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Feature
Helping hand for Robbie
Triple Green at Last
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Having been unable to complete the 2016 Comrades when aiming for her 30th ( and final ) medal , 1991 women ’ s winner Tilda Tearle returned in 2017 for another go at earning her Triple Green before hanging up her Comrades shoes for good . In her typically honest and irreverent way , here is her story .
n 2016 I failed to finish my 30th Comrades as I had been injured and couldn ’ t train properly . However , I “ kept the faith ” that I would do it in 2017 , because I had made a promise to myself that after I completed 30 , I would take Comrades ‘ pension ’… but then 2017 did not start well . I tore a calf muscle which reduced me to a swimmer and walker for six weeks . Life is not always a bed of roses !
After six weeks I was able to run again and decided to try compression socks . These helped , as I felt I was being “ kept together ,” but I had not qualified for Comrades during 2016 and had to get my act together . So I entered the Pietermaritzburg 42km on just a few weeks ’ training and one 21km run . Phew , I qualified in 4:56 – hurdle number one had been overcome and my calf remained intact .
All in all my training went well . I decided that this year I would not run so many races , but would do a lot of back-to-back training runs , and I also decided to stay off the route and rather use the Chatsworth 52km as my long run . I stayed away from trail runs , and was extra careful while running in the dark , so no further injuries , and as Comrades got closer , I never lost faith in myself . I know I am now quite slow , but I perform like an old truck and can just keep going once I ’ m warmed up !
Friendly Support
Meanwhile , Stephan Bruwer ( aka Fanie ), who I have run with for many years , was not as fit as he should have been and was thinking about withdrawing from Comrades . I suggested he run with me and forced him into a few longer training runs . On Comrades morning we met outside the Hilton , and I gave his daughter some GU ’ s , Rennies and sparkling water , as she would be seeing us at various spots . Fanie and I then walked up to the start and fought our way into a spot amongst the E batch runners .
It was the normal pandemonium at the start … runners jumping the fence , some unmentionable smells , a bit of pushing and shoving . Eventually the Comrades cock crowed , the gun went , and it took us four minutes to cross the start line . We got going with a few leaps over discarded tops and bottles , and potholes in the road . During the early stages of our run we saw the lady being pushed in the adult pram , the lady doing her thing in a racing wheelchair , the “ backwards man ,” the blind man , and the barefoot man from Celtic Harriers . When we got to the bottom of Field ’ s Hill we met Fanie ’ s family and I collected a GU . This was unfortunately the last time I would see them .
Up Field ’ s Hill I felt like James Brown and started pulling ahead of Fanie and Robbie Richey ( who by now had hunted me down , because he has used me as a pacer since 2013 !). We still went through Kloof together , but by the start of Hillcrest I had dropped the boys . I only found out later that Fanie encountered problems at Botha ’ s and had to withdraw … His pulse rate shot up so high he thought he was having a heart attack !
Early stages with Fanie
My plan had been to get through halfway around 5:20 , so I could walk a lot in the second half . I was a bit off , but still had lots of time for walking . I encountered lots of runners who wanted to chat and wish me well , and I saw everyone I had planned to see along the route , so my day was turning out happy . Meanwhile , Robbie had caught up again and made sure he stayed near me . At one stage I even held his hand to keep him going .
Digging Deep
During Comrades you have to learn not to panic . I had now lost my GU ’ s , as Fanie ’ s daughter was nowhere to be seen , but I knew that at Camperdown I had a GU at the Savages table . That thought kept me going ,
Images : Jetline Action Photo
18 ISSUE 96 JULY 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za