Ma Balancing Act
RUNNING the World
CDP : Some recent highlights include watching the sunrise from the top of Kilimanjaro in 2014 , and then going to the 20th commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 , where I made friends with some young locals who had lost relatives in the war , and they told me amazing stories of religious tolerance and forgiveness . Last year I travelled to Kazakhstan and visited an old Soviet nuclear test site , where I met a guy who worked as a Soviet nuclear physicist , but he “ isn ’ t talking about it .”
In 2000 I travelled to Russia and stopped off at the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea . Getting around the island was above my budget , so I decided to run the 10km or so to see a staircase that Alexandr Solzhenitsyn wrote about in his book The Gulag
Archipelago , where people were apparently thrown down to be killed , but with my nonexistent Russian
I had missed the sign that said we should only drink boiled water . I made many , many pitstops in the bushes that day !
Freelance news and political journalist Carien Du Plessis has not only travelled the world while covering some of the most diverse stories , but she also finds time to stay fit and run ultra-marathons . We pinned her down for a chat while she was home for a few days in Johannesburg . – BY RACHEL PIENAAR
MA : Tell me a bit about your background . CDP : I was born in Potchefstroom in 1974 , but we moved to Stellenbosch when I was 13 . I eventually went on to study a BA degree at Stellenbosch University , where I also completed my Masters in Linguistics . After university , I moved to London where I did everything from secretarial jobs to copywriting and freelance journalism , and a bit of travelling . At the age of 28 I decided it was time to start saving for a pension , so I moved back to SA , where I worked as a full-time journalist for various papers as a political reporter , most recently for City Press . However , I always said by age 40 I would take a gap / travel year and I have been travelling and freelancing since May 2015 . My dream has always been to become a travelling writer of international fame , and I feel I ’ m finally getting a bit closer to that !
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MA : You are known as an outspoken political journalist . Where did the passion for politics come from ?
CDP : I grew up in a politically turbulent time in the country and am lucky to have parents who are highly politically aware and raised me with the idea that all humans are equal . Back then such beliefs were quite ‘ subversive .’ My dad was one of the academics who went to speak to the ANC in exile in 1987 , and we moved to Stellenbosch soon after – back then Stellenbosch had a strong activist community and I started attending political meetings and marches .
MA : Tell us some of the highlights of your travels .
MA : When did the running bug bite you ?
CDP : I ’ ve been running races since I was five , and a few years later I started training with my dad , running 2 to 3km in the mornings – I ’ m an early riser , but had strict orders not to wake him up while it was still dark , so I ’ d read the morning paper until it was time to wake him . He did one marathon and decided it wasn ’ t for him , but our cross country coach was a regular Comrades runner , and I always assumed I ’ d do it too , one day . In 1999 I read The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux and decided my life was boring , so I started training for my first marathon in Paris ( 2000 ). Then in 2009 I attended a party in Durban on the same day as the Comrades , and decided it would be me the next year , so I started training the moment I recovered from the hangover , and went on to do five Comrades in a row without really meaning to .
MA : Do you often go running when travelling in order to explore ?
CDP : Yes , when I pack my bags for a trip I always pack my running kit first , which means once or twice I ’ ve completely forgotten to pack clothes to sleep in … Running is the best way to explore and get to know both the soul of a place and the locals , like joining the scores of people training at the central square of Addis
Images : Courtesy Carien Du Plessis