Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 20

ROAD RUNNING
Having worked hard to become a regular age-
group podium finisher in races, Lisa Fernandez
became concerned when she noticed a marked drop in her
running energy levels. She was devastated to receive a
diagnosis of leukaemia, but used her training, research and
running experience to make a stunning recovery and return
to running. This is her story.
I
n 2015, at the age of 44, I started running for Kyalami Running Club, having
only previously run 5km or 6km for health and fitness. I was soon running 21km
races and loved it. In 2016, I took the next step and trained for my first marathon,
which of course had to be the Cape Town Marathon, my home town. I was getting
stronger and my 21km times improved, and to my surprise, I started placing in my
age group at the Joburg and Pretoria races. I had last run competitively at school,
and it felt really good to be up on the podium again.
In 2017 I trained for my first Comrades. I had told my family that I would never
do anything as crazy as run Comrades, but I remembered a promise that I had
made to my dad, who had been diagnosed with vascular dementia. We would
watch Comrades together in the 1980s, and I had promised him that I would run
Comrades one day. I knew I had to keep that promise while he still knew I was
running it. I completed the Up Run and loved every minute of it, and sobbed when
the medal was put around my neck. My dad congratulating me made the training
and running 87km all worth it, because it was so special.
I was definitely stronger and fitter after running Comrades, and I was placing more
often, the highlight being a first place at the Wanderers Aucor 21km. I was training
hard, pushing myself to become faster, and I knew that I had to start fuelling my
body more effectively. Eating healthily has always been incredibly important to me,
and now I began using and learning about the benefits of ancient superfoods such
as maca, chia seeds, hemp seeds, lucuma, moringa, baobab, beetroot, rhadiola and
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ISSUE 124 NOVEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za