Running is for the Bird in Glen Austin
GLEN AUSTIN – Local elite runner also has a passion for her community and the environment.
Photo: Nicholas Zaal
More than running the roads of Glen Austin, Judy Bird sees to it that everything in the area runs smoothly.
Bird is an elite runner known far and wide for topping podiums on the road-running scene in Gauteng, and much of South Africa, for a number of years.
But many may not know that she also keeps up with community projects as secretary of the Glen Austin Residents Association and the Glen Austin Conservancy.
During an interview with Midrand Reporter on her home-running turf, Bird gasped as she was pointed out a mound of plastic waste dumped near a local wetland.
As a lover of ‘all things green’ she is is always ready to push authorities to better care for and protect the local green spaces.
Like running, her passion for the environment drives her to go above and beyond what is expected.
Bird started running with East London Road Runners while living in the UK in 1980 but only started taking the sport seriously when she moved to South Africa and joined the Midrand Striders in 1989.
“I realised that I had potential and could beat many of the guys in the club – always a good feeling,” she said.
“[I trained under] the late Dudley Hulbert. A few years later, in 2002, I met up with Neville Beeton who has been my coach ever since, and I have never looked back.”
Bird was already 40 when she started running competitively but found a sense of ‘freedom and exhilaration’ in the sport. Soon she was standing on the podium for her age category in just about every race (Bird has won about 20 SPAR Women’s Challenge races).
“I have run in some amazing places around the world, in some very strange circumstances. I am one of those people who loves a challenge and sense of achievement. I believe that is how one grows in a personal capacity.”
The Murray and Roberts Running Club member said she enjoyed finding ways to maximise her health, how she thinks and how her body operated. She said she had learnt much about herself through running.
Next up for Bird is the Dis-Chem Half Marathon in Bedfordview on 12 January.
