On the 10th of June, PSM physiotherapist Lisa Posnett will be facing the Comrades Marathon, an incredibly gruelling marathon.
Each week she’ll be sharing a post on our blog and video on our social media channels (@puresportsmed) so that you can follow her journey. Here’s a little more information into what Lisa is doing and why.
What is ‘The Comrades’
The Comrades Marathon is a 90.18km South African ultra-marathon which is run between Pietermaritzburg to Durban. It is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race.
The race has a 12hr cut off time if you don’t cross the finish line when the gun goes off you haven’t completed the Comrades. It’s the comradery that has given the Comrades its name, with runners often helping strangers cross the finish line. As well as the distance and time, there is a 7000ft climb and a 4700ft descend, with temperatures starting at 4 degrees and building to 26 degrees! If you want to see what’s in store, have a look at the youtube link below… Why am I running it!?
Firstly I am not a ‘runner’. I had run one marathon in my life and did not find it particularly easy. My mum had this wonderful idea of running The Comrades, for her 60th Birthday, having run it a few times before in her youth. She somehow managed to persuade me to do it as well, and you can’t say no when your mum is doing it! But I wanted to turn the experience into something more.
My beautiful friend Samantha Jennings has had an incredibly tough and challenging 2 years having been diagnosed with NET (a neuroendocrine tumour) affecting her pancreas and liver. Neuroendocrine tumours are relatively uncommon and slow-growing tumours. The NET Patient Foundation is a registered, non-profit charity whose main goal is to support and educate patients, families and healthcare professionals working with those affected by neuroendocrine tumours.
I, therefore, want to raise money to support the NET Patient Foundation and set up a ‘My Donate’ page. https://mydonate.bt.com/fundra… www.netpatientfoundation.org
My Training so far
The training started in June 2017. I have played hockey my whole life for Old Loughtonian’s Hockey Club Women’s 1st X1 and it got to the point I realised I had to give up the hockey, I just couldn’t fit it all in. So I sadly quit halfway through the season and focussed on the running.
After a fairly disastrous Portsmouth Trail Marathon in Dec (1 degree Celsius, raining, 5‑minute bottleneck to clamber down some rocks, and being sent the wrong way by marshals) I missed out on my comrades qualifying by 26secs. My legs were in so much pain and I got some pretty raging ITB pain on both sides! Lesson learnt, do not pick TRAIL marathons. It was hugely disheartening but made me want to keep training even more. I kept training and managed to get my qualifying time at a fairly flat and mud-free Wrexham Marathon in March.
So now I have officially qualified and only 67 days to go!!
If you’d like tobook an appointmentwith Lisa you can follow the link or call out Threadneedle st clinic.