South African running legend Blanche Moila shares how she inspired change through becoming one of the country’s best runners and then through running Comrades, as well as public speaking, mentoring, and coaching.

Running legend Blanche shares her story, which is a strong testament to the many ways running can be a vehicle for change. Blanche, who is now in her 60s, has been inspiring others through running since she started competing in the 1980s. 

Blanche found her competitive running talents in her 20s and became one of South Africa’s best middle distance, cross-country, and marathon runners. Her accomplishments broke down racial barriers and, eventually, made her an inspiration throughout the country.  

After her elite running career, Blanche began to regularly participate in the Comrades Marathon. As of 2019, she has completed the event 16 times, and in 2004, she was the face of Comrades. 

Blanche, a psychiatric nurse, continues to be an inspiration to young girls and women and works to change negative beliefs about women and running. She does this by continuing to set an example with her own running, as well as public speaking, mentoring, and coaching. Also, Blanche runs Comrades for charity: in 2019, she ran for the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. 

Up top in this episode, we give a supportive shout-out to the She Runs Trails podcast, hosted by Melody Dowlearn. This podcast was created to give voice to female mid-pack and back of the pack trail runners who are doing incredible things out on the trail every single day. Episodes cover a range of issues from nutrition and gear, to ultra running and mental health.

And, the recommended resource for this episode is Women’s Running magazine. This publication touches on all aspects of the running lifestyle, from racing and training to nutrition, gear, and inspiration, as well as covering some of the competitive side of the sport, the runners, events and news. And it includes writing by such award-winning journalists as Erin Strout, who received the 2019 excellence in running journalism award from the Road Runners Club of America.

You can learn more about the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust on their website. 

I first learned about Blanche through Bob de la Motte’s book Runaway Comrade. 

Additional audio for this episode comes the 2017 Comrades Marathon Promotional Video

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