OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
Fast forward to May 2016 and we set out to get Nicky ready for Paris in April 2017.“ It didn’ t take too long for reality to hit, and while running the Paris Marathon sounded super glamorous, I soon realised it would involve months and months of training, hard work, commitment … all that stuff that sounds so noble, but is often hard to follow through with,” says Nicky.“ I am not a fast runner, and so the six-hour cut-off time for the marathon was always going to be a challenge, but I was determined, and I would try contextualise my long training runs to see how they would translate into my ultimate marathon time. In other words, would I make it? My training under the guidance of Jeannie and Craig showed that I should( hopefully) make it in under six hours, but it was by no means a sure thing.”
Given her challenging biomechanics, Nicky often picks up injuries from long distance running, and that included a calf injury last September. Although not nearly ready to do a run over 21km after her injury, Nicky travelled to Nelspruit in November and surprised
Nicky and Jeannie
me on the start line of the Kaapsehoop Marathon. With a mixture of joy to see my friend and dread at the thought of what Nicky was about to put herself through, I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind about running that morning. She assured me that she knew she was not fully fit yet, but still wanted to go as far as she could, which turned out to be 34km. My jaw dropped when I heard later what she had done.
Nicky just kept her sights on Paris and mentally pictured crossing the finish line on Avenue Foch.“ That image kept me going many a time, especially on those early Saturday and Sunday mornings when I had to get up at 3:45am – or as my friend and training partner Amanda calls it, stupid o’ clock – to be in time for a race at 6am in Pretoria or the South of Joburg,” says Nicky. And all too soon, she found herself in Paris with‘ bestie’ Amanda, lining up to register for the race at the Salon du Running Fair on the Friday before race day.
THE BIG DAY
As Sunday 9 April dawned, the girls made their way to the top of the Champs Elysees, and Nicky says she vividly remembers every step once the race started:“ We began moving slowly forward en masse, with music playing, adrenaline pumping, and of course, some tears of emotion seeping out. But that was when my smiling started!” She took in the sights and soaked up the atmosphere, just as she had dreamed of doing so many times, and at 29km, when passing the Eiffel Tower, she thought,“ Wow, who has that as a marker in their Sunday run?” and eventually, after 41.5km, I was on the Avenue Foch. The crowds were lining the road, banging on the advertising boards and cheering madly,‘ Allez, Allez,’ and I finished with tears of joy in my eyes, trying to take in as much as possible of the experience – which is why there is not one photo of me at the finish where I am looking in front of me! I did it, 42.195km in 5:49 … and it was the most beautiful marathon I could ever have dreamt of, the culmination of a year of planning, training, saving, treating injuries, running races at stupid o’ clock, crying, laughing … but knowing that Paris is ALWAYS a good idea!”
The Champs Elysees on race day
“ The last 10km were really tough, but I just carried on … still smiling, still plodding, still making sure there was no walking when I could hear the various bands,
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