Pirates Road Running Club member completes his first marathon
Pirates Road Running Club member who is also a comedian managed to complete his first 42km distance running.
Craighall Park resident and comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout cracked his first marathon as a member of the Pirates Road Running Club. On July 8, the fairly new, one-year-old member of Pirates Road Running Club completed 42km in Knysna, Western Cape. Bezuidenhout said he didn’t get to spend that much time at the club because he’s often away for his comedy shows.
“Pirates sometimes runs at about 17:00 which is also when my shows begin. What I have learned of the Pirates Road Running Club members is that they are nice and passionate about what they do,” Bezuidenhout said.
He said that with any sport, you reach a certain level and then there is always a logical next step and with running, the next logical step would be a longer distance run.
“I got to a point where I did a 21km run which is half a marathon. I have done similar marathons thrice. Knysna was very challenging as the place is mostly trails with lots of hills, I didn’t know it was that tough.”
Bezuidenhout said however that he was quite comfortable because the route had beautiful views of nature which he enjoyed on the way and that made him want to complete more marathons.
The avid runner said he would like to do a few more similar marathons before attempting the Comrades Marathon. He advised Comrades Marathon aspiring runners to put in the hours so that their legs could withstand 42.2km of running.
He said the next step after the Comrades would be an ultra-marathon which is 56km and that is when he feels his body is comfortable running it.
The comedian motivated people to run as there are so many benefits to the exercise such as being great for one’s mental health and for him, it boosts his creativity, “Often when stressful things happen in your life and you pop outside for a run, you realise it’s not such a mountain. I can come up with jokes while I run and am not distracted.”
Bezuidenhout said he also does lawn bowls because when his parents retired that is what they started playing and the bug bit him. “The nice thing about it is that you meet a variety of people who welcome you. It’s a very social sport. I spend some of my weekends playing bowls.”
Bezuidenhout encouraged all to join running clubs in their areas.
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