ROAD RUNNING drifted away . I crossed the finish line in 1:33:09 , still a new personal best , but not what I had aimed for . I positioned second junior , behind the highly talented Ethiopian runner , Selam Gebre , and this comforted me after my lacklustre performance during the race .
A month later , my eyes were set on the Blouberg Half Marathon . I ran with a race plan for the first time in my life , and managed to achieve my goal of running sub- 90 minutes , coming in at 1:28:58 . Then on the 18th of September , I ran the Gun Run 21km race . I was slightly unfit and at best , I just hoped to be able to beat the best time I had run in 2019 , my then personal best of 1:44 , which at that time I thought would be hard to beat . This time , I walked / jogged the final 2km to finish in 1:35:58 , and as a bonus finished first junior again . My next aim was the Sanlam 10km Peace Run in October . I wanted to break my personal best time of 42:18 and felt that I was fit enough to probably go sub-40 , but during the race , my legs felt like cinder blocks , for some reason , and I struggled to gather momentum . I finished in a time of 42:21 , just missing the mark , but I wasn ’ t so disappointed , as the 10km isn ’ t my strongest distance .
Ela on the road with her uncle , who is also her training and racing partner
ploughed ground . The hospital staff were terrific and I made a full recovery without any permanent damage .
Later that year , I matriculated not only with an A in Math Lit , but with an A average overall . Mr Johan was the first person to call me , and cheekily said , “ I told you so .” The following year , 2021 was kinder to me , until I received the WhatsApp message informing me of the death of Mr Johan . It was a hard blow for me , as he was the one who saved me amid the storm swirling in my head during my teenage years . I decided to heed his words of backing myself as much as possible .
As part of that , my goal for 2022 was to break my personal bests from 2019 : 1:44:09 for 21km , 46:12 for 10km and 23:15 for 5km . The first race I ran in 2022 was the Milkwood 21km , where I ran strong and tried my best to conquer the hills , and my first personal best of 2022 was set up at 1:40:58 . I was over the moon , even though I had just missed the sub-1:40 mark , because I knew it was in reach . Exactly a week later , I ran the Cape Peninsula Half Marathon , clocking 1:35:22 and finishing as the first female junior .
In April it was time to participate in the largest half marathon in South Africa , the Totalsports Two Oceans 21km . I didn ’ t manage a personal best , crossing the line in 1:35:45 , but I once again finished as the first female junior , which was unexpected , as I had finished in 11th place during the 2019 edition . My legs were throbbing and I collapsed at the finish line , but little did I know a camera was following me from the moment I entered the finish arena . The cameraman pointed me towards a microphone and I thought , “ Oh dear , maybe it wasn ’ t a great idea to fall at the finish line .”
I was so nervous that I almost wanted to vomit , as I was asked on television how my race went , and for a split second I forgot the name of Southern Cross … Massive yikes ! Afterwards , I watched the replay and
was completely flabbergasted that Cuan Walker , the legendary running commentator who I listened to whilst growing up , said that I am a talented athlete . Is it strange to say I recorded it and often listen to it on repeat ?
Racking up the Records
I then took arguably the biggest gamble yet in my running journey and entered the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon , the first time I would be running a race in a different province . As speedwork preparation , I ran the ABSA Cape Town 10km , which I saw as a time trial to assess my fitness levels . Well , I smashed my 10km time by running 42:18 , and I was really chuffed with that . For the race in Nelson Mandela Bay , I aimed to run sub-90 minutes on the flat course , but for some reason , from the moment the start gun fired , my race fell apart . My legs felt numb , and slowly my goal
Another podium finish at the SPAR Grand Prix – Cape Town event
That was going to be my final 10km race for 2022 , until that surprising email from the SPAR Grand Prix organisers , and as I wrote earlier , my self-belief took a nosedive . When I read the event digimag , I saw the list of junior entrants that I would be racing : Selam Gebre , Karabo Motsoeneng , Rebecca Monk , Cheniquw Sas , Elandri Schmidt and Anika Visser were just some of the names I recognised , all girls who have shone at 10km , and the list of names didn ’ t even end there . I was filled with doubt .
It was the first time I had received an invitational entry in my life , and my mind had already screwed it up for me . It was made worse that I am a massive fan of the Grand Prix elite series , but wouldn ’ t enter out of my own choice , as I feel I don ’ t belong amongst the crème of the crop when it comes to female running on the African continent . What I didn ’ t realise was that SPAR saw potential in me , even though I didn ’ t believe in my capabilities . The week leading up to the race was therefore pure torture as my mind kept rehashing all the past worst moments in my life , leading to me further doubting myself .
Images : Action Photo SA & courtesy Ela Meiring , SPAR Grand Prix
20 ISSUE 154 | www . modernathlete . co . za