From Instagram comrades to the finish line
"It was my dream to run the Comrades, then I thought if I don’t pick a date I will never do it so I decided to make some healthy choices from then on," he said.
NORTHDENE resident, Carl Hansen, will tick an item off his bucket list when he takes part the 93rd Comrades Marathon this year with a mate he connected with on Instagram.
The 38-year started running last year and joined the Queensburgh Harriers Athletic Club for training.
Carl will tackling the long-distance race with Christer Wikmark, a runner from Solna, Stockholm County, Sweden.
“I was following him on Instagram, than he posed a question asking people why they run, and I mentioned the Comrades to him and he surprisingly said it is one of the things he has always wanted to do,” he explained.
Carl and Christer have not been following the same method of training since Christer has been running longer that Carl and he has his own views on training.
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“I have been following some local Comrades’ runners and have been learning a lot from my fellow members at the Queensburgh Harriers,” said Carl.
He said the training for this world famous marathon has changed his life holistically. He went from weighing more than 96kg to 75kg.
“It was my dream to run the Comrades, then I thought if I don’t pick a date I will never do it so I decided to make some healthy choices from then on,” he said.
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Carl said this marathon is a way to prove to yourself that you can do anything and his goal for this year’s race is to score himself a bronze medal and cross the finish line within 10 hours.
“People always ask what will happen if I don’t finish and I always say it will not all be wasted because this process has taught me a lot,” he said with affirmation in his voice.
He said it’s great to have support.
“My family and colleagues are very excited about my race transformation from being overweight to running the Comrades. This process has been a good example to my 12-year-old son as well,” he added.
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