It will be a mother and daughter affair at the aQuellè Midmar Mile when Kim Erasmus and Sharon Booysen take to the waters on 11 and 12 February.
This will be a make-up for the promise they made to each other to compete together in the Comrades Marathon. Although their Comrades dream did not come true due to Sharon’s knee operation, this did not stop them from trying to find another activity through which they could bond. They decided to take on the Midmar Mile which is hosted just outside of Pietermaritzburg, and have been training since October.
This year will be Sharon’s third time tackling the waters of the Midmar Mile after she had to find an alternative sport due to her operation.
“I enjoy doing it and now it’s not only Kim who will be participating but my eldest daughter Joy Erasmus will doing it for the 12th time. All of us in the water at the same time will be fantastic. Joy and Dale Rynhoud have been coaching us, so it’s a real family affair. I am proud and very excited for the event and I know we will all finish the race, even if it’s at different times,” said Sharon.
Kim, who will be taking on the Midmar Mile for the first time, said her interest in taking part in the sport started with a bet.
“A friend and I made a bet about two years ago and a year later she completed the race. Now I have to follow suit, but I wanted to make it a bit more special and compete with my mother. I took on the Comrades Marathon last year and I’m happy with my achievement, but never again. The bug just didn’t bite. However, participating in Comrades has helped me to have the right mindset when taking on big challenges. So I am confident I will finish and that is what I am looking forward to the most,” said Kim.
The whole family are members of the Roodepoort Athletics Club, and when they are not training at the Florida pools, they can be found running time trials.
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