Just two months after winning her first Comrades Marathon title, Charne Bosman is already thinking about strategies that she can implement to help her defend it, in the coming year.
At the launch of Nike’s new running shoe, Lunarepic Flyknit, this past Sunday, Bosman explained how she intends to prepare herself for next year’s up run race, with the hope of winning it for the second time in a row.
“I finished second last year (to Caroline Wostmann),” Bosman said. “It was an up run race. However, I am happy that I finally got to win it this year. It was an out of body experience for me. There are times, to this day, where I wake up in the morning with this question in my head: ‘Is this really me? Charne Bosman, a Comrades winner.’ I still can’t believe it. It was truly special.”
“The plan is take it one day at the time,” Bosman added. “I’ll have to continue sticking to my running plan in each marathon I’ll get to participate in (leading up to the Comrades). I’ll be running in this year’s Soweto Marathon (on November 6th). I haven’t decided which distance I’m going to run as yet, but 21Km seem okay for me. Yes, I think I’ll participate in the 21km race on the day.”
But Bosman’s rise to Comrades glory was not as easy as most people perceive it to be. She has had to endure the disappointment that comes with finishing second (last year) and fifth (in 2013), to the ultimate winners of those respective years.
In 2014, she couldn’t finish her Comrades race, due to illness. And now that she has achieved her dream of finally winning the Comrades, Bosman said she couldn’t have done it without the support of her husband.
“He was at every water break spot, cheering me on and telling me how far off my competitors were in front of me,” Bosman said. “That kept me going. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Asked if walking away with a gold medal in this year’s Soweto Marathon, a race that will be taking place on her birthday, the 40-year old runner said: “Not really. I hope to finish in the top three though. That will be really nice for me.” - Independent Media