ROAD RUNNING joined the Wild Runners Athletic Club . He started progressing to the 10km , 21km and 42km races , and eventually ran the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons . I wasn ’ t allowed to run these distances due to my age , but nothing stopped me from running alongside my uncle during training . He told me that he felt bad that I did all the training with him , but couldn ’ t run the races with him , and thus I traded in the tar for the more challenging cross country terrain . However , I felt like a fish out of water , and quickly transitioned back to the road . At 14 , I finally graduated from the 5km fun runs to the more serious 10km races . brutal , for social runners and professionals alike . The year was extra tough for me , as I had to do my Matric year online , and I was hit by a taxi while out on a run with my uncle . Fortunately , everything worked out for me on the day , and I still believe that God lent His Angel wings to me upon impact from the taxi as I flew through the air , landing on a patch of recently
Navigating Big Changes
During the onset of my teenage years , I battled with severe depression . I had lost my cousin to brain cancer , my body started changing , and my school had transitioned to the CAPS curriculum in Grade 9 . Suddenly learning about algebra and geometry didn ’ t go over smoothly with me . My depression resulted in me binge-eating to alleviate the pain I felt , which led me to rapidly gain weight . My unhealthy diet turned my pimples into full-blown acne , and being told my face looked like pepperoni pizza worsened my already frail confidence . I battled with body dysmorphia and felt misunderstood . I would spend most of my day comparing myself to others , staring in a mirror at my body and rummaging through the food cupboards at home . A bag of cookies , Lays chips and a can of Coke would be consumed in mere minutes . My running clothes got tighter and tighter each day and I ended up crying in my bed every night , dreading the next day . I hated the girl in the mirror .
Ela Meiring on her way to another PB in the OUTsurance Gun Run Half Marathon
me at the time , this hard work laid the foundation for my running journey , too . On a related note , I tried my hand at netball , but I was wholly and utterly unsuited for organised school sports .
My uncle quit smoking and his new hobby was walking . I am very close to him , as I see him as my surrogate father , and thus his little shadow ventured out to join him on his evening strolls . One evening , I was naughty and began running out ahead of him , as many a 10-year-old does , and he had to run after me . I was spending my time between Cape Town and Robertson , and so my uncle decided to enter us for the Gun Run 5km . The plan was to walk , as we had not trained to run it , and I was kitted out in my school sports shorts , a pair of green Nike ‘ tekkies ,’ and a pink cotton shirt . The starting gun fired and I ran the entire 5km , with my uncle angrily chasing me , as it was a huge crowd and I could ’ ve easily disappeared . We finished in about 31 minutes , I think , bearing in mind that this was nine years ago and I didn ’ t think to record the exact time .
For the next two years , we casually ran a 5km fun run most weekends . My uncle had a goal of one day running the Comrades Marathon , and thus we
Depression affected my running , too . I didn ’ t train as often , as I had to attend math tutoring every afternoon , and the stress of possibly not passing my Grade 9 year due to my inability to comprehend maths made me not want to train . Even when I had the time to train , it didn ’ t mean much to me . If my uncle had to do a 10km time trial , I would stick for about one kilometre before saying he can drop me , and I would just casually jog behind him . That ’ s how quickly I would give up . During one 10km race , I hit an ultimate low point when midway through the race , my uncle sat down on one of the park benches alongside the Sea Point Promenade , sacrificing his PB while waiting for me to catch up . He eventually dragged me by the hand over the finish line , but I felt horrendous and purposeless that day .
In 2018 I decided to rid myself of the torture of attending math tutoring every afternoon , by choosing Math Lit as a subject . I was the only learner out of four in my class to take the subject , but over the next six months I went through two teachers and still didn ’ t find much joy with the subject . Then my third Math Lit teacher , Mr Johan Vosloo , took over , and he believed in me when I didn ’ t see any potential in myself . He vowed to turn my C for the subject in Grade 10 into an A in matric . The funny thing is , we hardly did any math in class , we instead had long discussions on subjects that interested me , such as running , history , politics , you name it . Through his daily mentoring , my battered self-confidence began to blossom , and in 2019 , I ran my first half marathon and enjoyed it thoroughly . It ’ s as if I had finally found my passion when it came to running , and I ended 2019 by knocking 10 minutes off my 21km time .
Making it All Count
Then came a very tough 2020 , as COVID-19 forced its way into our lives , and race cancellations were
Ela finishing the Peninsula Half Marathon 19 earlier this year