I participated in the 2010 Comrades marathon (90 km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban) and I had a Kinesiology full balance two weeks before race day. It made such a big difference to my aches and pains on and after the race day, I was amazed! I usually suffer from back pain on distances above 32km (fused spine) and at about 45km my knees start to act up. In my previous two Comrades races I’ve ended up with painful and quite badly swollen knees and ankles for almost a month after the race.
Not so for 2010! No back pain on race day and no problems afterwards, except for the usual stiffness but I was actually able to go deep-sea fishing with my cousin on the following day, whereas I could barely stand, let alone walk, in the previous years!
I’m forever grateful to Brigitte for the Kinesiology balance as I’d dreaded the pain during and after the race and I’ve been recommending going for such a balance to every athlete I meet.
Fanie Burger ,
Centurion
I am a Comrades athlete and I was fortunate enough to receive 2 full Kinesiology balances in the month before the race at the end of May. The focus was specifically on the muscles I would use during the race and on a positive mindset – enjoying the race and having an adventurous journey.
What a difference those 2 balances made to my enjoyment of the race and my mindset before and on that day!
I usually have many aches and pains during the 90km, 12 hour trek from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and at about 65 km I really lose my sense of humour and become tearful and grumpy because it is still such a way to go. Also, the 2 days before Comrades and the morning before the race I’m terrible company – my nerves are on edge and I’m totally stressed and quite snappy. None, absolutely not one of these symptoms happened this year, and the only thing I changed to previous years, was going for the balances.
I was calm and happy throughout before the race, no nerves on the morning before setting off, and I remained calm, happy and virtually pain free for the full 90 kms – the race turned out to be one of my best adventures yet and other athletes commented on how fresh I looked and how happy and cheerful I sounded every step of the way. I had next to no pain at all while running and actually donated many of my previously much treasured tablets to fellow comrades in pain and even the days following the race were a breeze – a bit of stiffness on the first two days after the race and after that you would never have said I’d run so far and I managed to finish almost 15 minutes faster than my previous time. Previous years I looked gaunt, tired and run-down for a week after and walked with difficulty for at least 5 days – climbing stairs and getting out of bed was almost impossible. I can recommend having at least one balance before any big race – even if you do not suffer from pain and it is just to keep you in a positive frame of mind, it made a huge difference to my happy memories of that day.
Melissa Burger,
Centurion
