At the beginning of January 2021 , everything was on track for Helé Niehaus to tackler her first half Ironman event on 24 January . The 28-year-old financial manager and part-time swim instructor , dance instructor and farmer ’ s wife from Smithfield had entered the previous September , knowing she had five months to get herself ready , and her training programme had been going well . “ I was already fairly fit in running and swimming , but I didn ’ t even own a bike , so I bought one , downloaded a training programme , and good friends helped coach me . I was managing to fit in all my training , on top of a busy workday , by training from 4am to 7am , and I would also train on weekends ,” she says . |
the swim leg . Everybody agreed to help , and so I continued training .”
“ I also decided that I was going to do my own race in honour of Tannie Poenkie , who had lived on the neighbouring farm . She had been part of the Pilates classes I gave for the local ladies in 2020 , but was murdered on her farm on 14 December , my birthday . That was such devastating news , as she was so healthy , and such a big motivator for all of us , so I decided I would do my race with her name written on my shoulder , in her memory , as she had motivated me so much in my training , and her husband thought it was the best idea ever .”
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Time for a bit of dancing with friends during the run leg |
Finishing the run leg , with just a bit of biking left |
Then the news arrived on 6 January that the even had been cancelled , due to safety concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic , and Helé describes her disappointment . “ When my husband Johan and I went on holiday in December , I took my bike with to train , but then the e-mail arrived to say the event was postponed to September . I was so disappointed because I felt ready for it . I had bought the gear , and my head was right , I was mentally prepared , so it felt a bit like a death in the family . Johan is not an athlete at all , just a farmer , but he had been so supportive of my training – he would always say , ‘ You go , girl !’ when my alarm went off at 4am – but now he had to go through the emotional rollercoaster with me .”
After a few days of mulling over the disappointment , Helé struck upon an idea that would still allow her to do an Ironman in January . “ I said to Johan , I could do the race in Smithfield Dam and on the roads around there , on the same day Ironman was supposed to take place , if he could support me and bring me water . Also , I could ask one of the dancers in my studio if her husband would bring his boat to escort me during
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With Friends Like These …
Having told her friends and dance studio members about her plans , Helé says she was blown away by all the support she received as the days counted down to race day , but she was still taken by surprise by what she found waiting for her at Smithfield Dam . “ When I arrived on the morning , the whole studio was there , plus more people from the town , and they stayed the whole day , camping , fishing and having a blast while waiting for me and cheering and going crazy .”
“ When I came out of the water , I tried to stick to the Ironman rules that nobody helps me , so I made sure to carry the bike to the road myself , and things like that . I then had Johan and my father driving two vehicles with me on the bike leg , one ahead and one behind for safety , and both full of passengers , all cheering me on . I wanted to do the bike leg in under four hours , in spite of the bad wind on the day , but at 68km my tyre burst . Unfortunately , I didn ’ t have a spare tube , so they took me back to the dam to go do my run leg in the meantime , while they found me a spare tube ,” continues Helé .
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Images : Courtesy Helé Niehaus |