\u201cThe beauty of running is that you see everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are the words of Hazel M\u00f6ller (42), an ultra-marathon runner from Primrose Hill.<\/p>
M\u00f6ller, a member of the Bedfordview Athletics Club, took part in her first race in 1997 and she loved it.<\/p>\n
In 2001, she met her husband Chris (44) at a race and he encouraged her to start taking part in ultra-marathons.<\/p>
\u201cI would never have had the courage to do a 100-miler (161km), but with Chris\u2019s encouragement I tried it and loved it.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hectic competitiveness of the marathons didn\u2019t really appeal to me, but with an ultra-marathon it is your race; the whole aim is just to make it to the end alive,\u201d laughed M\u00f6ller.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love doing road races, this is my niche and you go into a different space, your own world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although M\u00f6ller told the GCN she doesn\u2019t do the ultra-marathons to win, she has an impressive list of records and accomplishments to her name.<\/p>\n
In 2005 she won the Midlands 100-miler outright, breaking the world record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was rather special, as I was the first woman ever to do this,\u201d M\u00f6ller said.<\/p>\n
As a woman she has gone on to win a number of other events outright and always gets a placing in whatever race she participates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t think I have a talent for it; I learnt endurance, enjoy it and train hard, and that\u2019s why I do well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
M\u00f6ller added that she had always wanted to do something for charity, so she used the Washie, in Port Elizabeth, to raise funds for an animal charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe managed to raise R30 000 for the charity, which was great,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a wonderful experience to run for something else, not only for myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was suffering I just thought about how the animals were suffering and this spurred me on.\u201d<\/p>\n
M\u00f6ller started another charity initiative this year, called the Ten 10.<\/p>\n
Three runners started running 10 days before the Comrades Marathon, covering 90km a day.<\/p>\n
One of the runners dropped out on the first day, the second lasted three days and M\u00f6ller managed to do five days (she had to stop due to a stomach ulcer).<\/p>\n
However, after taking medication she rallied and managed to run and finish the Comrades.<\/p>\n
This initiative led to R80 000 being raised for Pet Empowerment.<\/p>\n
They will be doing the Ten 10 again next year.<\/p>\n
In September, M\u00f6ller broke another record — Wally Haywood\u2019s 24-hour race record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI attended the race in Pietermaritzburg just to complete the 100-miler,” she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really enjoy running races on a track, but that one race was organised by a friend of mine, so I decided to try it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it turned out, M\u00f6ller was persuaded to try for the 24-hour record and she accomplished it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one nice thing about being on a track is that there are lots of runners and you get time to socialise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father, Winston, was watching me in that race and it was lovely to break a record with him there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The talented athlete trains every day for about two and a half hours, running with her dogs, Lisa, Roxy and Tyson.<\/p>\n
Hazel is a chemical engineer by trade and works from home.<\/p>\n
She loves to spend time with her three children, Riley (6), Monique (10) and Bryce (22).<\/p>\n
She said she is raising her children to have well-rounded lives, and that they don\u2019t have to be athletic, but Bryce is already a fantastic biathlon athlete.<\/p>\n