Charne Bosman targets 10th Comrades gold medal

Veteran long-distance runner Charne Bosman is forging ahead with her plans to win a tenth Comrades Marathon gold medal despite experiencing health problems this year.

2022 will go down as the most painful year Bosman has had to endure in her athletics career which has spanned over three decades after she survived a heart scare.

The 47-year-old last won the Comrades in 2016 but scary scenes unfolded in August when she collapsed after 60km due to a heart complication.

Bosman defied the doctor's orders not to run the marathon and ended up in a hospital bed for a few days, but she has set her sights on returning next year to get that elusive 10th medal.

“I started hard training on Monday, and I am not going on holiday this year, I will stay in Pretoria, training for the duration of the festive season,” Bosman told SABC Sport. 

“I am preparing for next year. I want to take care of myself, and the biggest lesson that I learned this year is not to defy my doctor again. I am lucky to be alive. I will do a blood test before running every race in 2023.

“I got over a mountain and was lucky to be alive. It has been twelve months of hardship with health complications. It is one thing not to run because you ran injured, but not due to heart complications.

“I will not rest until I get my hands on the tenth Comrades Marathon gold medal next year, and my wish is to complete the top three in the marathon, but the top 10 would still be a great achievement.”

The Murray & Roberts runner redeemed herself by winning the Nelson Mandela Remembrance half-marathon just last week, clocking 1:25:24 to take home the R6 000 prize money.

This time she was cleared to run the race by her doctor and everything worked out for her, after painful four months during her recovery.

“I will not run the Two Oceans because it is close to the Comrades. My target is to run a 2:55 at Johnson Crane in January and win the Dis-chem half-marathon.”

Her advice to fellow runners is never to defy the doctor’s orders as she did. 

“Don't take your health for granted. Start running now and have plenty of time to prepare for next year. I got sick two days before the Comrades Marathon because I did not take care of myself and did not do blood tests. 

“Please do regular blood tests and take care of yourself. See you on the road next year,” concluded Bosman.

By Charles Baloyi