Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 74, September 2015 | Page 17

DAY 3: 36.7KM

Tanya’s lack of hydration and nutritional intake was a real concern, and with having her period at the
same time, additional strain would be placed on various vitamins and minerals which would compound the
shortfall she already experienced due to CRPS. However, what we didn’t know at the time was that her B12
deficiency could cause hallucinations, vision problems, difficulty swallowing and some digestive problems,
while her CRPS medication, under stressful circumstances, could cause difficulty with swallowing, blurred
vision, and lower back or side pain combined with hallucinations. So without us knowing it, the stress of the
event, Tanya’s health issues and the medicine we hoped would help her, combined to create a disaster of
epic proportions, and it was racing our way at full speed.

DAY 4/5: 91.7KM

My beautiful wife was becoming increasingly concerned with the state of her hair, being convinced that
there would be no way to get the knots out, and that cutting it all off would be the only solution. I
assured her that once we were back at the hotel, I would wash, condition and blow dry her hear until
all the knots were out. Then at about 46km, Tanya said that she can’t see that well, and later that night
her vision deteriorated even further and she started to hallucinate, then a sandstorm hit us and she
found it hard to keep her balance. At some point she fell, bumping her head, and by now she could see
very little, Eventually we reached CP5 at 3am, which meant we had covered 63.3km, and had 17 hours
left to cover the remaining 28.4km.
At 5am I helped her put on her shoes as her sight was now almost completely gone, and by 5:30am we
were on our way. By 10am at CP6, Tanya was completely blind, very nauseous and had a severe pain in
her groin area, so we decided that seeking medical assistance would be the best thing. Tanya was scared
that the doctors would pull her from the race if she told them everything that was wrong, so it took some
convincing, but eventually she agreed to see the doctors. Within minutes Tanya was hooked up to two units
of fluids administered intravenously followed by a unit of glucose, but the pain in her groin became more
acute. The medical team decided to administer morphine, and once it kicked in, the relief was obvious.
Within 90 minutes of arriving at CP6, we were on our way again. Tanya still could not see, but at least she
could swallow again and the pain was manageable. Near the finish it became apparent that news of Tanya
had reached the camp, but it wasn’t until we were about 500 metres from the end that it became clear how
many people were waiting for her to cross the line.

DAY 6: 42.2KM

During the early hours of the morning a sandstorm of biblical proportions hit the bivouac and it took me
ages to de-sand everything and to get Tanya and myself ready for the day. She was looking much better,
and I knew that she would do whatever was needed to get to the end. As we approached the finish, our
tent-mates brought us a South African flag so that we could cross the line with it. What a moment! I wiped
away some tears which were the result of the overwhelming pride and happiness I felt for my angel,
knowing that she had overcome so much just to be there, let alone finish the race.
Finishing in style with the SA flag

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

OFF DAY

CMY

K

USAIN BOLT RUNS IN PUMA IGNITE.

POST-RACE: RELAXATION AND RELIEF

A very tired Tanya arrived at the hotel and I could see
that my angel needed the bath and pampering I had
been promising her. I helped her wash and condition her
hair and used the hairdryer to dry it while I combed out
all the knots, and to much relief for both of us, my angel’s
fear of having to cut-off all her hair was soon forgotten…

To read the full story, go to
www.push2extreme.com. The next
big adventure for Genis and Tanya
will be the 6633 Ultra in the Canadian
Arctic Circle in March 2017.

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