry. I felt like I had
failed myself, but then a fellow runner got me
back up and guided me over the finish line
to my first half marathon finish. On that day I
learnt that running is not always easy, but it is
definitely worth it.”
She says she loves new challenges, and the
bigger it is, the more excited she is to take it
on. “I have been part of the 1000km Challenge
for the last few years, and it has helped me
push my limits and get out of my comfort zone.