ChatGPT cannot coach, encourage or run alongside me to my Blue Number goal

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Bo

👉 Steal this ChatGPT prompt: Act with confidence and speak boldly about your 2025 goal to prove how successful you will be this year.

I made that up, of course 🤦🏻‍♀️

Because no matter what prompt I use, ChatGPT and other AI tools cannot help me achieve one of my biggest goals this year.

It’s a goal that keeps me awake at night.
It’s a goal that looks so easy for some.
It’s a goal that felt so far away two years ago when I had both knees operated on and a broken foot.

My goal is this: In 59 days, I’m running my 10th Two Oceans half marathon. *gulp*

There, I said it out loud, publicly. 🫣

And deep down I know that the only thing that will get me to that Blue Number Club (the coveted permanent number awarded after 10 races) isn’t just my training, it’s my focus on a few core things, starting with the incredible people who are part of this journey:

🏃🏻‍♀️ my running Coach, Michelle Mee. Again, I cannot overemphasize the importance of working with a coach in all aspects of your life.

🏃🏻‍♀️ my running tribe and everyone who trains with me, often sacrificing their training because they slow down to run at my pace.

🏃🏻‍♀️ my friends, especially the non-running ones who think the distance I’m running is the same as Comrades (21km vs. 90km) Keep thinking that!

🏃🏻‍♀️ my family who understand the harder challenges an auto-immune disease has had on my body and the exhaustion and pain that I live with.

In a world dominated by AI and automation, the goals that matter most – our health, mental well-being, connection, and belonging – are all built on human relationships. We must never forget that!

That’s why this race isn’t just about running 21km; it’s about showing up for myself and for the people who’ve supported me.

In 59 days, I’ll cross that finish line not alone, but with the strength and encouragement of everyone who’s been part of this decade-long journey.

I am the runner I am, not because of my pace or medals, but because of my consistency, grit and most importantly, who I surround myself with, when I’m out on the track and on the tar.

Ps: it’s not just in running or personal goals – this applies to the workplace too. Don’t let the rise of automation and AI make you forget the power of people in your life.

I miss my running coughing attacks in the age of coronavirus

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Bo

The hour before road races start, my body develops what I call “my running coughs.”

My nose runs, I get into a fit of coughing attacks and it feels like my body attempts to vomit all my nerves out.

My coughing reminds me of John Coffee from the movie “The Green Mile.” It’s my way of vomiting up all my fears and nerves as a green mist, leaving my body.

It’s a mixture of excitement and fear pulsating through my body; the fight or flight syndrome at its peak.

I’m usually shivering at the starting line of each race paralyzed in fear, ready to vomit my guts out, screaming these 3 questions in my head:

Will I manage the distance ahead of me? It’s too far!
Will I come last & be humiliated? WTF am I so slow?
Have I done enough training? It’s too late now!

2020 has felt that way for me. The uncertainty. The self-doubt. The fears. The anxiety. The question, “why is this happening?”

Some things are certain with every race:

Water stops
Road Marshalls
Kilometer markings

That’s it! The rest is up to me.

I have no idea until I start running whether or not I’ll feel strong, or if I’ll trip on cat eyes or need the dreaded portaloo, or even hit the wall.

That’s why I get my running coughs. It’s the unknown which is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

I haven’t run a race since Bobbies in February. I miss the pre-race adrenaline. That addictive sick sensation pumping through my body.

My running coughing attacks remind me that anything can happen. Anything.

But what the hell, run anyhow!

My run down of the Kaapsehoop half marathon

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Bo

Kaapsehoop Half Marathon 2017

This photo was taken two years ago when I had the privilege of running the Kaapsehoop half marathon with my Dad.

The excruciating pain is visible on our faces. As we rounded the corner on that final 500m, I thought my legs were going to rip off they were so sore.

This year was no different.

I don’t have any photographic evidence but I’ll tell you one thing. It’s been a couple of days since I finished my race, and the DOMS has hit hard. I’m sore. I can’t walk properly and I’m struggling to move like a human.

Runners claim that Kaapsehoop is an “easy run” because it’s all downhill. Some friends have achieved incredible personal bests (PBs) on this course. But it can also bring you to your knees! Ask Brenda.

