Hard work rewards Van Wyk
“As I got up from the ground, my son was there with tears in his eyes. We fell into each other’s arms, tears flowing freely. I had made the cut-off with 38 seconds to spare.”
After her watch beeped to indicate she was one kilometre away from finishing the 96th Comrades Marathon on June 11, Rita van Wyk’s mind went into overdrive and she realised she needed to increase her speed to arrive at the finish on time to earn a Bill Rowan medal.
The Boksburg Athletic Club (BAC) member entered the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium exhausted and running slightly bent due to fatigue but crossed the line 38 seconds before the 09:00 cut-off.
After crossing the finish line, Van Wyk tumbled to the ground, having conquered the 87.7km course and becoming the first BAC female athlete to the finish.
“I managed to cross the line before my momentum made me tumble to the ground. As I reached down to stop my watch, one of the marshals came to me and said I shouldn’t worry because I had made it,” she said.
Van Wyk clocked 08:59:22 to obtain third place in the women’s 60+ category, earning herself a podium finish. She was also the 321st female at the finish line.
Her run included her arriving at the first cut-off in Cato Ridge as the third grandmaster and fourth BAC lady in 03:04:28. She was at the halfway mark in Drummond in 04:27:29.
The veteran runner’s journey began in 2007 after watching her friend, Adre Wepener complete the 2007 down run.
She decided to run in the 2008 Comrades despite having never run before.
She then began to accompany Wepener on her daily runs and joined Frank de Ascencao’s Fast and Frank team, where she persevered despite being labelled the group’s weakest link.
“I ran my first Comrades at 45 and finished in 08:41:39,” she said.
“At that year’s BAC Comrades achievement awards, I watched the first man and lady receive yellow jackets, and another dream took root in my mind.”
After 12 Comrades finishes between 2008 and 2022, Van Wyk waited for the right moment to work on a dream rooted in her mind 14 years earlier.
A month after earning the Robert Mtshali medal during last year’s race, she asked De Ascencao to help her achieve a podium finish at this year’s race.
“He agreed. He provided me with a training programme and emphasised the importance of sticking to it, likening it to a recipe to bake a cake,” Van Wyk said.
After months of training and detours to several events, including the Totalsports Two Oceans, N12 Ultra and Sasol Secunda marathons, where she podiumed, she lined up at the Pietermaritzburg Town Hall with her son, who became her pillar throughout.
De Ascencao (Hillcrest) and her family (Pinetown) kept her motivated on the route, and she realised her yellow jacket dream was alive after passing two of the BAC’s leading ladies between Drummond and Cowies Hill.
“With my ankles and feet aching, I reached the last highway and met my son, who implored me not to give up. I realised I had to speed up to finish in under nine hours and achieve my goal,” she said.
She reached the finish fatigued but achieved her dream. She had her yellow jacket.
She was also the BAC’s only female recipient of the Bill Rowan medal and was the club’s oldest lady to finish the ultimate human race.
“As I got up from the ground, my son was there with tears in his eyes. We fell into each other’s arms, tears flowing freely. I had made the cut-off with 38 seconds to spare.
“Thanks to Frank for the training programme and motivation, my husband, Chris, for being my training partner, and my son, Juan-Pierre, for being my caring running partner.”
Also Read: Van Wyk wins bronze at Two Oceans
Also Read: Rita continues to dominate
