Supplements and consistency in training is the key to Sarie Coetzee's 23 consecutive Comrades'

When she failed to finish her first Comrades Marathon race in 1996, the experience that would have broken the spirits of others motivated Sarie Coetzee to begin a run of 23 consecutive Comrades Marathon finishes. Perhaps even more surprising though is that, this energetic 59-year old says she actually didn't plan to be a runner, it just kinda happened to her.

"I was a policewoman and exercise was part of the job. But when I met my husband he was a runner and I joined him on his short afternoon runs," she explains under the shade of an acacia tree at the Kameeldoring Golf Course in the Limpopo town on Mokopane. "One day he told me that he wanted to run a half marathon and I thought he was crazy, but I ran with him and I never stopped," she says.

Sarie Coetzee has completed 23 Comrades Marathon races and is aiming to do 30. Photo Credit: MWMedia.

It didn't take long for Sarie to start entertaining thoughts of tackling South Africa's most loved ultra marathon because a few short years after she started running she was standing at the start line in Durban. But her first race didn't go according to plan."I must say I didn't finish my first Comrades. At 13 kilometres to go I just decided that I couldn't do it. But I was focussed after that disappointment and finished every single Comrades since. I also haven't skipped the race since 1997," says the Potties runner.

How she has managed to keep running, swimming and cycling as she approaches 60 years on planet earth is all about consistency and supplementing her daily diet with vitamins and THRESHHold MSM.

Coetzee is also fond of multi-day stage races. Here she poses with her medal after completing one such race in Jordan in The Middle East. Photo Credit: Sarie Coetzee.

"I believe in my vitamins and supplements. For example, I was taking THRESHHold MSM long before I was an ambassador for the product. I took it because it helped with swelling, pain and for my arthritis. I liked it because it is a natural product which one can even use in a race. This coupled with consistency in training has been my secret to success," is Sarie's advice.

With a double green number and 20 Om Die Dam medals to her name, some in her position might to choose to retire from the punishing annual Comrades training. But that's the furthest thing from the mind of this Half Ironman finisher. She wants to run 30 races and believes she can do it. "I'd love to get to 30, if my health allows me. I'm not sick, but you never know. Right now though, I'm aiming for 30 finishes," she shares.