As a passionate sportswoman, I have always been grateful just to be able to take part in races around the province.
I was also grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime when I was invited by my sponsor, GarminSA, to race the Discovery Duathlon in Sandton, which took place on Sunday.
As a passionate sportswoman, I have always been grateful just to be able to take part in races around the province.
I was also grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime when I was invited by my sponsor, GarminSA, to race the Discovery Duathlon in Sandton, which took place on Sunday.
My triathlon and duathlon career started eight years ago and not many product sponsors were in the pipeline for me.
I was rewaded for my hard work by making the South African team that took part in the World Triathlon Championships in 2010. I raised funds for worlds – and other events leading up to worlds – by selling muffins and Newton running shoes!
I was approached by Garmin in June this year to become one of their "product ambassadors" which meant I would use their products for free, testing them and giving feedback to GarminSA head office. While I was very happy just being able to use their products, I was elated when they invited me to run in the GarminSA colours at the weekend's duathlon.
It was a humbling experience – especially when I'm used to selling muffins to fund my training – being treated like royalty for the weekend. Garmin flew me up there and gave me a vehicle to get to the event.
The event consists of a 10km run 40km cycle and 5km run. I started in Wave 4 which included all the women entrants. The first run of 4 x 2,5km laps was on a very tough hilly course. I ran the first 2,5km comfortably, until I started experiencing breathing problems.
I have never really raced at altitude which took its toll on my ability to get enough oxygen into my lungs. Although I was unable to maintain a comfortable pace without feeling out of breath, I was still with a good group of women, and I decided to stick to a pace which I knew I could maintain. After getting through the 10km run, it was into the first transition and onto my bike.
The hilly cycle course took us through the busy streets of Sandton. It went round three loops of over 12 km each. Still battling to breath properly, I was able to pass a few people.
After the challenging cycle course, it was back through transition and onto the final 5km run. By this stage I was fatigued, but as a runner I knew I was used to pulling through to the end. While this was the hardest Duathlon I have raced in a while – mainly due to altitude – it was also the best experience, racing on the same day as South Africa’s top athletes.
I finished 10th woman out of 200 and 7th out of 68 in the 30-39 age group, with an overall time of 2 hours 38 minutes – some way off my personal best.
Thank you Gamin for giving me the opportunity to race in Sandton, and for the royal treatment.
