SHE trained for months in the rain, the dark and the wind to run her first gruelling 42.2km Zurich Marathon in April this year – then it was called off.
Determined not to let the cancellation deter her from running the distance, St Francis Bay runner, Lizz Anderson (39), took to her garden on Sunday, April 26 – raising R150 829 for the St Francis Disaster Volunteer Group’s (DVG) Sea Vista Food Relief Project.
Joined by 36 local athletes competing in relay teams of four – each runner at their own home – Anderson completed the race doing 186 laps of 237m each in three hours and 53 minutes.
Despite falling over her dog!
Take to the road
Preparing for the Zurich Marathon – her first road marathon – Anderson, who previously completed the Iron Man, the Knysna Forest Run and the 44km Addo Run, ran an average 65km per week. Add to that swimming, cross training and pilates.
Fit as a fiddle and determined not to put her feet up as a result of the nationwide lockdown, she entered the Strava 21-day challenge which saw her running 5km every day for 21 days in her garden.
“At the beginning it seemed ridiculous, but after day five I was used to running the garden loops and started to up my mileage!” she says.
“One morning I woke up, left the house before anyone woke up and decided to attempt a half marathon. After that run, I knew I could do the marathon distance.
“I decided I had done the training, so I may as well attempt the run regardless of where I am.”
She quickly recruited more runners to join her virtually – including her two friends in Zurich who would have run the marathon with her.
“They jumped at the idea, but they were allowed to leave their homes,” says Anderson. “So, I said if I have to run in my garden while they enjoy the open road, they need to make it worth my while – the $450 initial donation was born. “The idea just snowballed from there.”
The route
Anderson picked the fastest route with the fewest turns – through her parents’ kitchen and out the back door.
“My main water point was in the kitchen, she says. “It was funny to see the family going about normal business in the house every time I ran through the kitchen – every two mi-nutes and 11 seconds, 186 times.”
Each time she completed 10km, her husband would let the relay teams know – and then shout at her on the next lap to let her know if someone was chasing her.
“This was awesome, it made it feel like an actual race and helped me reach my goal of running a marathon in circles around the garden in fewer than four hours,”’ says Anderson.
Apart from the relay teams, Ari Kraak, Geanne Darke, Lindi Giorgio, Tracey Campbell and Tania Kitching managed to run the marathon distance.
Ups and downs
The best part about the marathon: Seeing her family at each and every lap.
“At a ‘normal’ race they see you at the start and fi-nish; this is the first time they have watched the whole thing from start to finish,” she says.
“My 16-year-old son was shocked; he kept asking me if I was okay, and at the end I could tell he was overly proud, telling his mates his crazy mom just ran 186 laps of the garden – that makes me happy!
“And then obviously the finish, when you know the job is done and you were part of something extraordinary, at a time when everything is so unsure, and you are forced to run laps of your garden to keep sane”
What was the most difficult part about the challenge?
Anderson laughs: “Turning my ankle when I tripped over my golden retriever at 26.2km into the run – basically half way!
“Also choosing which direction to run in: clockwise means running up the hill in my garden, and anti-clockwise I had the wind in my face.
“I tried to alternate directions, but from 20km in I decided to stick to the fastest direction which was anti-clockwise. And I can assure you, it gets bo-ring.”
Anderson says, “At a time when nothing feels certain anymore and being physically separated from friends and family is actually the law, it felt incredible to come together as a community and do something meaningful, together.
“Our network of international supporters who love St Francis made it even more special.
“We can all be proud that together we raised enough money to provide over 700 food parcels for Sea Vista. As a new arrival in Cape St Francis, I am just so thankful to be here and nowhere else in the world during this crisis.
“We are already looking forward to #LockdownMarathonSF2021!”
Off the back of her successful virtual marathon run, St Francis College parent, Liz Anderson, is set to embark on yet another fundraising challenge on Sunday, March 31.
This time for St Francis College.
The challenge is to complete as many accumulative kilometres with your lockdown team (actual or virtual) in one hour, between 08:00 and 09:00.
Your team can be of all ages, and even include your family fur-kid! You can run, walk, pushbike, pram, skate, scoot or cycle (maximum two cyclists per team).
Once completed, add your distances together and submit your final total.
“We challenge everyone around the world to join us on Sunday as we bid farewell to level 4 and our exercise curfew,” says Anderson.
The challenge is open to all at a minimum donation of R150.
To enter a team or for more information, contact Anderson at 083 241 0159.
