ROAD RUNNING
Irvette admits that more than once , she thought she would not be able to run competitively again , and that she would lose her income . “ I won ’ t lie , there were anxious moments for me , as the injury took a lot longer to heal than the doctors originally thought , five months instead of three . That is a long time for a club to carry you , especially a new one you ’ ve just joined , and I was worried . The good news was that Hollywood Athletics Club made it clear that this was a long-term partnership , and that put my mind at ease . I was told repeatedly to just heal and come back when ready , and that was an immense comfort to me .”
Missed Opportunities
Amongst the many races that Irvette missed in those five months of injury and illness was the 2023 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon , a race that she had really hoped to do well in . “ I love that race . It means so much to me , and I have unfinished business with the Two Oceans Marathon ,” explains Irvette , obviously talking about her incredible second-place finish in the 2022 edition of the Cape ultra .
That year , she set up the race for a thrilling climax as she broke the women ’ s lead pack of four athletes going up Constantia Nek . So aggressive was her attack that defending champion and pre-race favourite , Gerda Steyn , was left reeling , and Irvette not only looked on course to win the race , but also to finally break Frith van Der Merwe ’ s 33-year-old race record of ( 3:30.36 ). “ I thought I had the race won , and could sense the record too , but then Gerda came flying back , and I hit a bad patch at the worst possible time , with three kilometres to go ,” recalls Irvette .
Gerda had had to dig deeper than she had ever dug in a race to catch , pass and stay ahead of Irvette , and in the end both dipped under the previous record , with Gerda breaking the tape in 3:29:42 and Irvette clocking 3:30:31 . The experts all say that it was Irvette ’ s attack up Contantia Nek that set up Gerda ’ s record , so it is small wonder that Irvette feels she has unfinished business with the race . “ Missing out on the Two Oceans this year was so hard for me , but it just means I need to come back stronger in 2024 ,” she says .
Picking Up Speed
With the fracture healing , Irvette began preparing for a comeback to the roads around midway through the year , but just as she thought she could run again , another setback occurred . A serious bout of swine flu meant another three weeks lost , and still more frustration and worry , but finally , on 25 June , Irvette was able to line up to race again at the Spar Grand Prix 10km in Durban . She finished a commendable ninth in 34:20 , and her relief was evident , even though it was not the best of races , by her high standards . “ I wasn ’ t happy about my run . I was hoping for and expecting a sub-34 , but it wasn ’ t to be . It was still good to be running , though .”
Another solid performance came in the Spar Grand Prix race in Tshwane in early August , where she finished seventh in 35:04 , followed shortly by the Totalsports Women ’ s Race in Joburg on National Women ’ s Day , where Irvette posted her first big win of the year as she took line honours in 34:58 . Then it was time to fly out to Europe for the World Championships in Budapest , Hungary , taking place from 19 to 27 August . As mentioned earlier , Irvette had qualified in Valencia for the World Champs Marathon , with the women ’ s race taking place near the end of the meet .
Before Budapest , Irvette had lined up for South Africa in five World Champs competitions , but surprisingly , never in the marathon , even though she was selected three times for the Olympic Marathon . “ Racing in the World Marathon Championships this year was a really big deal for me . I ’ ve done World Cross Country Champs a few times , and the World Half Marathon Championships , but never a World Marathon Championships . Also , after not finishing two Olympic marathons , and not even being able to start the third one I was selected for , and after the bad year I had , finishing at the World Marathon Championships was a big deal for me . It was just about proving to myself that I can .”
Challenge Accepted
Budapest in the summer is normally very hot , but this this year it was also unseasonably humid , and Irvette says it affected the race massively . “ It was worse than Tokyo at the 2021 Olympic Games , and that was already as humid as Durban in the summer . I originally wanted to run a sub-2:30 , but when I got there and saw how humid it was , I changed plans and tactics ,” she explains . In fact , so challenging were the conditions on race day that 12 of the 77 athletes did not finish , and Irvette says her first priority was to make sure she finished , so she ran conservatively to finish 45th in 2:38:32 . “ It was a bit of torture on the route , but I really enjoyed it . It ’ s a beautiful route , and overall I was really pleased … I don ’ t think I had a plan apart from survive and finish .”
Another third place at the SPAR Grand Prix Joburg
A first win for 2023 at the Totalsports Women ’ s Race in Johannesburg
On the way to third place in the Absa RUN YOU CITY JOBURG 10K
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