Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 20

ADVERTORIAL
Glorious
Comrades Debut
The black and yellow of Murray & Roberts Running Club made an astounding debut at the 2019 Comrades
Marathon. Our results included eight women in the top 20, several podium positions as well as first place in the women’s
team competition and a podium place in the men’s team competition. Quite simply, it was a superb debut. To get a
balanced perspective on the Comrades Marathon, it’s perhaps best to speak to a seasoned pro, and at Murray & Roberts,
we’re blessed to have someone just like that in six-time Comrades gold medallist and 2016 winner Charne Bosman.
We asked her a few questions about the race.
What did you learn from the 94th Comrades
Marathon?
CB: I watched the video and realised that what
happened to that male runner from Maxed Elite, who
went from ninth to 11th in the last 400 metres, could
have happened to me. It could have worked out so
differently. I could have lost consciousness and been
carried away, and not finished at all. At least I got
a gold medal again. It was in the end not the worst
result, it could have been so much worse. Once again,
I saw that one must always look at the positives.
Charne, tell us how the 2019 race was for you.
CB: I had a perfect build-up and my weeks in Graskop
at altitude were some of my best ever. Unfortunately, I
caught the flu a few weeks before the race, and I now
believe that it affected me in the last half of the race.
My white blood-cell count was low, and I probably did
not recover in time. Tests that have just been done
confirm this. It’s a bit of heartbreak after what was
such a good build-up.
I went up Inchanga and then realised for the first
time that I was not 100 percent. The power was just
20
What did I learn? Never give up... never, ever give
up. Your mind will tell you to stop 10 times, but just
keep moving, no matter how slow, from one pole to
the next. That’s all I did for the whole of the last 10
kays. That’s all I said to myself, over and over. Small
goals. That’s how you get it done eventually. Even
one kay away, I still did not know if I’d make it. In the
finish straight on the artificial grass, if I had not seen
the black and yellow shirts of team manager Dana
Coetzee and Daniel Grobler on the other side of the
line, I would not have turned the right way. (At one
stage, Charne was walking the wrong way) I was so
thankful that they were waiting for me. I guess that
also talks about the club and the bond that we have
at Murray & Roberts! It’s such an incredible club that
really cares for each other.
ISSUE 120 JULY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
What advice have you got for one of your
teammates, Jenna Challenor, who got a gold
medal on debut?
CB: I want to say to Jenna that I’m sure she’s now
discovered that this really is a race like no other in
South Africa. When I did my first Comrades, I wished I
had run it a long time before that. It’s just a race I want
to go back to every year. It was late in my career for
me, as it is for her, but she ran an amazing race, and
can still do very well at Comrades. It’s great what she
did on debut, and I can’t wait to see her run next year,
to see how she’ll go on the Down Run. It’s another
type of race, and she has lots of speed, so she’ll be a
contender for sure. Lastly, Jen, you are going to have
ups and downs at Comrades, but vasbyt and never
give up!
Lastly what’s on the Charne Bosman radar for the
rest of 2019?
CB: I’ve just realised that I cannot put all my eggs in
one basket, and after talking to my coach, Lindsey
Parry, I’ve set myself new goals for 2019. There are
still six months left of the year, and I’ve got lots of
running left in me, so I’m raring to go!
not there, and I knew I was in a bit of trouble. I was
lying seventh then. The second half just did not work
out for me, and from Polly Shortts onwards I was in
serious trouble. To be honest, from Polly’s I really did
not think I would make it. I still don’t know how I did. I
just bargained my way from one lamp pole to the next.
My brain told me to give up many times, but I refused.