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Jenna Challenor: ‘I’m fine now, but if you find my legs in Westville please call me’
The elite runner finished fourth, but not before cramp set in forcing her to crawl over the finish line.
Jenna Challenor falls close to the finish line during Sunday’s Comrades marathon in KZN. Picture: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
Jenna Challenor, who had running fans rooting for her as she crawled over the finish line of the 95th running of the Comrades marathon in Durban on Sunday, says she has recovered well after achieving her “proudest moment” on the road.
Visuals of Challenor cramping in the tunnel of Moses Mabhida Stadium, 200m from the finish line and struggling to get up, and then falling down metres from the line again a few seconds later grabbed television viewers across South Africa.
“I understand I made the whole of South Africa cry on Sunday,” says Challenor, who finished fourth in just her second Comrades marathon.
“I’d only run one other Comrades, my debut in the up run in 2019 (finishing sixth). I didn’t know what to expect on the ‘down’ run, but now I know why Bruce Fordyce has always said the ‘up’ run is about how strong you are and the brutal ‘down’ run is about how much pain you can endure.”
Challenor, an elite runner with the Murray and Roberts team, said she had started feeling unwell with about 25km to go.
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“I felt great for about 65km and was thinking about pushing for a top three place. I was really feeling good and running well and then out of the blue the cramps set in. I had to work through it all the way to the finish,” says Challenor.
“I slipped in the tunnel, inside the stadium, and luckily I was able to pull myself back up, but at the end there was nothing to hold onto and I just couldn’t get up.
“But I wasn’t going to give up fourth place. If anyone finds my legs somewhere in the Westville area though they should please call me.
“It was brutal. I left it all out there, but fortunately I’m fine now.”
Regarding cramping, which happens to all runners and there were many who suffered during Sunday’s 90km race, Challenor said it was one of the most “debilitating” things to hit an athlete.
“It’s scary when it happens. Your muscles feel like they just switch off. Your head is there and you’re fine, but your muscles are done and your body simply cannot respond to anything.
“I’m just so thankful it didn’t happen to me earlier in the run. I’m convinced the spirt of my late father got me across the line. He passed away three years ago and when I went down the first time in the tunnel I asked him to take me to the finish line.”
Challenor was greeted at the line by her husband Brett and three daughters.
“We were all so emotional. Fortunately, I was okay after a while and I’ll tell you I ate a whole pizza on my own for lunch, and it was so good. Now it’s time to properly recover.”
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