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INSPIRATION
Looking Down the Road
As Louise sets her sights on her 12th Two Oceans Ultra( and 12th Comrades Marathon) in 2027, her motivation remains clear. For her, distance running is a form of active gratitude, a way to decompress, connect with faith and nature, enjoy life’ s simple pleasures( including good food and fine wine), and invest in her long-term health.“ As I said, I run today so I can run the next day, and be strong for the next decade,” she says. It’ s a philosophy that should serve as an inspiring reminder to athletes everywhere: Running isn’ t just about the time you run today or the medals you can amass, but also about building a resilient body and mind for many years to come.
Given her father’ s running record, and the fact that she started running ultras so young, an obvious question is whether she sees herself emulating her dad’ s incredible medal tally in the big ultras. Again, Louise answers with a balanced and thoughtful answer.“ I’ m 35 and I’ ve met the
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If you do deviate from what you normally do, do it sensibly. This year, walking up Constantia Nek, I took an ice lolly, and it was the best thing I’ ve had in my life!
love of my life now. At some point, we do want to get married and have kids, so I suspect next year may be one of the last ultras before I take a break, but it certainly won’ t be my last ultra.”
When asked for a final piece of advice for young runners coming into the ultra-running world, she says running has taught her to never take anything for granted.“ Things can change in the blink of an eye, be that in life or in a race, so just be thankful for and appreciate what you have. Also, always stay humble, because if you don’ t, sometimes life humbles you. It’ s exactly the same in road running … If you go in with a big head, a race like Two Oceans has a tendency to humble you. It’ s like everyone says, if you’ ve never been humbled before, Constantia Nek may have your name written on it. So remember to take it easy in the first half of the race, and then fly up that hill!”
Images: Action Photo SA
Louise will be the youngest female BNC in the 2027 race
20 TOTALSPORTS TWO OCEANS MARATHON 2027 POWERED BY BYD