Women's Running Stories host and producer Cherie Turner tells the story of her return to the 56-mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa. This is Cherie's second running of this, the world's oldest and largest ultra distance race in the world. And this for running, she had the goal of running better, both physically and mentally: she wanted to finish in under 10 hours (in 2022, she ran it in 10:25) and with a more positive, less fearful mindset. She wanted to fully soak in the magic of this one-of-a-kind event.

Cherie tells the story of what she did different to prepare for Comrades 2023 and how it all went down.

The Comrades Marathon has been a great interest to Cherie for the past several years. This podcast started with stories of women's experiences at the race. But Cherie had never intended to participate in the event herself. That is, until she heard, over and over again from the women she interviewed, that to really understand Comrades, you must experience it for yourself. So, in 2022, she did just that.

While her first Comrades experience was incredible, she knew there were improvements that she could make that would result in an even more outstanding race. That's exactly what this story is all about.

Mentioned in This Episode

Cherie Turner + Comrades Marathon, A Hear Her Sports Special Collaboration: https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-turner-comrades-marathon-a-hear-her-sports-special-collaboration

Jae Gruenke, The Balanced Runner: https://www.balancedrunner.com/

The Balanced Runner, breathing protocol: https://www.balancedrunner.com/how-to-breathe-when-you-run-part-1/

Verity Breen on Women's Running Stories: https://womensrunningstories.com/verity-breen-running-far-and-fast-a-life-long-love

Comrades Marathon episodes on Women's Running Stories: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-comrades-marathon

Coach Parry Comrades Down Run Description: https://blog.coachparry.com/comrades-marathon-route-down-run/

Customizable Pace Chart: https://www.irenerunner.co.za/comrades.html

Keep up with Hear Her Sports

Instagram: @hearhersports

Twitter: @hearhersports

Website: hearhersports.com

Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories

Instagram: @womensrunningstories

Twitter: @WomenRunStories

Website: womensrunningstories.com

Email host Cherie: [email protected]

Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/

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