Exactly one week before the sold-out aQuelle Jacaranda City Challenge in Pretoria, South Africa, my sister Lindi-Jane (Lindz) secured us two spots in the 21.1km Half Marathon. The annual race offers a stunning visual backdrop: Pretoria’s streets are crowned with a vibrant canopy of purple as the signature jacaranda trees burst into bloom with their trumpet-shaped petals.

As thousands of runners gathered at Rietondale Park, we stood side by side, excited. This was our first race together as sisters, putting months of hard work and discipline to the test.

About a kilometre in, Lindz cut to the chase, “Are you going to try to get the sub 2?” I nervously confirmed my goal: to beat the two-hour mark before the end of 2025, significantly shaving down my first and only half-marathon time of 2:08. Achieving this meant maintaining a demanding pace of 5:30/40 minutes per km.

She knew my goal, and we would achieve it together.

Lindz, a seasoned athlete who started the year with her first ultra in the Drakensberg and had cracked an impressive 1:35 personal best half marathon just two months prior at the Runzone Joburg North City Half Marathon in Emmarentia, chose this race: she would run it with me. She knew my goal, and we would achieve it together.

Throughout the gruelling kilometres, Lindz was my constant, patient, and persistent voice of encouragement. She took on the role of pacer and personal assistant, fetching my water, making sure I was well hydrated. Her mantra, which she repeated often, became the focus of my endurance: “Kate, everything is relative.”

Support
The importance of encouragement from total strangers was made clear to me during my first half-marathon, the Discovery Vitality Race Against Cancer in Orlando East, Soweto on 21 June 2025. Here, freezing cold wintery streets were lined with excited families in dressing gowns, children shouting at the top of their lungs, taxis hooting, and marshalls confidently showing us the way. In contrast, the quieter Jacaranda route meant I had to rely almost entirely on the encouragement of my sister.

Despite fewer spectators, some scenes brought a smile: a generous man eagerly handing out chopped bananas and apples, a family playing music from camping chairs in their driveway, and the inspiring sight of runners proudly wearing their Comrades Marathon regalia. And, of course, the sight and sound of my partner Vuyo, shouting for us at the top of his lungs as we entered the last 200 meters: “Go Lindz! Go Kate!”

We crossed the finish line side by side. I finally achieved my first sub-2-hour half-marathon time, and I know for certain I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support, discipline, and shared journey of my sister.

Running together was the ultimate personal best.

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