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INSPIRATION
Louise van der Westhuizen finishes her 11th TTOM Ultra this year alongside her famous father, Wietse
For some, long-distance running is a weekend hobby or a seasonal resolution. For Louise van der Westhuizen, it is the rhythm of life itself. That may have something to do with the fact that she attended her first Two Oceans Marathon at just nine months old, almost before she could walk, and her journey with endurance sports has continued unabated since then. Today, she is the proud owner of TTOM Blue Number 6510 and with her entry for the 2027 race confirmed, she will not only line up for her 12th Ultra voyage, but at 35, will also be the youngest female owner of a Blue Number in the Ultra field.
Louise was raised in the slipstream of her truly legendary running father, Wietse van der Westhuizen. Amongst his many running achievements, he can look back on 36 Two Oceans Ultra voyages( Blue Number 333), putting him joint 10th on the all-time list of most TTOM medals. He also has 47 Comrades Marathon medals to his name – joint third on the all-time list – and has run literally thousands of other races in his career. He even won a national title in race walking many years back!
Having followed in her father’ s running footsteps – more accurately, running alongside him – Louise now has 11 medals each in the Two
Oceans and Comrades ultra marathons( plus another four in the TTOM Half), and has forged her own path as a seasoned, consistent and remarkably grounded athlete. By day, she works in the medical sales field, meeting with doctors to discuss allergy medications, but outside office hours, a large part of her life revolves around the road. Through a blend of inherited family wisdom, personal trial and error, and a sensible commitment to consistency over speed, Louise offers a refreshing perspective on what it truly means to run for the long haul.
Born Into a Runner’ s World
Growing up with a distance-running icon as a father meant that running was never treated as an extraordinary feat; it was simply normal.“ It definitely comes down to the influence of my dad,” says Louise.“ My younger sister and I grew up in an environment where parents running road races was the lifestyle, and we were enrolled in fun runs from as far back as I could remember – it was a good way for us to keep busy.”
“ I did my first few 10km runs at the beginning of high school, and then for my New Year’ s Resolution in 2007, I told my dad that I wanted to run the Two Oceans Half Marathon that year. He gave me a training programme, and my mom started training with me, just so that this 16-year-old girl wasn’ t running around the streets on her own. And it started there, because with that first half marathon behind me, I was eager to do more.”
Her transition into ultras was equally organic. In 2012, as a 20-year-old second-year university student, Louise tackled her first marathon. Recovering from a cracked patella sustained when he took a fall at the Comrades Marathon earlier that year, it was her dad who paced her to a sub-5-hour finish. That meant she qualified for the 2013 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, and her proud father couldn’ t have been happier.“ He proceeded to tell everyone I was going to do the Ultra in 2013, so I started wrapping my head around the idea. The one thing I knew was that if I was going to tackle it, I wasn’ t going to set out to do anything crazy. I just wanted a solid sub-6 time.”
Louise recalls that not everybody agreed with her decision.“ Many people told me I was too young and should reconsider, even though 20 was the minimum age to run the ultras, and some even said I wouldn’ t be able to do it, but my parents backed my decision, and that was all I needed. It was important to have both my parents back me, and it gave me the
Images: Action Photo SA
Many people told me I was too young and should reconsider, and some even said I wouldn’ t be able to do it, but my parents backed my decision, and that was all I needed.
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