spar Greeff
do what I could when I was younger but I try to spend at least an hour at the gym every day. I have said earlier that I enjoyed a challenge and I still do. Last year( 2024) I finished an online BCom( International Accounting) degree through the University of Johannesburg.
MANY STRUGGLE WITH RETIREMENT. HOW DO YOU VIEW IT, AND WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU SHARE?
I never found retirement difficult, as meaningful work was always available. I continued at Stellenbosch University after retiring at 60 and later worked as a consulting actuary until my 80s. Since then, I have stayed busy. My advice to retirees is to stay fit, stay active and pursue interests, accepting physical decline but avoiding inactivity.
HOW DID ENDURANCE RUNNING BECOME A PASSION?
In Cape Town I walked and climbed mountains – I have been a member of the Mountain Club of South Africa for more than 60 years. In the mid- 1960s, I was transferred to Johannesburg, where the mountains were too far away by my standards. At that time, road walking was popular in Johannesburg. So, together with my wife and three children, we started road walking. After I had completed a few long-distance race walks – including a 50- mile race walk in Cape Town – I decided to run the Comrades Marathon. I joined an athletic club and my first road race was the 56km Pieter Korkie Ultra in what is now Centurion( the last edition of the race was run in 1995). My second road race was the Comrades( 1969) followed by a standard 42km marathon. There were under 600 finishers in the Comrades that year and I finished 71 st with a time of 07:38:25.
HOW MANY COMRADES HAVE YOU RUN, AND DO YOU SEE PARALLELS BETWEEN ENDURANCE RUNNING AND ACTUARIAL SCIENCE?
I have completed 38 Comrades, more than 150 ultra-marathons and about 400 marathons. Both fields – running and actuarial science – require hard work and discipline- perspiration matters as much as inspiration. Success comes from consistent effort, not just talent or brilliance.
THE COMRADES IS KNOWN FOR ITS CAMARADERIE AND SPIRIT. WHAT ROLE HAS THE RUNNING COMMUNITY PLAYED IN YOUR LIFE?
The spirit at all road races is wonderful. Even if you finish last you still receive congratulations. I have made many friends and received lots of recognition in the running community. Even a geriatric like me can participate in the short road races.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
In my younger days, I did not appreciate all that I received from life. I would tell my younger self to be grateful for all the benefits that you are receiving. Show the people for whom you care, how important they are to you and how much they mean to you.
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