Nel chases provincial and national titles
She is in fine form at the moment and has won three races at three CGA league meetings.
On top of a highly competitive Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) U20 women’s middle-distance class at the moment, Benoni Harriers Running Club athlete Bronwyn Nel remains humble, knowing that if her fine form continues, she could finally reach the summit at the provincial and national championships next month.
While her ambitions for the CGA junior and youth track and field championships on March 14 and 15 and the Athletics South Africa age-group champs in Cape Town two weeks later are clear, they aren’t her main priority.
Nel wants to be at peak fitness before jetting off to study and run at the Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech) in the USA, where she hopes to take her athletics to another level.
“I plan to prepare as best I can to be fit and fast to make an impact in assisting my team, Indian Tech, to achieve its goals at the state championships,” she said.
Having spent years improving her running under coach Richard O’Donoghue, the runner began her season positively, thanks to O’Donoghue, who has guided her to three first places in three CGA league meetings and a second place in the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon women’s 10km race.
She clocked 10:36.62 in the U20 women’s 3 000m for first place in league one on January 25, and a day later, finished the women’s 10km at Johnson Crane in a healthy 38:09 for runner-up honours.
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In the second league meet on February 1, she won the 800m in 02:24.07, and on February 15, she clocked 04:59.28 for first place in the 1500m.
This is all part of her training for the two championships before journeying across the Atlantic to link up with the Indian Tech Warriors for the start of the cross-country season in September.
Responding to her reasons for running the different distances, she said, “They offer varied pace and intensity, which is all part of the training plan for championship racing and, ultimately, training for Indiana Tech”.
Her performance at Johnson Crane, which also formed part of her training, wasn’t too surprising, at least to those who have witnessed her growth in the sport in the last few years.
“There was no specific race plan. It was intended to be a moderately fast 10km training run. I felt happy because I succeeded in my training and gained a podium prize,” Nel said.
Nel is driven by a will to win. If she podiums at the provincials at the University of Johannesburg Stadium and nationals at the Green Point stadium, it would boost her Indiana Tech goals, where she hopes to hit the ground running.
“Hopefully, I podium at the CGA champs and nationals. I also want to run as fast as possible before leaving for the US.”
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