FORUM NAME:  Big Dave

Name:  Dave Coetzee

Club:

Running/Walking history:

Everyone starts for one reason or another, mine was simply cause my doctor told me “You are a walking dead man, change your lifestyle and get fit” This was after a scary numbness in my left arm and chest pains. At that time I had grown to 200 kg’s, seriously. The year was 2001

So on with the cross trainers shirt and shorts and I started running, well you can imagine that picture, I believed that to be a runner you had to run, so if it was 5 km you ran 5 km. I would get very upset with myself when I failed to run more than 600 meters.

At about 180 kgs still in 2001 I joined the Dbn Metro Police Athletic Club and from 2005 to 2007 was the chairman of the club. This was a get your number and run club and of course I wanted more, I left them in 2002 and joined Queensburgh Harriers. Now being a member of the DMPS sports association they asked me to stay on to run the club even though I was no longer a member.

In 2002 I had a bad tear in the Achilles whilst climbing the Platberg Mountain, it was a race I should have never entered. Well the doctor told me no running for three months, I protested not wanting to go back to where I had worked so hard to get away from. He told me to walk.

I was not happy about this as walking was frowned upon, it was a female sport at my club. 

Anyway I started to walk, I enjoyed it and I pushed harder and further till did my first ultra marathon and then the second and on it went.

In 2005 I made a move to Run Walk for Life mainly cause I won membership in a Runners World competition. In 2006 I started off as the licensing officer for the AC and found myself chairman very shortly afterwards.

Whilst at RWFL I returned to running and trained to do the 2006 Two Oceans but at 18 km I suffered a tear in my calf muscle and in turn missed the cut off by 1 min.

Now I hadn’t found home as such, these clubs were all okay but not the clubs I was looking for. I finally found the Eskom Gijimas and I joined them in just after my failed Two Oceans.

I worked hard to lose more weight and finally after 70 kg loss I started to get somewhere with my walking to the extent I started to coach walking. I trained a young lady to take part in Two Oceans 2007, her half time was 3:30 and I managed to get some speed out of her to the effect she finished this race in 2:51

I also joined the Runners World / Powerade pacesetters and have paced many many races. 

Also a member of the 1000 km challenge I received two bronze medals for two years, last year I got silver medal, permanent number and top veteran walker in KZN. 

I walked in these club colours up to May 2007 where I decided that I needed to learn to run and have been doing so since. Running has been a challenge for me and I have had a few set backs such as the Rhodes Ultra and the South Coast Marathon, inexperienced I tackled these races and came short. I am now wiser and have a good “coach” helping me.

This year I am returning to Two Oceans half to fulfil a dream I have and that is bring in the cut off bus, the sub 3 hr.

 Next goals:

In no particular order:

Run a 42.2

Run a 70 km circuit race

Run Two Oceans 56 km

Run Comrades Marathon