This is one of my favourite World Cup stadiums!

It was our 5th trip down to Kaapsehoop. I’ve run 2 Kaapsehoop half marathons before and two of the 10km races, although after I ran the 10km last year, I vowed that if we were going all the way down to Nelspruit, I would only run the half marathon.

I didn’t have a race strategy on Saturday, which often confuses your running head.

I was running to kill time while KK was out on the 42km, gunning for a respectable Comrades qualifier. (Which he ran in 3:40!)

I had not trained properly for a 21km race. At some points I ran hard, other times I walked and chewed on sweets (which had melted in my pocket making my hands all sticky which was a great distraction) and then there were bursts of running from tree to tree (although this didn’t last long). My goal was to finish.

I wiggled at the cars driving along side us playing Bok support tunes thinking, gosh, the pressure in that Springbok changeroom must be enormous! And I giggled at the Celtic Harriers runner in the tutu whose quirky commentary had everyone running close to her in stitches. She’s a familiar face from Two Oceans.

When you get to this point of the race, there is no better and worse feeling. You’re so close, but in so much pain and still so far!

I even stopped to play with Ann Ashworth’s dog at one point (I was avoiding that final 3km uphill trek that lay ahead).

The Ups:

Well organized and fun vibe. No queues. Enough busses. Loads of water stops with bananas and potatoes.
I loved each and very kilometer (okay maybe not that last stretch) and I’m glad I did it. Mentally, I won that race.
Parking was a breeze, if you arrived early like we did.

The Downs:

There were not enough toilets at the start. I counted 15 portaloos for over 2000 runners. So many runners darted into the forest to do their business.
There was too much traffic on the first few kilometers due to runners not taking the busses and being dropped off at the start. Driving next to all that exhaust fume wasn’t lekker.
The camber in the road has left me eina.

It’s a race we enjoy and love and will be heading down next year on the 7th November to tackle it again. My fears that it had gotten too big were misplaced. Watching the Soweto & NYC marathon on TV the next day, I was gasping at those numbers!

Over 52 000 runners at the New York City Marathon!

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend and achieved goals – physical and/or mental. It’s a downhill finish to end off the year … (for now).

Race rating: 8/10

Congrats on your Two Oceans and Comrades qualifier KK!

I ran 03:07. I didn’t even bother walking back to the car to fetch the tog bag because this guy sprinted into the stadium 33 minutes later in 03:40, having run double my distance! WOW!

Looking ahead, 10kms away

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Bo

I’m excited for this Sunday’s road running race at Old Eds. The crowds. The vibe. The stench of Voltaren gel. The queues outside the loos. All of it!

It’s just a 10km race but I’m looking forward to the adrenaline and satisfaction one gets from crossing a finish line.

I’m one of “those people” that (over) analyses the course before the race so that I know what I’m in for. To be prepared, I tell myself. But it’s usually a mental mind fuck because almost every race in Jo’burg is hilly.

KK and I have run the streets of Jo’burg for so many years that I have the routes logged in my Strava history. The Old Eds route is daunting! Yowzer, check out these hills!

It’s a crazy downhill fall followed by a staggered 8km uphill climb to the dry, grassy finish at the club.

I realised looking back at my Strava history that there was a time when KK and I ran a race almost every weekend. A time when I desperately wanted to run a 21km in 2:30 minutes and was absolutely gutted after each and every race when that goal seemed completely unobtainable.

So much as happened in the last couple of years which has changed my views on what really matters with running and in life. People and things come and go…Running coaches, running friends, running partners, running races, running injuries.

Weight loss, weight gain. Pffft….

Shorter distances have led to achievable goals. The runs around my neighbourhood have been so good for my soul. There’s a time and season for everything and those days of chasing 21km PBs have been shelved (for now).

Runners don’t always give themselves credit for their running ability and so one of the other things I’m changing about my running is the narrative.

So yeah, I’m really looking forward to Sunday. It’s not “just” a 10km road race. It’s a 10 kilometre road race with 6 000 other amazing, strong runners through the beautiful tree-lined streets of Houghton on a fresh pre-Spring Sunday morning!

See you there!