At the age of 40 in late 2012, I took up running really for the first time. I joined a local running group and with some consistency I could see improvements coming quickly and therefore my enjoyment for it increased. I started attending more and more group runs and then got the boldness to enter my first Half Marathon in July 2013, followed by my first Marathon in April 2014 which I backed up with two more Marathons that year. Over this time I would watch on in awe of the runners in our club who would train from January to May for the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. I would do some training runs with them, support them out on the road and attend their events. My close friend and running buddy decided she would run the Comrades Marathon in 2014 and so while I was training for the Marathons I supported her in her journey. She would ask me from time to time if I was going to come and run it but I kept saying no for several reasons. One because I knew it would take a big commitment and secondly because I didn’t think that I was a good enough runner to take on such an event.
During my friends journey I would listen to her stories that she told of the comraderies, the friendships and the achievement that is was. The contemplation to possibly do the hardest physical and mental challenge in my life was starting to begin. I thought about what it would take, and if I would regret not giving it a go down the track, was the timing right? The scripture in Luke 14:28-30 kept coming to me, that I needed to weigh up the cost and that is what I did. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Finally I pushed the self-doubt aside and told myself ‘I can do it and I will’. Once I had the peace of God about it I made the commitment and said ‘Yes’. One thing is for sure it was not a decision I took lightly as it was going to take dedication, commitment, sacrifice and guts. I knew if I was going to embark on this journey that I had to have the right mindset from the start and I needed to be clear about what it would take. I had to set my course right from the beginning, and so the planning began. Habakkuk 2:2 And the Lord answered me and said, Write the Vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
The first step was getting a qualifier. I needed to have run a Marathon after August 2014 of at least 5 hours or less to be able to enter. I knew I could do that as I already had achieved that in the months previously. I had to set smaller goals along the way to get to the bigger one, so I decided I would go for a PB (personal best) of 4 hours and 30 mins for Melbourne Marathon. I put in the training, pushed myself and achieved my goal. That put me in a good place and helped build my confidence. The mistake after that I made however is I didn’t give my body time to rest, recover and repair after the event and jumped straight back into training which eventuated in an injury. We can all make this mistake and I particularly see it with people in ministry. They push themselves and push themselves because they are passionate about their call and the mission, but don’t take enough time out to rest before they start the next leg of the journey. And what happens when we do this, we get burnout and in my case over training and not listening to my body put me on the sideline for the next 6 weeks. I have learnt not to under estimate the importance of rest.
January came around quickly and for the Comrades Runner the 1st January officially kicks off the training program. I didn’t have the base I originally wanted to keep during off season as I had been recovering from the ITB strain but none the less I had a good rest and was keen to get started. As I reviewed the week after week of training I needed to put in around 1,200 km of running over the next 5 months, which was a higher volume than what I had done in the whole of the year before. Not only did I need to put in the physical work but I started early with preparing myself mentally. As a Born Again Christian and a Partner and employee of Kenneth Copeland Ministries I had been taught about the importance of keeping my thoughts and words right. This truth helped me tremendously. Whenever I had doubt come into my mind I would quickly arrest the thought and work on casting it down and would meditate on telling myself I could do this and confess the scriptures that I knew were related to my goal. A favourite one for this became Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
I often reflected on the life lessons that were accentuated to me by the Holy Spirit during this time. He would show me things that I could apply to many areas in my life, workplace and my Christian walk. To stay committed to the goal I found it helped me to be connected to others who were on the same journey. It would have been difficult if I had tried to do it on my own or isolated myself. I stayed accountable to those I was training with and if I said I was going to be there at 4.00am in the morning I made every effort to keep to it, even if it was an inconvenience or if I would have preferred to turn off the alarm and stay in bed. For me it was about being a person of integrity and someone you could rely on, a team player. I didn’t like to make half-hearted commitments, if I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it to a session I would not commit to it. I strongly believe this was from the Spirit of God. (James 5:12) One of the big things was I needed to be organised. It is easier to talk yourself out of doing something when you haven’t prepared for it. This would mean packing my breakfast and lunch and clothes the night before, and having everything laid out and ready to go. There’s a good tip right there for anyone who is lacking motivation, no matter what it is you are lacking motivation for! Have a plan and be prepared. One of the most wonderful things was the support I was getting around me from my fellow runners and husband. I was often at the back of the pack during some of those longer training runs. But someone always stayed with me, even if that meant driving alongside the road in their car and waiting for me every few kilometres. It was a humbling experience and the Lord would often talk to me about it in relation to His body and how we are meant to support and encourage one another.
After 5 months of training, the time had finally come to leave for South Africa. I was filled with excitement but there was also a somberness about it. Had I prepared enough, what would happen on the day? I tried not to let the nerves get to me so I didn’t over analyse everything. Unlike other events I had done in the past where you can just keep going until you finish, this one has a cut off time, and cut off points throughout the course. If you are not at a certain point by a certain time your day can end right there and if you do not cross that finish line in 12 hours from when the start gun has fired you are not allowed to finish. Many tears of disappointment are shed in that 11:59:59 time slot when that final gun is fired and many don’t get to cross that finish line and complete the journey they have worked for.
As I stood at the starting line, I just wanted to soak in as much of it that I could. I had been told your first Comrades run is your most memorable and for me I was thinking this was it, a once in a lifetime shot, I am going to give it my all. There were over 20,000 people from all walks of life lined up in the dark that morning. The atmosphere was amazing. Crowds of supporters were out to watch the start. It would seem everything in South Africa stops on this day and all eyes are on those who are attempting this feat. As the National Anthem roared over the streets the proud South African’s sung at the top of their voice with hands on hearts. This followed with the iconic Chariots of Fire song which echoed through every part of my being. This is it I thought as I looked around with streams of tears rolling down my face, actually I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, we are about to start. Next thing, there was a rooster crow and the gun was fired, we were off.
