It’s difficult to imagine that ultra-running sensation Gerda Steyn ever struggles to stay motivated through her gruelling training schedule, but it is her mindset that separates her from her competitors.
Even though Steyn has five Comrades Marathon and seven Two Oceans Marathon titles to her name, that matters little when her alarm clock buzzes in the early hours each morning as she laces up her shoes and heads out for the first of her two training sessions of the day.
Every runner preparing for a big race will identify with the struggle to keep chasing their goals, and on some days the motivation simply isn’t there.
For the average runner like myself, the easier option is to skip the run and find a good reason to justify that decision.
Gerda Steyn’s Evolving Motivation: From Personal Best to Inspiring Young Athletes
For Steyn, that’s simply not an option.
“There are two things that really help me stay motivated. Sometimes I just tell myself, ‘It doesn’t matter what I feel right now. I have to do it because this was my choice,'” said Steyn in an exclusive interview with IOL as Discovery was announced as the Official Health, Wellness and Banking Sponsor of the Two Oceans Marathon last week.
“It is my choice to be a runner. It’s my choice to be an athlete. So even though I don’t feel like doing what I am meant to do in this exact moment, I have to. A small little reminder to myself like that really helps, and in the end, I do get up and do the work. I would never not do it.”
Steyn explained that her motivation has evolved over the years as her success has grown.
“At first, it was chasing a record, chasing my own personal best, or chasing what I thought I was capable of. Nowadays, that motivation has gone in a completely different direction. I say to myself, ‘A young seven-year-old girl is sitting in a room today watching this race, and she’s thinking, “Gerda is probably out there training right now.”‘
“That really motivates me nowadays. It motivates me knowing that there’s an example to be set. There are others looking for inspiration, and they find it, perhaps, by looking at me. That, time after time, without fail, gets me out and gets the job done.”
Steyn’s Journey to Comrades Marathon Victory: From 56th Place to Champion
It may seem like Steyn has been a dominant force in ultra-marathon running since the first day she lined up for the Comrades Marathon, but even the Smiling Assassin had to bide her time before she was ready to win the biggest races.
In 2015, an unknown Steyn finished 56th at Comrades. The following year she improved to 14th, before finishing fourth in 2017. Even in 2018, a breakthrough Comrades victory remained elusive as she crossed the line in second.
That runner-up finish came just weeks after her first major victory at the 2018 Two Oceans Marathon, but Comrades glory finally arrived in 2019 on her fifth attempt.
The first step, she explained, was a change in mindset.
“It didn’t just happen overnight. I saw an improvement in my training as the months went by. I gradually was able to bring down my times on the shorter distances compared to what I’d seen in the past, and little by little, you start believing it.
“There was a moment in the 2017 Comrades Marathon where I really became convinced that if I worked harder and put everything I had into it, I could win it. But again, it didn’t happen overnight. I had to wait two more years after that dream started getting into my head for it to become a reality. I had to go through the ranks of not obtaining my goals, keeping going, and believing for longer than I had planned until I got to the point where I won the race.”
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
