Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 56, March 2014 | Page 18

Living Legend The Little Thanks to her ‘never-give-up’ attitude, the SA national selectors used to call Grace de Oliveira ‘The Little Fighter.’ No surprise then that she earned seven gold medals in the Comrades Marathon and eight in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon to become not only one of the most successful SA female ultra-marathoners, but also one of the most popular. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER I n 1983, aged 21, Grace was running along the Durban beachfront when two runners stopped her for a little chat, which would kick-start her running career. “They said that I have potential, but when I told my husband Eloi later, he laughed at me! I knew I had to prove him wrong, but Eloi says his teasing Running was reverse with psychology to daughter get me to run Daniela. more, because he recognised my talent.” Grace an d Eloi re ceiving husband the wife award a and t Two O ceans before Comrades, when she would be running in front of her hometown crowds, but she said she generally just avoided the hype. “The Comrades is so unpredictable and I knew if I worked hard, I‘d be happy.” To her credit, Grace achieved all of her running success while holding down a full-time job and helping Eloi to raise their daughter, Daniela. “I did all this with Daniela coming to races from when she was three months. Timing was difficult, because Eloi and I were both competitive, and despite it being a good thing that we understood each other, it was hard,” she says. “Later Daniela became a big support, too, both on the road and off. Whenever I felt down, she’d tell me that I can win anything and I shouldn’t doubt my talent.” Images: Courtesy Grace de Oliveira The two had started dating at 17, after becoming family friends when their families moved to South Africa from Portugal, and Grace often went to support Eloi at races, where he was a top competitor in the men’s division. (Over the years he earned a Comrades gold medal and 21 silvers, plus two golds and 18 silvers in the Two Oceans.) Now Eloi became her coach and training partner, and Grace soon lived up to the potential he and others saw in her. “I started winning fun runs, so I joined Savages and ran in the KZN cross country provincial champs a few months later, finishing fifth.” That saw her selected for the KZN team for the SA Champs, where she finished second-last, but her determination soon saw her climb the rankings. Blowing a kiss after her runners-up finish in her debut Comrades in 1999 18 In the early 90’s Grace wore the green and gold at the World Half Marathon Champs from 1992 to 1995, having been runner-up twice in 1992 and 1995 at the SA Half Marathon Champs. She won the Phalaborwa International Half Marathon in 1992 and 1993 before claiming the SA Marathon Champs ISSUE 56 MARCH 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za title in 1994, the same year she ran a PB 2:42 and finished fifth in the Lisbon Marathon. Then came her debut Two Oceans, where she finished third, following that up with a fifth position in 1997. In 1994, Eloi and Grace were also awarded the husband and wife team prize at Oceans for the first time. She also represented SA at the World Athletics Champs in 1997 where she ran the marathon. Grace went on to win the Voet van Afrika Half Marathon title five times from 1996 to 2000, and was runner-up in the Soweto Marathon in 1999, but it was her ultra exploits from 1999 to 2008 that she is best known for. Ultra Golds Her remarkable run began with a fourth position in the 1999 Oceans, followed a few months later by a runner-up placing in the Comrades, in her debut run! The following year she was third in both races, and while she never made the podium again after that, her consistency saw her become a firm fan favourite as she never finished lower than 13th in the Comrades. Unsurprisingly, this put a lot of pressure on Grace, especially Striving For Better Grace ran her last ultras in 2008, signing off with ninth in Oceans and 12th in Comrades, then decided to concentrate on shorter distances. “I’ve been a big fan of the Spar Ladies 10km races since their inception and I’ve been doing well in my age-group there.” To date Grace has run 73 Spar races – second only to Sonja Laxton – and having finished third overall in the Spar series Grand Prix in 2007, she remains competitive in the master (50-59) age category, which she has won in the Grand Prix from 2011 to 2013. Today, Grace still fits in running (she currently runs for Boxer Athletic Club), baking and time for family while juggling her job, but over the last four months she’s been struggling with tendonitis in her foot. Having recently been doing some spinning, she says she is slowly reintroducing light running. “I never give up, and without Eloi teasing me back when I started, maybe I wouldn’t have tried to prove myself. Hopefully I can now come back from my injury to do the Oceans Half and Spar races in 2014!”