“ When I hit 70 kays , all I could think of was whether I was still wearing pants . I checked five times if I was wearing them … and the scary thing is , I actually didn ’ t care .”
ROAD RUNNING
Images : Marathon Photos , Christine Kalmer & courtesy René Kalmer
The Comrades Marathon is one of those ‘ life experiences ’ that is hard to fully comprehend unless you ’ ve actually run it . Even working at the race , or supporting others who are running the race , cannot quite give you the full picture , and it ’ s one of the reasons multiple SA Champion and three-time Olympian René Kalmer lined up for the Ultimate Human Race this year .
Going into this race , René had already accrued a ton of Comrades experience . In fact , she had unofficially already earned a ‘ Green Number ,’ by seconding others in the race 10 times – her husband Andre van Wyk , other in-laws from the family and close friends , as well as clubmates from KPMG and Murray & Roberts in her capacity as a team manager . But she hadn ’ t run it yet , and late last year , when Andre gave her an entry as a wedding anniversary gift , she knew the time was right .
“ When I hit 70 kays , all I could think of was whether I was still wearing pants . I checked five times if I was wearing them … and the scary thing is , I actually didn ’ t care .”
Even better , she and Andre were then joined by her sister and fellow Olympian , Christine , as well as her husband Aiden Stoop , so it was set to be a double Kalmer sisters Comrades debut and full-house family effort , and we did a fantastic Q & A interview with the famous running siblings for our March edition , filled with the humour and laughter that the Kalmers are known and loved for .
Sadly , Christine had to withdraw from the race due to injury , which saw her back on seconding and babysitting duties come race day , but René and “ the boys ” lined up , and all had a fantastic race-day experience . René crossed the finish line 34th in the women ’ s race in a terrific debut time of 7:10:08 , earning herself a silver medal , and she was 15th in the veteran category . ( Andre finished the race in a time of 11:23 , with Aiden coming in at 11:43 .)
We caught up with René a few days after the race for another chat , and it proved yet another fantastic chat , with yet more humour and laughter .
MA : Hello , Rene , welcome to another interview with Modern Athlete , and thanks for joining us . First things first , congratulations on a successful Comrades Marathon debut . How are you feeling now ?
RK : I ’ m feeling really
good . I ’ m really on a high , I think like everyone else , and also relieved that it ’ s over … and that I don ’ t have to train anymore in this cold weather !
The family getting into the Comrades spirit
MA : When you say you don ’ t have to train anymore , does that mean you ’ re going into complete hibernation mode , or just that you ’ re going to take it a bit more ‘ rustig ’ for a while ?
RK : I ’ ll hibernate for the school holidays , so I ’ ll take June off , and then I ’ ll start training again in July . But Andre is planning on a three-month hibernation .
MA : Is that normal for him ? RK : That ’ s quite normal . This year he only started with his training on 1 January , and he refused to even take his running shoes on holiday in December . That ’ s why Christine is a little bit upset , because her training was the best over December , and she ’ s the only one that didn ’ t line up for Comrades . So no she says she might follow Andre ’ s advice and training methods next year .
MA : So , before we get into the details of your race , was it all that you expected it to be ?
RK : I think it was everything I expected and more . Comrades really exceeded my expectations , and the support on route is just amazing . I just tried to soak up as much as possible . Also , everyone is willing to give advice , and I really appreciated that .
MA : In our interview earlier this year , you said you weren ’ t going to race this Comrades flat-out , that it more about the experience , about getting the distance on the legs , and just enjoying the race … but you also said you hoped for a silver medal . Well , clocked seven hours and 10 minutes , and earned a silver medal , so it sounds like it all went to plan .
RK : Yes , everything went to plan , and I ’ m really , really happy , because having supported the race 10 times , I ’ ve seen the good , the bad , and the ugly of Comrades , and I know there ’ s a lot that can go wrong . So , I ’ m really grateful that everything went according to plan , and that I really had a lekker , lekker race !
MA : Many people talk about going to dark places during the Comrades , and given that you ’ d never run that far before , did that happen to you as well ? Did you experience anything completely new that you ’ ve never experienced in your running career before ?
RK : Definitely ! When I hit 70 kays , all I could think of was whether I was still wearing pants . I checked five times if I was wearing them … and the scary thing is , I actually didn ’ t care . I was more concerned about the spectators having to witness this . What happened is , I went to the Ioo at 65 kays , and only at 70 kays , I was asking myself , have I pulled up my pants ? That was the only dark place I went during the race .
MA : How long did that dark patch last ? RK : After checking five times , I was relieved to find that I was actually wearing pants . I think it ’ s because my pants were just so packed full of gels and stuff at the beginning of the race , and they felt heavy , like they wanted to drop . But after 70 kays , I had used all my ‘ padkos ,’ and with all the water and sweat , the pants felt more like skin , hardly noticeable . That was where my concern came in , because it felt like I didn ’ t have pants on any more . It was a very dark place for me , but it was also really , really funny .
MA : So take us through your race experience , please . Were there any parts of the race that
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