ROAD RUNNING |
|||
|
Irvette used her knowledge of the Soweto route to help her power to the win
“ Winning this Soweto was so big for me . I needed to end the year on a high after the horrific first five months I had , where I could not run at all due to injury . I also changed clubs this year , joining Hollywood Athletics Club , and the support they gave me in that hard time was incredible . So , I felt I could give them something back by winning here , as I felt I had not really contributed to the club this year . It is also one of my first biggest wins , and I love the race , so I always want to be at my best when I run Soweto .”
Up and Down Again
The elation of November 2023 is a far cry from how Irvette was feeling just 10 months ago , when it seemed the bottom had fallen out of her world . Just two months earlier , in December 2022 , she had been on cloud nine , having just run the second-fastest marathon ever by a South African woman on a record-legal course , clocking 2:26:11 at the Valencia Marathon in Spain . That shattered her previous best of 2:28:40 . Only Gerda Steyn had gone faster on a record-legal course , with her SA Record of 2:25.28 ( run in Sienna . Italy , in 2021 , the same day that Irvette clocked her 2:28 ).
With her new PB , Irvette had also qualified for her fourth Olympic Games in Paris , France in 2024 , as well as the 2023 World Champs in Budapest ,
|
Number one for the fourth time in Soweto !
Hungary in 2023 . But what made her performance so remarkable was that she had only been able to train on the road for the last four weeks leading up to Valencia . At the beginning of November , a stress fracture had prevented her from defending her Soweto Marathon title ( there was no race in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID ), and even Valencia was touch and go . But go it was , and Irvette had booked her ticket to Paris . Then the house came crashing down .
Shortly after her brilliant run in Valencia , Irvette began experiencing pain in her foot again , but she initially struggled to pinpoint the cause . “ I went to so many different doctors , and received a different diagnosis from each one , and eventually I did not know what to do , until we finally got the right diagnosis ,” she says , explaining that she underwent a battery of tests , x-rays , and even MRI scans to get to the root cause of her injury . “ Only late in January was a correct diagnosis found . I had a stress fracture in my navicular bone – that is one of the big bones in your foot , and it propels you forward . The doctors were even suggesting a pin in my foot , but I opted rather to rest and recover , and heal properly .”
That saw Irvette sidelined , with no running whatsoever allowed , for the first few months of 2023 . For elite
|
athletes , that is gut-wrenching news , because no racing means no income in prize money , and the possibility of having their retainers with clubs and sponsors reduced , or worse , cut completely . It has happened …
Dealing With Things
Ask Irvette about 2023 , and she gets a bit quieter and subdued . “ To say that it was the most frustrating year of my running career is an understatement . I have had many injuries over the years , but have always been blessed with really quick recovery . Not this time though .” What hit her hardest was that she wasn ’ t even able to do any cross-training in the first few months , and says there were some very dark days , as she freely admits that depression is a real challenge for her , and that running helps tremendously .
“ Running is my love , and no cross-training can replace that , but that would at least have allowed me to keep busy and maintain some fitness . So , those five months included some of the most frustrating and depressing times of my life ,” she says . “ It wasn ’ t the first time that I had been out of running for a long period of time – in 2020 I needed an arthroscopy on my knee and was out for six months , but that happened during lockdown , so there was no racing , and I didn ’ t really miss out on anything . This time , we weren ’ t in lockdown , and I was missing out on doing what I love most . This was hard , and at times very depressing . What I have learnt through this , is that I have to do just one thing to get me through that one day . And then the next . That became my coping mechanism .”
|
Images : Tobias Ginsberg , Action Photo , Anthony Grote , Felix Dlanga , Reg Caldecott |
Irvette used races to regain top form |
|||
Early days of the comeback , running the Absa RUN YOU CITY DURBAN 10K |