TRAIL RUNNING
James Montgomery , and stepped up to racing longer distances up to 20 to 30 kilometres ,” she says .
In 2019 she was ready to step up in distance again , and tackled the Otter , but learnt the hard way what it means to hit the wall . “ That was my first marathon , and quite a big jump , since my longest training run was 30km . It was an extremely steep learning curve , but I think that ’ s good , because I needed something like that , and the lessons learnt have paid dividends this past year , which was undoubtedly my best running year so far .”
The original plan was to stay on the Portuguese island of Madeira for two few weeks to train , then cross to Italy for the race , but due to the ankle injury , Bianca didn ’ t get to enjoy too many of the island trails . “ Limone was three weeks after Otter , so my body was still tired , on top of the travelling , and I had rolled the ankle three times during Otter , then done it one more time on Madeira . Just for good measure , I also started my period just before the race ! I therefore decided to take the pressure off myself , so I spoke to my coach and we agreed the goal was just to gain experience of a European race , not to chase a result ,” she says .
Training run on Madeira Island
That great year started with Bianca winning the Ultra-Trail Drakensberg ( UTD ) 32km and the Ultra- Trail Cape Town ( UTCT ) Special Edition 25km , then raced to the win in the Otter Trail Marathon . “ I was a bit uncomfortable when I ran the UTD in April , as I started my period the morning of the race . I reached the end feeling dizzy , and again , I was perhaps still putting too much pressure on myself . Then at UTCT in May , I decided to run my own race , in spite of the hype before the race . It would have been easy to feel pressurised , but I took the expectation off myself , and it went a lot better than UTD . After that , I had some niggles , so skipped the Hout Bay Challenge and focused on training , as well as continuing to work on my mindset , and when I lined up for Otter , I felt ready ,” says Bianca .
Overseas Opportunity
With her Otter win still fresh in her mind , and her body still recovering – notably that ankle – Bianca received a last-minute opportunity to race the 22.2km Limone Extreme in Italy . This race starts in Limone , a small town on the banks of Lake Garda in Northern Italy , and features a 2000m climb to the highest point of Monte Carone , followed by a steep , extremely technical descent to finish back in the town . The 2021 edition of the race also doubled as the final of the 2021 Skyrunning Series , which meant that many of the biggest names of world trail running would be there , making it an ideal opportunity for Bianca to lay down a marker on the international stage .
In spite of this relaxed approach , Bianca still found herself amongst the frontrunners , and she was lying seventh when she reached the top of the climb . “ I felt strong on the climb , but the rolled ankle held me back on the descent , which featured a lot of steep , loose rocks . The ankle didn ’ t feel sure , and then I rolled it again , so on the descent I was overtaken by several girls and I eventually finished 12th , but I actually found it inspiring to watch them fly past me . With it being the Skyrunning finale , there was a lot of hype before the race , and it was fun to be part of that .”
Making International Plans
All the hard work and racing in 2021 has obviously paid off , as Bianca was recently invited to sign for the international adidas Terrex trail running team , and she will be racing on the world stage in 2022 – COVID restrictions permitting , of course . “ It ’ s a great deal , including a travel budget , which will make racing internationally possible , and Rob can travel with me , so I ’ m really excited ,” she says .
“ We ’ ve got a training camp in the Canary Islands in March , then the European season starts in May . They ’ ve already given me a planned list of races for the year , but for now I ’ m not planning any marathon or longer events in Europe . I ’ m just going to take it one year at a time and see where it leads . I ’ m not sure I could only do trail running as a career – I would need more mental stimulation , as well , to have better balance – but I am open to the idea of running professionally , so let ’ s see what happens .”
Images : Fakkoluca & Rob Tweddl
Bianca in action at the Limone Extreme in Italy
54 ISSUE 148 JANUARY 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za