to the cold, and for South Africans, up in those European mountains, it was very, very cold! At some points I was unable to run, and would walk, or just take a break, but no matter what you did, walking or standing or running, every movement hurt. I remember on my second leg, going up a 1km section of mountain that was practically vertical, I just stood there and cried at one point. Many of the runners took over 30 minutes to climb that 1km section. But I would love to attend the event again, because my preparations would be a little bit different now that I know what to expect.”
Unsurprisingly, given her bubbly personality, Tumi was a huge hit with most of the other teams at Beat the Sun, and some of the friends she made will be coming to South Africa in March to join her in running the three-day Cell C AfricanX Trailrun presented by Asics, where she will partner Ron van der Merwe in Team Neverest, and then her racing plans include the Austrian Marathon and Munich Marathon in Europe when she pays a return visit to her running friends.“ This is the first time I will be doing something like
“ I am quite competitive and I aim for a podium place in all my races – that’ s a goal I set for myself, but I also hold a lot of respect for the ladies that I run against, and it is always an experience to run against them.”
AfricanX, and it will be the furthest I’ ve run in a race, because I’ ve never done a three-stage race before, but my coach and I are planning it well, and I am extremely excited for the upcoming months. Then after the marathons I will be concentrating on speed work, because I am definitely planning to achieve a 1.20 for a 21km later this year.”
DANCING SHOES
Besides running, Tumi’ s other passions include the dramatic arts and dancing, and in grade 11 she says she believed her future career would either be in running, or the performing arts!“ I love performing and dancing, because my personality is always out there … get up and dance, live life to the fullest!” She trained in ballet, ballroom, tap and modern dancing, and says she was also able to pick up many other styles.“ When I was younger I was virtually a self-taught dancer, I could pick up routines easily and I had the skill to do it, but I couldn’ t see myself as a pro dancer, because I wouldn’ t want to put that much focus on it. I love dancing, but I don’ t think I ever want my dancing to become a chore, or lose my passion for it.”
Instead, while her father urged her to study medicine, she instead found her way into the business world, and along the way, in between all the running, she also earned a coastal skipper’ s licence and did some sailing, ticked skydiving and bungee-jumping off her bucketlist, and learnt two and a half new European languages( with two and a half more still coming)! And while she would dearly love to make running her career, she says she also has a dream of getting into sports commentary.“ I love engaging with human beings. I love sports, so I would love to commentate for running, cricket and football. I would definitely consider that as a career, but first I want to see what I can achieve as a runner.”
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