Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 128, March 2020 | Page 8

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
LOVE ON THE ROCKS
Last month I wrote about February being the “Month of Love,” and the reasons why I love running. I truly believed that
our relationship was going somewhere again, but boy, oh boy, did running come back to disappoint me. So I felt the
need to write to my long lost love…
After years and years of commitment and investing time in our relationship, I am sitting
here on Valentine’s Day all alone, writing you this devastating letter. Things have been
serious between us for so long, and now this… I can’t believe it! Why do we need to
take a break? Well, let’s put it this way… It’s not ME… It’s YOU!
It’s an Olympic year, and I was planning on qualifying later this year and competing at
Tokyo 2020. But now all plans have been torn apart by YOU sending me an injury and
subsequently another hip operation. Thanks for nothing! Yes, we’ve had our ups and
downs, but to do it this way…
Yes, on 13 February 2020 I had another hip arthroscopy, to remove scar tissue left from
my operation back in 2016. Your timing couldn’t have been any worse, as I am now out
of running for two to three months before hopefully slowly getting back into running after
that. I was just getting back to my normal self, starting to enjoy running again, getting
back onto the podium, etc. I also had a great December holiday of training… and come
to think of it now, I should rather have invested in some kind of holiday romance with
another sport, knowing that you would leave me out in the cold once again.
Since the start of the year, things just got worse and worse… I didn’t get proper sleep
because of all the pain you caused me, but I simply kept on trying. “Never give up.
Never, never ever!” I kept telling myself. So how could you do it to me? I guess I should
have seen the signs, but I kept on believing that we could work through our issues.
Was it the distance perhaps? I know we’ve been having a long-distance relationship
the last few years, but I hoped that it could still work. Or is it the age difference? Next
year I will be running with a “40” on my kit, but let’s be honest, you have been around
forever, and you are certainly no spring chicken either…
Do you need some space? Are you seeing someone else? I must be honest, I have
been fooling around in the gym, with Watt biking, elliptical sessions and swimming, but
I’m doing it for us.
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ISSUE 128 MARCH 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za
You said you don’t want me to get hurt… Well, guess what you did? You say I deserve
better… But do I deserve this? You say you don’t see a future together, but some
couples run together into their 80’s. Don’t come to me with all these lame excuses. But
this will not break me! I will be back haunting you and proving to you that you won’t get
rid of me this easily. Another setback will simply mean another comeback…
And don’t tell me that “we can still be friends.” Friends don’t do this to each other! It’s
all or nothing, so let’s work through this… I am even willing to go to counselling with
you. I’m already seeing my doctors and physiotherapist on a regular basis, and I’m
committed to doing all my rehab exercises to try and save this relationship.
And no, I don’t want to see other people. We have been through so much together
that I truly believe we can work through this to come out stronger on the other side.
We have so many special memories that I will treasure forever. We have been travelling
overseas for the last 25 years, exploring all the wonderful places and meeting amazing
people that I now call my friends. In 2008 a childhood dream came true when I
qualified in the 1500m for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Four years later we
jetted off for the marathon at the London Olympic Games, and just four years later is
when everything went pear-shaped…
I’m writing you this to tell you how much I miss you, especially our early morning runs.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards
René
PS. I’m in it for the long run, and will love you forever!
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.
Dear Running