Hazel Colborne’s inspiring journey
From sitting forlornly on the sidelines, never being able to participate in school sport as a child, to running 11 Comrades Marathons, Hazel Colborne’s inspiring story is one of courage and preservation.
Colborne (86), who was diagnosed with Asthma at the age of four, recalled her childhood days of sitting alone on the sidelines while her classmates had fun on the field, due to her breathing difficulties.
“At school I was forbidden to run or participate in any sport because I had bad asthma attacks, and spent more time in Grey’s Hospital than out. I used to watch everybody running and I used to say, ‘Lord, if only you could just let me run to the corner, I would be so happy’; but it never worked. Once, the school tried to let me participate, and that ended with an ambulance coming to pick me up and take me to Grey’s Hospital,” Colborne remembered.
Despite attempts in sport such as hockey and tennis after school, her asthma kept getting the better of her, and she eventually gave up trying. However, her dream of being able to run, ‘just to the corner’, never died. At age 49, she finally felt like her asthma had eased enough to try again.
“When I got home from work, I put on my old tekkies and asked God to let me make it to the corner. I ran, and that whole week I did the same thing. I was getting better. At the end of that week, there was a 5km fun run and I put my name down. When I came home, my husband asked me how I felt. I said, ‘Well this is what I have always wanted to do, and I did it!’”
Her first long distance run was a 32km run out to Thornville. No one told her that the run would be difficult. The race started at the AB Jackson Sports ground in the vicinity of the Harry Gwala Stadium. She asked God to just get her to the half mark. Halfway through, she encountered a runner who helped her to finish the race in three hours and 25 minutes.
She then attempted a 42km race on the insistence from Olive Anthony, the first Coloured female runner in the Comrades Marathon, who believed Colborne could attempt the Ultimate Human Race.
Colborne ran her first Comrades Marathon at 51 years old. Although she carried her asthma medication, as a safety measure, she never experienced an attack. Since then, she has run 11 Comrades Marathons, with her last race dedicated to her husband Jeffrey Colborne, for his support in her running journey.
“I asked my husband if he would get up and follow me at 4am in the morning with the car and extra water. Faithfully, he would wake up every morning and follow me, without complaint. He would follow me right to the time he had to leave for work. He was the first person to meet me at the finish line for all my races. When I got to the finish line of my first Comrades, all I said to Jeffrey was, ‘Hold me, I can’t feel my feet!’
“He had to help me into the bath. All my toe nails had come off and the brown stains I thought was mud, was blood. I asked God to help me get my green number for running 10 Comrades, which he did help me with, but then my mother said I have to run the eleventh one for Jeffrey.
“He was my strength and support. He put the spirit in my life. He used to say to me,
‘God will heal you Haze’,” said Colborne.
The 86-year-old ran her last Comrades in 2000, but only stopped running a year ago. Apart from her 11 Comrades, her running accomplishments include, among others, 10 Two Oceans Marathons, six City to City Marathons and Soweto races.
Colborne is being honoured by the Woodlands community this June, as part of the Ward 32 Community Crusade that seeks to honour in the Woodlands community who have made a positive difference in their community. During the crusade, there will be a fun run in her honour, where the winner will be presented with the Hazel Colborne floating trophy.
The Ward 32 Community Crusade will take place from June 5 to 12 at the Woodlands Hockey Ground, featuring many inspiring guest speakers from the Woodlands community, and lots of sports activities.