It was going to be a hot day, it was 5.30am and I was already sweating as I started the first hill climb out of Durban. As far as the eye could see in front of me and behind there was a sea of runners. I had worn a shirt that had Australia printed front and back. People seem to like the Aussies so I was getting heaps of ‘Go Aussie’, ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’, and ‘Go Shelia’ from fellow runners and the crowds of supporters. It was fine in the beginning but as the day progressed my enthusiasm to respond at times diminished. I was surprised at how quickly the first 30km went by, I felt good and was keeping a good pace and momentum. I had already seen along the side of the road people who were pulling out due to cramping, injury or pain. Some of those ascents were pretty relentless, most people, even the elites have to use a run / walk strategy up some of them. I was making sure I kept hydrated and would take water or electrolytes or coke (it is amazing what a lift a coke can do) at every stop. I would take two waters, one to drink and then pour the other one over my head to cool me down. I used this strategy over the entire day.
I am still not sure at the point that I crossed the half way point how I felt, the kilometre to go kept going down but I still had a long way to go. One thing I did know is once I got over that 56km mark it was the furthest I had ever run in one go and I had just crossed over into new territory. By this stage my body was hurting in all sorts of places. I was very tempted to stop and get a massage along the way as that was available, but I knew the time was ticking and I didn’t really have any time to spare. There was one point when my lower back and calf muscles were screaming at me and a couple of local ladies were standing on the side of the road with an ice spray and giving runners a quick spray and rub. I did get one of them to rub my leg briefly, it was enough to help me get over the next hill.
In an event like this you go through different high and low points both mentally and physically. I can recall at this one point feeling really good, it is hard to recall what mileage I had done at the time as the kilometres can all just blend in together. I had a new burst of energy and had managed to block out any pain by praying in the Holy Spirit for short while. I came to this hill and as I was powering up I happened to look over at a couple of young African men who were doing it tuff. The looks on their faces and their words were saying I want to quit, they were in pain. Suddenly with a loud outburst I shouted at them, ‘Don’t give up now, you can do this, C’MON!’ It was as if they snapped to attention, put one foot in front of the other and on a word of encouragement they pushed over that climb. The Lord then spoke to me about the need for us to do this for one another. When you are feeling strong and turn around and see your brother struggling, don’t wait for him to ask you for help, reach out to him, it is your responsibility. I never thought that the Lord would have so many things to say to me about life and His church through my running. But it was wonderful and I was grateful about the real life on the job lessons I was witnessing.
There was another such time as the minutes and hours ticked by and from doing the calculations in my head that I was doubting if I would get to the finish line before the 12 hour mark. The Race Bib that every runner wears marks on it the number of times each runner has completed the run before. For me I had a big fat Zero on my bib which meant I was a first timer, a rookie. I looked around to see if I could see a runner who had done this event a number of times before. I spotted a lady who had 7 runs on her bib. I came in beside her and with a look of anticipation I said ‘Are we going to make the cut off’? She calmly reassured me that I was doing fine, my pace was good and as long as I didn’t stop and walk too often I would make it in time. I had another experienced comrade’s runner, an older Asian man come up beside me at one point and said ‘You are doing well, you are going to make it, just keep going’. ‘Ok’, I said, ‘Thank you’. And off I went. Again the Lord spoke to me about these events and the importance of getting advice, help and encouragement from those more experienced in the things of God than you are. When you are struggling or need some guidance and reassurance, of course we should always go to the Lord and His Word but there are times when He uses the experience and knowledge of others to help us along the way. (Psalm 32:8, Proverbs 15:22) Another life lesson learnt!
I got to 25km’s to go and I had under 3 hours 15min’s s left before cut off. Even though my pace had dropped off I knew at that point if I pushed that last 25km I would make it. It would be close, but I could do it. The last 25km it become easier to keep a run shuffle going then to walk. The front of my shins hurt when I walked and had been hurting for many hours now, my back hurt, my feet hurt, actually I think the only thing that wasn’t hurting was my hair. I looked down at my feet and could see blood through one shoe, but I didn’t have time to deal with it so I just kept going, one foot in front of the other. You think about all sorts of things, but one thing was for sure, I didn’t come all this way to give up because I believed I could do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthened me.
In that last descent of 4km into Pietermaritzburg the crowd support started to build. The cheers and beats of people banging on the fences just does something on the inside of you, it gives you a push just when you think you have no more to give. I was surprised and honoured when that little Asian man from so many miles ago that gave me a word of encouragement seem to come out of nowhere up beside me and said ‘I told you, you would make it’, as we ran down that final bend. I was amazed at the crowd as I came down the road and into the stadium. I was overwhelmed in the moment and the pain I was feeling temporarily left as I managed to lift my arms into the air with jubilation that I was about to cross that finish line. I made it, I thought as I looked at the clock and it said 11:50. I finished with just 10 minutes to spare. There was a man waiting at the finish line and he handed me my medal. He shook my hand and said ‘Great achievement, well done’. Tears of joy and relief yet again rolled down my face. He gave me a smile and a hug and said ‘It’s ok to cry, it is emotional to finish’.
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At that point I thought I am never doing that again. It was the toughest thing I had ever done and it literally took blood, sweat and tears to cross that finish line. I felt as if the toughest marathon course in the world had just chewed me up and spat me out over the finish line at the end. A lot of people don’t ever understand what drives a person to take on such things and for each of us it is different. The comradeship and atmosphere that you experience is something else. The community support of the locals is amazing, the things the Lord taught me will stick for a life time and in the days following as I thought on these things and my body started to recover the desire to do it again is drawing me back.
Article by Amanda Neil
