Melanie smashes Maritzburg record

Another day, another medal - this time it’s the Maritzburg Marathon’s medal that Melanie van Rooyen is proud to show off

Melanie van Rooyen of the Canon Richards Bay Athletic Club won the Postnet Maritzburg Marathon 42km in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday. Not only that, but she also broke the record, crossing the finishing line in a blistering 03.01. And this was the first time she participated in this race. The phenomenal result is just the latest in an impressive resume, collected in the last three years since Melanie has taken running seriously. In November, she broke the Sani Stagger record, finishing in 03.58 and finished 19th overall at her first Comrades, recording an incredible 07.45 and pocketing a cool R10 000.

Athlete of the year
Melanie was chosen as RBAC’s top female athlete of the year in 2009 after achieving six wins, two second places, two third places, one 11th place - at the Foskor 21km that drew the country’s top runners with its fantastic prize money - and her 19th place at the Comrades. ‘I’ve been running since schooldays, but have really focused on my running in the last three years.’ Before that, she used to participate in triathlons. Melanie’s training schedule is gruelling. Tuesdays to Sundays sees her pounding the tarmac for an average of 120-140 kilometres a week. Then she also does some swimming, cycling and gym work. ‘I do most of the training on my own, but enjoying taking part in our long club runs on Saturday.’ For this year, Melanie will only be concentrating on KZN races, except for the Xstrata Longtom Marathon on Saturday 27 March in Mpumalanga. And as for Comrades - will she be back? ‘I’m definitely doing Comrades again this year and hopefully I can improve on my time.’ It’s this sort of focus and determination that gets Melanie in front of the pack - every time.