RUN WITH RORY
2 MINS 37 SECONDS
Rory on the Run
Champions! We have all done it, run that race we shouldn’ t for one reason or another. My story serves as a warning to all of you, as much as you think you can, sometimes you shouldn’ t.
Let’ s start at the beginning with me planning to run the Hillcrest Marathon on Sunday 8 February. I had high hopes of finishing in WAY under
04:59:59 to qualify for Two Oceans. And I say‘ WAY under’ 04:59:59 because, excuse me, I’ ve run a few Comrades Marathons already( not sure if I’ ve ever told you about them, but I will one day) and the qualifying times was 04:49:59 and I did those without a problem.
No, don’ t ask what batch I was in, just know I qualified without a problem! OK, I was right at the back where we have barmen and smoking sections. Nothing gets you going like a double vodka and blueberry Energade! JOKES! Don’ t cancel me!
So, surely a 04:59:59 was more than doable. Well, let’ s go back a few weeks prior to Hillcrest Marathon race day, and this is officially where the lesson starts. I was diagnosed with bronchitis sometime in early to mid- January and was forced to take a break.
As a runner, you know what this is like:“ What? When can I run again? Is there anything you can do to make it go away faster? What if I’ m feeling better tomorrow? Can I not even run slowly?”
So, of course, less than a week later, I was back on the road. I planned to do 30km. You know, just slowly because I’ m still recovering from bronchitis. I was in a panic, you see. Hillcrest Marathon was around the corner and with less mileage in 2025 than an upside-down tortoise.
Well, long story short, 30km very quickly turned into 13km and I came huffing, puffing, coughing and almost
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