Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 77, December 2015 | Page 22

Ma

MY STORY

If you had told me two years ago that I would one day run a half marathon, I
would have laughed in your face, but once in a while you need to blow your own
damn mind. – BY DIANE SHEARER
uphill, was probably the hardest thing I have ever done – everything in my body
just said “No!” My muscles were sore as I stomped one foot in front of the other,
but I tackled that long hill and continued running, probably because I was so
desperate to finish. We took 45 minutes to run the last 6km, but we were done, and
there was a light at the end of the tunnel: A beer never tasted so good! I was so
tired I couldn’t even lift my beer mug, which is strange, because I didn’t run on my
arms… although at some point I’m pretty sure I was crawling.

THE REAL THING
Official race day came, and I couldn’t believe I woke up at a ridiculous hour to
stand in the freezing cold to put myself through that torture again. The timer
started, the crowd of runners started moving, and I quickly felt the warmth seep
into my muscles and my breathing matched the beat of my feet hitting the round.
It suddenly felt so easy, as though I was flying on autopilot. All I can say about that
race is that I just ran and ran and ran, and it felt so good. (Oh, and it’s harder than
you think trying to drink out of a cup while running, but it just felt so unnatural to
walk!)

I

was never much of a runner until I started going to parkrun on Saturday
mornings. That’s when I realised 5km is much further than you think. At first I
absolutely hated parkrun… It was self-willing torture, where I would wake up
at a ridiculous hour on a Saturday morning to run for what felt like the longest
half hour of my life, but I think my endorphins overruled the feeling of torture,
because I just carried on going back. I have now run over 50 parkruns, and I went
from 5km to doing a 10km and then to entering a half a marathon in just a few
months.

I finished my first official half marathon in two hours and eight minutes, and still felt
strong as I moved my legs as fast as I could towards the finish line. I did not expect
it to go that well, my mind was blown, and that prompted me to do an illustration
about my experience. I still have no idea why I run. I just can’t stop. Maybe it’s the
feeling of accomplishing something I never imagined doing.

Now I don’t half-ass things: I either give it my all or I just give up, and so, when
my boyfriend Jason wanted to do a 10km training run the week before the race,
which would be my first 21km and his first marathon, I think I had a moment of
optimism… I was meeting family at Gilroys Brewery for lunch and couldn’t do both,
unless I ran there, but it is 21km from my house to Gilroys. I was waiting for a “Just
kidding,” but those words just didn’t come.

FULL DRESS REHEARSAL

We got to a seriously long hill and I was really wondering what I had gotten myself
into as I felt my throat close up in panic. However, I felt a surge of adrenaline and
eventually got into the rhythm, and I could feel my heart beating in my feet as they
hit the ground. We ran 15km in one hour 40 minutes and that was when we saw
my parents anxiously waiting for us, but we stupidly decided not to take their offer
to drive us the rest of the way, as we only had 6km left. That’s like a Parkrun, it
would be easy…
We stopped at a garage for a quick Coke and carried on running. Big mistake,
because it’s hard to get those legs moving again. The last 4km, with about 3km

22

ISSUE 77 DECEMBER 2015 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Image: Courtesy Diane Shearer

We duly headed off, telling my parents to keep an eye out for us in case we needed
a lift, and at first I thought this isn’t so bad, but that was quickly replaced by,
“Woah, you’ve clearly forgotten that you’ve never run more than 10km in your life!”
However, quitting was not an option and I forced my legs to push harder. Once I
start something, I will always finish it, no matter how hard I have to push myself.