Husband and wife conquer the Two Oceans

Hilke and Casparus Luther, members of RandMark, took part in the Two Oceans Marathon recently.

Hilke explained she started running in 2017 with the intent of running the Comrades Marathon. Her husband, Casparus, however, started running in 2015 and started taking part in races the next year.

She continued, this was their third time running the Two Oceans Marathon.

It is a challenging route, but very beautiful. You run a fair portion along the sea.

“Apart from the distance being challenging, the road surface is quite uncomfortable. Many inclines affect your balance and work on your hips, but it is still worth doing,” Hilke said.

The couple ran and completed the marathon together and finished in a time of 06:44:00.

“We are very happy with our time. It was a long-distance training for this year’s Comrades Marathon. Time on the legs was more important than finishing quickly,” Hilke added.

She added that to qualify for the Two Oceans Marathon, they had to be able to complete 42km within five hours.

For those wanting to give a marathon a try, Hilke advised starting with short distances between 1km to 5km. After that, she stated you can start with longer distances such as 8km, 10km and 15km.

“You have to gradually accustom your body to the distances you want to run. A mistake that many people make is to start running too fast. When you go out to run, you have to take it easy. Speed will come later, get yourself fit first,” she said.

She continued that getting fit happens when you run at a pace you can maintain. She added to focus on your breathing and your heartbeat. If you feel you can’t breathe, you are running too fast. She added that strength training is a must as your muscles, knees and hips need to be strong enough to do inclines and declines.

Running takes a lot of discipline, but it’s worth it,” Hilke concluded.