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MA : So , first things first , what ’ s been going on in the Kalmer sisters ’ lives in the last year or so ? RK : Sjoe , that ’ s a tough question . I think last year a lot of ‘ not running ’ happened , and this year it ’ s all about new challenges and tackling the Comrades . I battled with an Achilles injury , and also all the stuff that went on with the Murray & Roberts club being shut down , meant I was just emotionally drained . I wasn ’ t enjoying running that much , so I took a proper break from it , but also tried some new stuff , like trail running . I ran one or two , including the Otter African Trail Run , and while that wasn ’ t very successful , I did begin finding my joy for running again . Hopefully , Comrades this year will be better .
CK : I would say that I ’ ve been running , but I didn ’ t do much racing last year . I did run the Cape Town Marathon , but overall , I was also just finding the joy in it again by not having to have results linked to it , if that makes sense .
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Andre gave René an Otter entry for their anniversary in 2022 . |
ROAD RUNNING |
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Images : SMacPix & courtesy René Kalmer , Christine Kalmer , SPAR Women ’ s Challenge |
MA : Since both of you speak about trying to find the joy in running again , it begs the question , had you lost the joy for running ? Perhaps because you ’ ve been running competitively for so many years , and just needed a break ? CK : It ’ s fun when you win or do well , but a lot of effort goes into that , and a lot of personal sacrifices . My son , Reuben , is now two and a half years old , and when he was born , I realised that if I put in two training sessions a day on top of a full day of work , I would never see him awake , and that made me take a step back from running .
RK : I think I was pretty much in a similar situation . My youngest , Ivan , is three years old now , but last year , he was not sleeping very well , and I found it really hard trying to get up early in the morning to run when I had been woken up five to six times a night . It ’ s really difficult to perform when you ’ re tired all the time , but luckily he started to sleep through now since he turned three , so now I ’ ve got more energy and I ’ m ready to tackle a new goal .
The sisters represented South Africa many times through the years .
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MA : You both came up through middle-distance running on the track and shorter road races , representing your country many times , eventually moving to the marathon and both going to the Olympics , and you have both now run the Two Oceans Ultra , so do you see ultra-marathons as the next logical part of your running careers ? RK : To be honest , Sean , I got a Comrades entry as a wedding anniversary gift from Andre in November . The next thing I saw was a Comrades entry in my inbox . We had been talking about it for a while , and I actually wanted to run it last year already , but then with the injuries and stuff happening at work , the timing was just not right . Also , I ’ ve been seconding Andre and clubmates at Comrades for many years – I think I ’ ve got my Green Number now for seconding – and I ’ ve always said it ’ s easier running the race than seconding , so now it ’ s time to test that theory ! I ’ ve always said I wanted to do it , and then I think the final push came from Andre with the anniversary gift , so now I have to do it . That said , I think I ’ m at the point where it ’ s time to start ticking off bucket list items , and I ’ ve realised that if I ’ m going to wait till I ’ m 100 %, or even 80 %, I ’ m never going to do it . So , it ’ s all about just doing it .
CK : And I ’ m the younger sister , so I just have to do it with her !
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MA : Christine , is that actually what happened , you were just pulled along ? Or were you also thinking about running Comrades ? CK : So , my husband , Aiden , ran it last year for the first time , and suddenly he became the local hero at the coffee shop time trial ! People would talk to him like he ’ s a real runner , while I just stood there , listening , as he was asked for his expert running advice ! ( She laughs ) Seriously though , I think I also realised that if I want to do the race , it ’ s probably easier to train for it if I only have one kid , so this is the time to run Comrades . It ’ s either that , or have another baby !
MA : Ha ! So , which do you think would be easier , Comrades or another baby ? RK : I ’ ll answer that one . Christine ’ s baby is easier , not like my two . I haven ’ t slept through the night in six years ! Do you know how tired I am , Sean ?
CK : I was actually thinking about it today on my run … that I started waking up at 4:30am and training twice a day in 2001 . I was 14 at the time , so I ’ m also tired !
MA : When did you actually make the decision to enter Comrades , Christine ? CK : When was the closing date ? I think it was on the 11th of December . We were actually on our way to Mozambique , and we slept over in Pongola , the last night before we would be offline for the holidays , and then I realised , oh , it ’ s loadshedding in 15 minutes , so I literally have to enter right now . I got my entry in just in time ! But I was fine with going under the radar and not drawing any attention to it … until René decided to post that pic of Karli in her Comrades T-shirt !
RK : Yes , but I was then contacted by Race Director Ann Ashworth and it seems that we might get elite seeding , so maybe it ’ s not the worst to put it out there . That means we won ’ t have to stand in the porta potty line !
Christine with Aiden and Reuben after the 2023 Comrades .
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