Running an extreme marathon in the Kalahari Desert for seven days and completing 250 kilometres in this unforgiving habitat is no easy task. Add the sweltering 40-degree heat and extreme exhaustion, and the word impossible spring to the minds of many.
Except in the mind of Potchefstroom’s Gabriel Colyn (48) who defied the odds and completed the 2015 Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon and showed that impossible was truly nothing, and that anything is possible if you put your body, mind, soul and heart into it.
In Colyn’s case, it was especially heart which came into the equation with the race being a tribute to his dad, Gabriel or Gawie as he was widely known, who has passed on.
“From start to finish, I raced with the memory of my dad smiling at me. He kept me going on, even when I felt like giving up. It was so emotional at the finish line, as I even made the organisers cry,” smiled Colyn, who held up a large banner with his father’s name and picture embracing it.
Colyn from Tlokwe Athletics Club is well vested in the sport of ultramarathon, having competed in most long distance races for the past 30 years.
“I started with 5 and 10-kilometre races and worked my way up to my first Two Oceans Marathon. There, I came in third place in the junior section and realised that I had a talent for running,” he remembers.
Since then, Colyn has completed 30 Two Oceans and 24 Comrades Marathons with no sign of stopping soon.
He has actually moved the goalposts with his competitive spirit and iron determination to test the human spirit with his incredible performance in the Kalahari Augrabies Marathon.
“Doctors were very strict and checked how the runners were at each checkpoint which was 8-10 kilometres apart. We would complete the race in different kilometre-stages on each day which presented different challenges,” he said.
Colyn was sometimes just going through the motions to carry on.
“Once, I wanted a place to rest, when I leant against a thorn tree. At the end of the day, they had to take a huge thorn out from my side. I was so focused during the race, that I did not even feel it.”
Colyn finished the race in 44th place in a time of 32:18.32 from a total of 70 athletes. 14 of these athletes failed to complete the race, which showcases its harsh difficulty.
Determination and guts were some of Colyn’s key characteristics, things he gained through a rigorous training schedule in preparation for the race.
“I trained 3-4 hours per day and ran about 150 kilometres in a week. In total, I did 1200 kilometres in preparation for the Kalahari Augrabies.”
This race is also different in the sense that runners have to carry their own food supplies, water and clothing in a backpack during the run, exacerbating the already extreme conditions.
“Everything you eat is instant, such as special food, dry foods and biltong – basically anything to keep you going. It is also important to stop, take a break and eat. It was also critical to use water for hydration,” he emphasises.
In the future, Colyn would like to run international races, but would need more sponsors for this to happen. He would also like to promote Ultra-Marathon running as an exciting sport, where an emphasis is placed on family.
“I like to push myself each day and in every race. The incredible spirit in the ultra-marathon fraternity makes this an incredible sport,” he added.
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