Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/aWHKGUrQK0

I purposely titled this blog, lessons learned for it could easily have gone south I tell you. It could have been how “I failed the marathon attempt”, or even a “Soweto marathon dry run DNF: did not finish.” I remember how the run suddenly became a hike as we approach Riverlea, where FNB nor the calabash was out of sight. I wasn’t sure what kept me going because everything hurt and to make matters worse I was pressed (yes, needed to pee). I was grumpy and hated every moment of feeling grumpy….

When I signed up for this dry run early September I should have started there and then to prepare for it. The truth is, I did not. I kept snoozing the alarm in the morning and would do an evening run here and there. Nothing serious… and during the Irene Spring run I fell and hurt both my knee and elbow. In true human being style I became big-headed for I finished the half marathon in 2,29 hours despite the fall. MoGirl thought, oh I moes got this and there was no follow up plan towards 12/10/2019. I paid dearly.

Lessons learned:

1. Respect the craft! in this case running and it will return the favor.
2. Have a schedule and stick to it, Champions aren’t made by chance but through hard work and dedication.
3. Consistency is the key. No matter how sad I feel at times, if it is running time I should hit the streets.
4. It’s not easy but it’s doable. Determination is key. Endurance is everything when coming to running.
5. No one has asked me to do this, but through it I have gained friends and most importantly cheerleaders who encourages me to keep trying.

This blog is dedicated to Boipelo Charmaine Lenkwane. A former colleague turned sister. On Friday, 11/10/2019 she called me sharing the good news that she got a job… and whilst chatting we realized we registered for the Soweto Dry Run and confirmed a date :-). My Lovington as we call each other was there from the beginning to the end. And reminded me that we’re not losers but conquerors and we’re not stopping. Cheers my Lovington and to many, many more marathons together.