Race walking is Belinda’s new love

Belinda Padbury is happiest when she is out walking or running – she calls it her “me time”. And this has certainly paid off for Padbury who, in May, won gold medals for 5km and 10km race walks at the South African Masters Athletics Championships held at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.

Padbury, 49, lives in Assagay, with her husband Bruce and two teenage daughters, Melissa and Zoe. She has been a special needs teacher for more than 20 years and runs her own cottage school for intellectually challenged children.

Her love for running started when she was at primary school. She did track and cross country but her focus was on swimming.

“In high school, I continued with running and once beat my rival to claim the athletics Victrix Ludorum. I preferred the longer track distances - 800m and 1500m. I also ran to keep fit for my biathlons - running and swimming. I represented KZN in this discipline,” she said.

Living in KZN, Padbury said she grew up watching the Comrades Marathon every year. She and her friend made a pact to run the race when they turned 30. After studying, travelling and living in London for six years, Padbury and her husband returned to settle back in KZN.

“I had my first daughter in September of the year I turned 30. My friend reminded me of our pact,” said Padbury. “I started training a month later, I joined Kearsney Striders Athletics Club in January 2004. I ran my first Comrades at the end of May that year. My friend got injured two months before the Comrades, so I ran solo but it was an amazing experience,” she said.

“I have run five Comrades. I love running - it is my ‘me time’, a time to unwind and de-stress. The endorphin-kick after every run is addictive and I also love the camaraderie amongst runners.”

It was in 2019 that Padbury started experiencing knee pain and was told by her doctor that she didn’t have much cartilage left in one of her knees. She had an operation and was cautioned to reduce her running distance. In January 2022, she did a 50km race-walking clinic.

“Race walking is a a technical discipline that requires the walker to maintain contact with the ground at all times,” she said. “It requires the leading leg to be straightened as the foot makes contact with the ground. It must remain straightened until the leg passes under the body. The technique was so vastly different from running that it took months to get it right. Other experienced walkers were willing to teach me. The most exciting part was that I have no knee pain when walking. I feel stronger and far more flexible than I ever did when running.”

Padbury won the KZN 10km race walking championships in Durban in December and was selected to participate in the Athletics South Africa Race Walking Championships at Youngsfield Military Base in Cape Town, on January 28 this year.

She achieved a silver medal for her 10km race.

“My friend and walking mentor, Jeanine Le Febour suggested I get a coach. In February, Oliver Mundell (a Springbok race walker and father/coach to triple Olympian race-walker, Mark Mundell) started coaching me. He has worked on improving both my technique and speed. I typically train five days a week, with one day of rest and one day of cross training (swimming). I could only fully focus on my race-walking training in mid-February after swimming the Midmar Mile,” she said.

Padbury and Mundell competed in the SA Masters Athletics Championships at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. It was in the 5km and 10km races that Padbury clocked her personal best times for both - 28.58mins and 59.02mins respectively. She will be participating in the African Masters Championships later this year, also in Cape Town.

“I’m going to try doing the 20km event next. I’m enjoying training with a great bunch of people and working towards mastering my new sport. I’m grateful to my family for their support, Oliver for his expertise and guidance, and my athletics club for their encouragement and sponsoring my upcoming African Masters Championship trip,” said Padbury.