Durban — A KwaZulu-Natal North Coast woman fighting chronic pain fatigue took up athletics in a bid to overcome it and will run her fourth Comrades Marathon next month.
Vanessa Frylinck will participate in the 97th running of the Comrades on June 9 from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
Frylinck, 45, from Blythedale Beach, has a condition called fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes widespread pain, fatigue, sleep problems and cognitive difficulties.
“Exercise has helped me manage the pain. The more endorphins you can push through your body, the lower your pain, and your fatigue is reduced. I try to motivate people who have lupus and fibromyalgia to get active. Being active for conditions such as diabetes and hypertension and so forth is beneficial.
“I used to be on schedule five medication for pain and my kidneys were being affected; I used to get kidney stones. I stopped the pain meds and started training more so that it could balance it out. It’s been so beneficial.
“The amount of medication I have been able to eliminate just by training has been amazing and my quality of life has improved,” she said.
Frylinck, who is a member of the DHS Old Boys Athletics Club, said she had always been involved in sport and had competed in triathlons and Iron Man events.
“Running was not my strongest discipline. I was a cyclist and did swimming as a youngster. From triathlons I started enjoying running. I enjoy the running community because triathlon is an individual sport, while running can be a social sport and is a lot more fun.
“When I was supporting the 2018 Comrades from the side of the road, I told a friend I think I will run Comrades for my 40th birthday. The training started and everybody said once you do a Comrades, you will be hooked: I said I’m not stupid, I’m only doing one. After one, it was you have to do your back-to-back, and now I’m trying to go for my green number,” said Frylinck.
Her best time was last year when she received a bronze medal for finishing in 10 hours and 27 minutes.
“This year has been a bit tough. I’ve been struggling with my health and I found out I’m pre-diabetic and also have an injury on my foot that has been giving me hassles. My training has not been great, but I could still possibly get a bronze.
“With Comrades you just push through the pain. You learn how to run on tired legs. You dig into your mental strength, keep out the pain and keep the end goal in focus,” she said.
Frylinck hopes to create awareness and encourage others to start running. She’s also using this year’s race to raise money for the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust.
Independent on Saturday