Coach Hansie - we chase results together

  Above: 2023 Comrades Down run to Durban The Final Stretch: Running Through Pain, Toward Glory There are moments in life when the body is failing, the mind is clouded, and all that keeps you moving is something far deeper—something eternal. That was my reality as I approached the final kilometers of the 2025 Comrades Marathon. And today, I want to share that experience alongside a memory from over twenty years ago—a time when the finish line looked very different, but the spiritual lesson was just as profound. A Road Marked by Pain The last 7 kilometers of Comrades 2025 were like a desert—scattered with runners who had collapsed from exhaustion. Some lay flat on the hot tar, others slumped against walls, broken by the journey. I knew the danger of stopping. My legs trembled. My balance disappeared whenever I paused. Only forward motion, no matter how slow, kept me upright. I needed to average 8 minutes per kilometer in those final moments, but my body was moving at double that...

  walking on the Ultra What would you choose? Would you remain without food for 48 hours (you are allowed coffee and tea with milk, but no sugar and electrolytes) or would you run or walk 88km within 12 hours? Running for 12 hours? I managed to complete my ten Comrades Ultra Maraton on Sunday 11 June 2023. It seems easy if you type it in one line, but it was not easy. I started off at a fair pace and kept up with the pre race plan. I took a huge shake with much extra carbohydrates in the mixture shortly before the race started. I had three more snacks to eat and then,,, the almost unthinkable happened... I could not stomach any of the supplies that I packed and that I carried with me. I started eating one chocolate protein bar and battled to chew it and battled even more to swallow it. The body just refused. I could not understand why this was happening. My nutrition the previous day was fine. I was used to the type of shake I took early.  I was running out of energy and then ...

On 28 November 2009 I ran my fastest marathon ever. I ran a race from Heidelberg (Western Cape) to the resort Witsand. A hilly first 14 kilometers, but a rather flat 28 kilometers after that made it possible for me to clock in just below 3h44 minutes, my best marathon ever. My previous best for 2009 was over four hours (Cango Marathon) and I ran 3h54:44 minutes in that same marathon (also Cango) in 2006, which was some 30 seconds slower than my best marathon time ever. I used herbalife niteworks immediately before the race to make sure that the oxygen is flowing freely. Throughout the race I used H30 pro, the Herbalife isotonic drink. I did not take any Coke during the race. I did carboload before the race (three days on Energade megaload) and picked up about three kilogram before the race (this usually happens to me before the race). I ran with a waterbottle in my hand and the H30 sachets in my running vest. I maintained a good pace throughout and was extremely pleased to run below th...