RACE REPORT
Landie Greyling’ s trail running grit shines through at SA Marathon Champs
Landie Greyling’ s win at the Balwin Sport Peninsula Marathon, which also served as Athletics South Africa’ s( ASA) National Marathon Championships, came as a huge surprise to her. The 41-year-old, Western Province Athletics( WPA) athlete renowned for her trail running prowess, represented her province and crossed the finish line in third place in 2:55:01.
Jenna Challenor( 2:51:24) from Nedbank KZN was the first local athlete to cross the finish line but was not competing in provincial colours, which disqualified her from the ASA title. The same applied to her clubmate Deanne Laubscher( 02:53:51) running in the colours of Nedbank AGN.
Landie earned R20 000 for her effort, while Jenna took home R12 000 for her Balwin Sport Peninsula Marathon victory, in challenging windy conditions.
Reflecting on the race, Landie admitted,“ When I woke up on race day, I really didn’ t believe that I stood a chance of being crowned the SA Champion. I had no expectations other than trying to qualify for Two Oceans and Comrades, and to be honest, I was just aiming for a solid race.”
Landie’ s journey to road racing has been a gradual one. Last year, Landie used the Two Oceans Marathon as a training run to familiarise herself with the demands of road racing, easing into the transition from her usual trail running terrain. She showed her potential by placing 16th at Comrades in her first attempt at the gruelling ultra.
This year, however, the expectations are higher.“ I didn’ t want to do too much in my first year of road running,” she explained.“ But now that I’ ve had a breakthrough, I’ m aiming for a much better time at Two Oceans this year, and I’ d love to get my back-to-back medal in Comrades.”
Landie’ s marathon performance was a testament to the strength and resilience she’ s developed through her trail career. The fierce winds on the day made the race particularly challenging, but Greyling’ s ability to dig deep in tough conditions helped her push through.
“ Sometimes the best way to go about a race is not to put too much expectation on yourself,” she said.“ You just go out there, get the job done, and see what happens. The atmosphere was amazing, and the support on the route was incredible. I was really battling in the first half, but I stayed patient and kept focusing on getting to the business end of the race.”
Landie credits her trail running background for giving her the grit to push through the wind and fatigue.“ I finished strong in the last 10km of the race. I think my trail running strength really helped me in the wind today,” she said.
“ I just tried to grit my teeth and hold on for dear life as long as I could, but it was tough out there. So, to everyone who ran, you ran a very windy Peninsula today. Finally, I can say I met the real South Easter.“ The wind was brutal, but I’ ve been through tough conditions in trail races before, so I knew how to handle it.”
She also acknowledged the success of the ASA, WPA and Celtic Harriers-organised event.“ The organisers did an excellent job with the race,” Landie said.“ I’ m glad to be part of it and proud to now call myself the SA Champion.”
Despite the victory, Landie remains humble, saying,“ I went out there to enjoy the race and to hit my qualifying time for Two Oceans. Now that I’ ve won the SA Championships, I know there will be more expectations on me. But I don’ t let others’ expectations get to me. I’ ll put more pressure on myself to run a good Two Oceans and Comrades this year.”
Landie also shared how she looks up to South African distance running legend Elana Meyer, who is not only a mentor but also a close running companion.“ Elana is an inspiration to me,” Landie said.“ She’ s a flag bearer for distance running in South Africa, and it’ s great to have her as a mentor. We run together in a women’ s group, and I feel lucky to have someone like her living in my town.”
Looking ahead, Landie is excited about her road-running future.“ I’ m grateful for everything I’ ve achieved so far, but I’ m only getting started. I have big goals ahead, and I’ m ready to give it my all.”
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