ROAD RUNNING
Ela Meiring running
the Race the
Comrades Legends
21km with her uncle
Life Lessons
on the Run
The year 2020 is turning out to be
a year of lessons for me, including
having to learn how to survive
with everything that is going
on, not just COVID-19 and the
lockdown. – BY ELA MEIRING
I
am a 17-year-old matric student who lives in
Robertson in the Western Cape, and I have a
passion for running. When 2020 started, I was
excited, since it was my final year of school. My Mom
also surprised me with tickets to watch the Match
in Africa between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal,
in Cape Town in February. That tennis match was
probably one of the best experiences of my life thus
far. Then things took a turn for the worse.
I read about COVID-19 in the news, but it wasn’t
headline news yet, since it was still only in China. I
thought they probably had things under control, but
they didn’t. It soon spread to other parts of Asia,
Europe and the USA. When President Donald Trump
announced that the USA was going into lockdown,
then I understood the magnitude of the problem.
announced that they were launching the Comrades
Race the Legends virtual race. It included a 21km
race, and now I knew that I had a goal in mind to train
for. Then another unexpected, life-changing thing
happened to me.
Caught by a Taxi
On the morning of 16 May, I went out for my Saturday
20km long run with my uncle, and around the 10km
mark, I was struck from behind by a taxi. Luckily I
passed out and can’t remember a thing, and I woke
up in the hospital, surrounded by doctors, nurses
and my family, heavily dosed with morphine and very
confused. My uncle told me that he was running in
front of me, and says the next moment I came flying
past him, with the taxi. He also told me that just
before the impact I had jumped into the air, and I think
that God allowed me to borrow his angel’s wings for
those few seconds, which ultimately saved my life.
Oh, and my Garmin says my heart rate was 200bpm
when the taxi hit me!
Luckily, no broken bones, just lots and lots of bruises,
but I had to be taken to the Paarl Mediclinic to do
an MRI scan, because I couldn’t stop vomiting. They
wanted to be 100% sure, because I got a knock on
my head. That was super scary, because my family
wasn’t allowed to visit me, due to COVID-19. So I was
100km from my home, in an unknown place, all alone.
After the accident, the taxi driver had driven me to
the hospital. He was very stressed out and stayed
at the hospital – he couldn’t drive because of shock.
I decided to forgive him and not to lay a charge
against him, since it was just an accident. I thought,
why should I make him suffer even more, during this
time of uncertainty? And from something bad comes
something good… I have now made a new friend who
has promised me free taxi rides for life!
Return to the Road
I was unable to train for three weeks, but I decided I
still wanted to run the Comrades 21km Virtual Race
on 14 June, just under a month after the accident.
I wanted to prove to everyone that you don’t have
to stop doing the thing you love just because of an
accident, or one mishap. I took it easy, following my
doctor’s advice, and day by day I started building
my strength up. I am a very driven person, nothing
gets me down in life, and I just thought that I had to
do this, no matter what. A week before the race, I
had only trained for two days, for about 30 minutes
each day, but I simply gave it my all and ran a time
of 1 hour and 54 minutes, even though I was a little
bit unfit.
Looking back on this year so far, I could never have
expected all of this to happen, but running has taught
me to push on and to not give up. Also, the accident
has taught me that I can share my story to give others
hope. If I can inspire one person in this tough time, it
will mean a lot to me.
The first known COVID-19 case in South Africa was
announced on 5 March. It soon started to spread
rapidly, and President Cyril Ramaphosa announced
an immediate nationwide lockdown. This included
schools closing, and running was stopped. The
running was definitely worse for me. I was completely
lost, since they were taking away something that
is part of me. I stayed indoors, and cycled on my
stationary bike, in the hope of not losing my fitness.
Meanwhile, day by day, more running events fell
victim to cancellation.
Luckily, the National Command Council eased the
lockdown after five weeks, which meant running
could resume. Meanwhile, the Comrades Marathon,
arguably one of the best ultra-marathons in the world,
The dent Ela
made in the taxi!
Luckily no
broken bones,
just bruising
and roasties
Ela on the way
to recovery
Images: Courtesy Ela Meiring
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ISSUE 132 JULY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za