RUNNING: Comrades 2014: The ultimate human race

RUNNING

Words & Photos: Rieghard Janse Van Rensburg

COMRADES 2014 THE 2014 COMRADES 'DOWN' RUN WAS MY FIRST COMRADES. IT'S

ALWAYS BEEN ON MY ‘BUCKET LIST’ AND 2014 WOULD BE MY YEAR. I took the preparations for what is

THE ULTIMATE HUMAN RACE

rightfully called 'The Ultimate Human Race' very seriously and even whilst preparing for IRONMAN South Africa in early April, my mind was always on tempering my training programme to allow adequate time and energy for running and having an awesome first Comrades.

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COMRADES 2014

EVERYONE YOU TALK TO WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH DIFFERENT VIEWS ON WHEN THE RACE GETS DIFFICULT, WHERE YOU MUST TAKE IT EASY OR WHERE YOU MUST WALK / RUN, AND SO ON. NAMES GET DROPPED,

SUCH AS COWIES HILL OR FIELDS HILL, AND YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO REFERENCE TO WHAT THESE NAMES WILL MEAN TO YOU. 2 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #38

No amount of third-party experience can prepare you for what you are about to experience first-hand on race day.

The race and race organisation are magical, and the atmosphere and people all just add to such an overwhelming experience of possibilities. To think that more than 15,000 people entered this run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban; it's simply astonishing.

We arrived in Pietermaritzburg just after 5:00 am and made our way to the start line. After what felt like only a moment, the National Anthem was played, followed by "Shosholoza", "Chariots of Fire" and then the infamous cock crow. Before we really had a chance to comprehend what was happening, we were on our way. The first few kilometres were fairly slow, as the streets are narrow and the sheer amount of runners make progress slower than what you would like.

However, I kept hearing the voice of Comrades Coach Lindsey Parry saying, "If you don't slow down in the first half, Comrades will slow you down in the second." So I took things easy and only fully realised the magnitude of what I was attempting when I passed the first distance marker indicating there was still 86 km to go.

Due to my good preparation in the months prior to Comrades I really enjoyed my run, gradually passing over Polly Shorts, past Cato Ridge, Inchanga, the halfway mark at Drummond and even over the 'Comrades Wall' after Drummond. Many experts warned that you need to arrive at the halfway mark feeling like you just started because that is where Comrades really starts, especially on the down run. I was content, everything was 100%, my nutrition was great, my legs were feeling good, my pace on target and I was looking forward to seeing my family at the 60 km mark.

I managed to find my family amidst all the chaos, and after spending just a few seconds with them I felt recharged and my courage renewed for the road ahead.

LEAVING MY FAMILY BEHIND, THERE WAS ANOTHER 29 KM TO TACKLE. THIS WAS

MANAGEABLE AND AS LONG AS I KEPT MY PACE, I WOULD FINISH VERY CLOSE TO MY TARGET TIME. AT THIS POINT, I STARTED TO WONDER WHEN THE RACE WOULD GET AS TOUGH AS EVERYONE WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE. www.doitnow.co.za • 3

COMRADES 2014

WITH 9 KM TO GO, I GOT MY FIRST ANSWER. MY RUN HAS SLOWED TO THE PACE OF MOST OTHER ATHLETES' WALK, SO

I DECIDED TO ADJUST MY RUN/WALK STRATEGY TO A WALK/RUN STRATEGY. I WAS STILL FEELING GOOD THOUGH AND A SUB-11-HOUR FINISH WAS STILL ON THE CARDS.

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Down to 3 km, I received the final answer. I suddenly had this overwhelming feeling to sit down with my head between my legs, as the thought of walking, let alone running, another 100 m was incomprehensible. I am no medical expert, but I knew that my body had simply endured enough. However, I had not just run 86 km to allow my body to give up on me with less than 3 km to go!

Knowing that if I gave in to this overwhelming feeling to sit down on the side of the road, it wouldn't be long before I would want to lie down and then have to be carted off to the medical facility at the finish line, with no medal. So I summonsed every ounce of strength I had to keep myself upright and walking in as straight a line as possible. If you ask me where my Comrades Marathon started, my answer is 3 km from the end.

In those 3 km, I had to muster more energy and mental strength than what the preceding 86 km required. How I managed to get myself to the finish line I am not totally sure of. What I do know is that all the training and preparations I'd done in the months leading up to this event could not have prepared me for this challenge and it dawned upon me that Comrades can be compared to Joseph Cambells' 'The Heroes Journey'. I was facing my final ultimate challenge and even though I could 'see' and 'hear' the reward, now less than 1 km away, I had to dig very, very deep; definitely the deepest I've ever had to go, to claim my reward and join the legion of runners who travelled to places inside their own ‘being’, previously unbeknown to themselves.

This is why it's called the 'The Ultimate Human Race'.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN? FOR SURE! I KNOW IN THOSE MOMENTS WHERE EVERYTHING GOES PEAR SHAPED, YOU WONDER WHY. BUT

MOMENTS AFTER THE FINISH, YOUR MIND'S ALREADY STARTING TO PLAN THE NEXT CHALLENGE! AND COMRADES HAS A BACK-TO-BACK MEDAL, SO I WILL HAVE TO BE ON THE START LINE IN 2015 FOR THE 'UP' RUN TO CLAIM MY MEDAL! • For more information and all the results, visit www.comrades.com

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