Winchester Hills athlete aims for Comrades Marathon
Determination and passion help Elizabeth achieve her goals.
What started as leisure running in 2015 for Elizabeth Potter (52) has now become a fun and fulfilling calling.
She has an abundance of gold medals to show that she has been winning, especially in the master’s category (50 to 59 years old). The Comaro Chronicle met the Winchester Hills athlete and she shared her journey.
She said during a social gathering, there was a suggestion to join a parkrun.
“For approval, I asked my husband, Dean, if I can walk 5km and he said yes. I tried it and to my surprise, I enjoyed it and I decided to go back for more parkruns,” she said.
Her first competitive race was the 2016 Colgate 15km race and she did another one the following year.
In 2018 she did an Allan Ferguson 21.1km where she was placed second. She has now done more than 250 parkruns at over 60 different venues. This year so far she has run 17 races and she has attained first position in all but one where she came second in her category. She is currently the SA Marathon and SA Half Marathon champ in the women’s 50+ category.
Who is Elizabeth Potter?
She said she is an introvert and running has helped her to build self-confidence.
“I was not keen on sport even at school, however, this has helped me to put myself out there. I like this because you set your own goals. I’ve been doing middle-distance marathons and I’m aiming for the big one next year, the Comrades Marathon,” explained Elizabeth.
“I enjoy the support from my family, especially my husband. He always encourages me to do better and of course, my faith in God who gave me the talent to run. Also joining the Fordyce Fusion programme of training has helped me a lot, as it teaches the routines to follow based on Bruce Fordyce’s successes,” she said.
Elizabeth, who is an educator at Tambotie Preparatory School, is sponsored by local 32Gi Sports Nutrition owned by Mark Wolff. She does her training there with her team.
Her advice to anyone who wants to start running is: “Don’t think you cannot do it. As long as you put your mind to it, you can. Just start and you will see the results.”
