Soweto Marathon Trust catch up with Paralympic medalist Coetzee

“I’m certainly feeling ready. Coming off our last marathon (London Marathon), where we qualified for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with a good qualifying time, it’s been about getting the legs back into rhythm.

“I feel that at this point I am starting to get back on track – and ready for the track season ahead. I will treat this year’s Soweto as a training run – one which I am looking forward to. We’re planning on running with some friends which will be great – the vibe of this race is unrivalled!

“Emotionally I am feeling fortunate and privileged that I was invited to run this race – the support given to me by the Soweto Marathon Trust is so valued.”

Guide Claus Kempen said that Louzanne will not race, but rather enjoy the long run and absorb the atmosphere;

“I am going to have to keep her back as she loves to race every run! We are aiming for a 5 hour and will run with my brother and my best friend from school. For someone of Louzanne’s calibre, a 5 hour is relatively easy in term of pace, but it will be a new experience for her in the sense of spending 5 hours on your legs.”

“Our preparations will continue as normal and we wont be tapering as we are about to start the track season – perhaps we shall have a short yet solid rest post the Soweto Marathon, and then continue once more. Looking at race day, it’s about having as much fun as you can because after 2 or 3 hours of running, you start to hurt no matter who you are!

“I will be running with a Go-Pro on my head so that we can capture some amazing footage of her run – and that will be a first for me. We will multi-task, have great fun, capture memories and at the end of the day be extremely grateful that we are in super shape, injury-free and enjoy our run and walk whilst high-fiving the eager fans on route. We look forward to absorbing the vibe from start to finish and thank Soweto for having us!”

In terms of preparing for Sunday. Louzanne is well aware of the typical heat at this time of year;

“We will hydrate very well ahead of this race in order to help cope with the heat. The last time I ran this race, it was extremely hot. I typically eat more carbohydrates about 1 week prior race day – so I don’t believe in carbo loading the day or night before, but rather up my carb intake in the days leading up to race day.

“Although having said that, I always seem to be hungry, so I feel I’ve long since been carbo-loading! One of the highlights of this race for me, was the singing of the National Anthem at the start line just after 5am: Singing our anthem in the heart of Soweto, minutes before we run, is an experience that I struggle to put into words!”

https://albertonrecord.co.za/333763/paralympic-medalist-commits-to-soweto-marathon/