powered by
INSPIRATION
Wearing her Yellow Number and on her way to Blue in 2025
5:52. I didn’ t know it at the time, but he’ d been keeping an eye on me most of the time from 300m back.”
Life on the Road
For Louise, running has always been about a full lifestyle commitment, but also one that involves joy, a sense of community with her training group, and balance. There was life before running when I had‘ normal’ friends but now they’ re all running friends. We meet up four times a week. The best part is, my dad is part of the‘ friends’ group, and it’ s really special to get to train with him,” says Louise.
“ Although I’ ve learnt a lot through trial and error, I have naturally benefitted from my dad’ s training, He has coached many people through the years, and he’ s never given me any secret tips or words of advice that he hasn’ t given to those other runners. He’ s very generous with his insights, and also very fair in that way.”
Having a Famous Father
All this talk about Wietse’ s influence on her running begs the obvious question how Louise defines her own identity as a runner as distinct from your father’ s. She answers that while they are very close and usually run races together, she still has her own running philosophy.“ To others, Wietse is perhaps a bit of a legend, but to me he’ s just‘ Dad,’ and I run to support him whenever I can. I love seeing him get to the finish of the mammoth races like Comrades and Two Oceans, knowing I was there by his side.”
“ My father was quite competitive when he was younger – his best Two Oceans time was 3:50 – whereas I’ m not fast. I’ m more like a turtle going through peanut butter, but I’ m consistent, and I can carry on at a decent pace for a while. One thing strategy wise I learnt to do early in my
She adds that running has taught her many life lessons, notably that it requires careful planning in order to integrate one’ s training for the long races into one’ s daily routine, but getting this right also creates a fuller, more disciplined life off the road. Louise notes that the more you plan, the more you find you can actually fit in, and she credits her parents for having successfully modelled a running-integrated lifestyle for her and her sister as they grew up. confidence to know I wasn’ t limited by society’ s perceptions, that I could also own being strong and courageous. In turn, I think women in the sport owe it to themselves to be role models for any young girls watching who may love running, but are intimidated by the distance.”
Memorable First Voyage
When that 2013 Two Oceans arrived, Louise lined up next to her father, and she says it was a really special experience, from start to finish.“ As the fish horn blew, we said a prayer together, and I’ ll always remember him telling me,“ Run with your head and keep your head in the game, no matter what. Keep an eye on your watch, as you don’ t want to go out too fast. Two Oceans is sly – she seduces you with the first half, so you can easily fall into the trap of forgetting about the climbs to come later.”
Wietse was also running as an official subsix-hour pacesetter in that race, which suited Louise perfectly.“ He kept talking to me, advising me how to handle small bits of mileage at a time and letting me know what was coming up next, but then on Constantia Nek he told he was going to drop back a bit and unexpectedly handed me the pacing flag,” recalls Louise.
“ I was actually quite angry, but luckily I could remember where his markers were from training we’ d done. Being upset also have me a burst of adrenaline, so instead of finishing at the target 5:55, I brought the bus home slightly early in
“
One
18 TOTALSPORTS TWO OCEANS MARATHON 2027 POWERED BY BYD
“ One of the things my dad emphasised to me is that running is a lifestyle – it transcends a sport or even a hobby. You can’ t simply squeeze training into your day here and there – running demands a lot of you, so you need to plan your day and other activities in advance and around your training. He actually showed me how to integrate running into my life, and that has been the biggest blessing as far as road running goes. I think some people who don’ t get to see this being modelled may struggle to attain a work-life balance, and may even give up on the sport altogether.”
She adds that the better you plan, the fuller your life can be.“ I’ m currently seeing someone really special, and I feel like he’ s the most supportive man in the world when it comes to my running, while I support his cricket endeavours. It would have been infinitely more difficult if he didn’ t fit into the lifestyle. That’ s another lesson I’ ve seen my parents model – they both support each other’ s goals and interests.”
Nothing better than celebrating Blue with her BNC Dad
of the things my dad emphasised to me is that running is a lifestyle – it transcends a sport or even a hobby. You can’ t simply squeeze training into your day here and there.
Images: Action Photo SA