I’ll be running the Johnson Crane half marathon on Sunday. This particular race holds a special place in my heart. It was my very first 21.1km race. It’s also the race where I ‘hit the wall’ for the first time and had no energy to continue when two friends assisted me in that last stretch of the race (thanks Piet & Rita). Great running memories.

This Sunday will be no different. It’s special but for another reason.

One of my friends @Bohoparadox will be competing in her first Half Iron Man triathlon happening in East London on Sunday. When she first signed up, I thought “OMG, she’s crazy!” But I’ve watched the many months of training, of small victories won and seen her grow from strength to strength.

The bike riding, the laps in the pool and the running. She just hasn’t stopped. She hasn’t given up. It’s a big race and I’m hoping she soaks up each and every second she’s out there! That race belongs to you Bennii!

I know Johnson Crane will be tough on me. I am under-trained and quite nervous about the distance even though I’ve run the race twice before. But my thinking is that in those moments that I doubt myself, in those dark patches of the race where I struggle, I will be thinking of the strength of Bennii and I’ll tell myself that “if she can do it, then so can I.”

But I’m also hoping that when she has any moments of pain or struggle on those up hills and long stretches, that she knows I’m thinking of her and hopefully it pulls her through.

All the best Bennii!