The high after the race

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Bo

It’s been just over a week since KK finished his very first Comrades marathon race. We’ve enjoyed many evenings of analyzing it, discussing the highs and lows, the plans for the up run next year and the sad story of the runner who died just as he finished his race. It’s also been quite relaxing not to have to get up at ungodly hours to run or to plan our weekends around a race calendar.

The most wonderful part for me was running the journey alongside KK as his supporter. The training, the eating plan and the gym sessions. Even completing numerous half marathons while I waited for him to run full ones. But the two highlights for me came as the sun rose and set on the 1st June.

As we dropped KK off on the morning at the start of the Comrades race in Pietermaritzburg, he could hardly talk. In the 17 years that I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him so nervous. But the exhaustion & joy on his face when I finally found him on the field at Sahara Park after the race with his medal around his neck is a sight I’ll never forget. I was overcome with emotion and pride.

So people have asked me if I’ll be tackling the up run with him next year. Um… not a chance! The bug hasn’t bitten and I don’t think it ever will. The Comrades marathon is an enormous physical and emotional challenge which I’m so glad KK has conquered. But for now, I’m sticking to those half marathons thanks.

Imagine you’re a ballerina…

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Bo

Last week I happened to attend my very first book opening which happened to be for one of my friends from primary school. As she sat reading a few chapters out to her captive audience, I was thrown back 30 years to the days I knew her in Primary School.

Casey B Dolan was in my eyes the strongest girl I knew. Full of confidence, over-flowing with life and just magnetic to be around. She feared nothing. She stood up for what she believed and was always looking for her next adventure.

She was in fact completely opposite to me. I was shy, nervous and insecure. I was terrified of speaking in crowds; I hid behind the other girls and would never voice my opinion. I felt safe around her. She made me laugh. She protected me. Being told at one of her birthday parties to imagine we were ballerinas all day has stuck in my head forever.

Our school trip to Cape Town when we were 10 years old. (We didn’t do selfies in those days, I was taking the picture).

The same trip where I sat on an ostrich. This photo was taken 3 seconds before the bird turned around and pecked me so hard I cried in front of all my school mates.

I lost contact with Casey after primary school. I had seen her pictures in magazines. I listened to her on 5FM. So reading her memoir “Appetite for peas” totally floored me. I had grown up believing that this strong, confident friend of mine had grown up where the world was her oyster. But for those who have read Casey’s book, you will know that behind the beautiful smile lies a very sad past where she writes a raw, open & honest account of her abusive relationships and struggles with family.

Our perceptions of people and what we imagine in our heads of what their lives to be like are sometimes so far from reality. All that glitters is not always gold.

Holding her new book, “When the bough breaks” in my hand and hearing of how she has just recently won the Best Actress award for her role in “Konfetti” at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival Awards made me smile. This is her world. This is exactly where I expected to find my old friend. In the limelight she loves and where she can shower others with her massive smile, her catchy laughter and her love for the arts. Well done Casey!

“When the bough breaks” book launch at Annica’s.

6 months of magic

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Bo

When I was out running this morning, I noticed that the air was quite fresh and rather nippy. It’s the first time I’ve actually sensed that autumn is in full swing. Wow, already! Where have the months gone?

I realized as I looked back that so much has happened since last year, both with my work as well as my running.

Six months ago, I was offered a secondment to a whole different team, in a new building out of town, with a bunch of new challenges. I jumped at it! I’ve learnt so much about the world of digital – a world which never sleeps! I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked before in my life. Best of all is that I leave with so many lessons learnt.

The most memorable part was being given the opportunity to manage 3 unique and highly-skilled individuals. I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive and awesome team. They made me realize that I’m not such a bad manager after all and that I truly can inspire a team.

My goal was to be the glue that held the team together, but in the end, they were the glue that stopped me from falling and helped me grow each and every day.

Six months ago, KK decided to run Comrades and with that has come the most rewarding couple of months of training, not only for him but for me. I have run more half marathons than previous years. I’ve managed to reach PB’s in a few of my running goals.

I’ve also finally acknowledged that I need to stop being so obsessed with my pace but rather focus on how I feel during my races. For the first time ever, a 21.1km race doesn’t scare me like it used to. I know I can finish.

I’m not a big fan of winter, but as KK says, “The quicker winter comes around, the quicker summer does too.” I’m excited to see what the next 6 months brings with it. More magic I hope!

My story about the Concorde

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Bo

It was during a marathon long study session with my 11 year old niece on the weekend that memories of my own childhood school years reared its head. How funny it is to think back at some of the preconceived ideas I had as a child and the ridiculous conclusions I came up with. One of those was that because of my upbringing, I would never know about certain things. Crazy, right?.

I can still remember sitting in class in primary school and listening to the other kids discussing something known as Concorde (the now retired supersonic airplane). I had never heard about such a plane and could not really participate in the conversation. The way they spoke about it had me on the edge of my seat. Why had I not heard of this marvelous thing? How come I was the only one that didn’t know what it was? What was wrong with me?

I remember being a bit irritated at my parents for not having told me about it. But my anger was geared more towards the fact that I didn’t know. I felt so stupid. I still to this day remember thinking that I can’t blame my parents for not telling me. When the hell would they have found the time?

My parents were divorced and my mom worked a lot of overtime to make extra money so we hardly saw her. On the weekends when we saw my dad, we never engaged in such deep conversations. I just concluded that kids like me were never meant to know stuff like that. It wasn’t part of my world. I mean think about it. A fancy, super fast plane that traveled to places such as New York and Paris. The furthest we had ever been was the Kruger Park with the caravan. In fact my dad had never even been in a plane before in his life (still hasn’t to this day!).

I hope the message I conveyed to my niece on the weekend is a very different one. I hope as she writes her exams, she remembers all the wonderful facts we chatted about. All the amazing topics we discussed. I hope she remembers the awesome pictures we found on Google of the Augrabies Falls and of the Drakensberg mountains and the Zulu huts and the insects…

But above all, I hope she remains curious and eager to never stop asking questions. Because in today’s world, knowledge is free to everyone!