Lodelia Kombrink: An Inspiration for Mothers and Runners Alike
Lodelia Kombrink secured victory in the women’s 75km 2024 K-Way MaxiRace Cape Winelands just five months postpartum. She brought home another gold after initially winning the 120km K-Way MaxiRace in 2022.
The premier running trail event offers running enthusiasts a chance to test their limits whilst enjoying the scenic landscapes of the Cape Winelands. Additionally, there are different route lengths and difficulties to cater to all levels of runners, ranging from 5km to 120km for both men and women.
Kombrink was crowned ‘Queen of the Race’ and we chatted to her to learn more about her experience.
Training To Be A Trailblazer
To compete in any race, no matter the length or size, you need to train correctly to avoid injury. This could by yourself or with a trainer. Normally, training for marathons and similar challenges take months. Kombrink, however, took the spontaneous route.
”I only decided on the 10th of June 2024 that I will be participating in the race. At that time, I was eight weeks postpartum and thus needed to basically start from the bottom,” she says. Whilst she did train up until five months pregnant, she had to cut back in her third trimester. Nevertheless, because her body was used to intense training, she was able to continue “doing active walks daily and do strength training up until the day before Klara’s birth.”
However, she does warn pregnant women that not everyone is the same. “I have been an active person my whole life. My body was used to the training and that is why I continued to train during my pregnancy. You should not start training excessively if you find out you are pregnant and never have been that active before as complications may arise from the intense training.”
Balancing the Big Win and Being A New Mother
Being a new parent is a challenge on its own. In fact, early mornings and late nights are just half of the challenge. Now, imagine adding multiple hours of daily training to the mix. It seems impossible until its done. And, Kombrink stayed steadfast and did it incredibly well.
“It was really hard in the beginning,” she tells us. “I still breastfed my girl when I started training. So, I needed to fit my sessions in when my husband was available to look after our baby and then get her feeding done before that to be able to go out.”
In the end, she says that training was the easy part. Trying to be the best mother to little Kiara was much harder.
Undertandably, Kombrink faced both physical and emotional challenges throughout the process building up to race day. It had been a while since she had done intensive training and she was left with a small hamstring injury. However, emotionally, it was even more challenging for her. “As you are still recovering from fluctuating hormones, the guilt of leaving my child with other people while I had to do a four-hour run sometimes had me in tears while training. Also, the doubt in one’s mind about whether you would be able to get back into it and if you would be able to actually race the distance was a huge mental and emotional challenge I was faced with.”
It Takes A Village
For Kombrink, running is like food for the soul. In fact, she says it has moulded her into the person she is today. Through lessons of self-discipline, time management, planning, perseverance and self-reflection, she feels free in her running shoes.
The only reason she was able to get back into it after giving birth, though, was her support system. Made up of her husband, coach, her family and her in-laws, it certainly took a village to get her to and through the race.
“My husband, Divan, is my biggest fan. Although we sometimes might differ about approaches, he supports, encourages and even pushes me to be the best I can be. There were many times where I said I can’t do this, and he would just ignore me, continuing to motivate me to do what needs to be done. Other times he would sit and listen and give me a hug.”
Ultimately, Kombrink wanted to do this race for herself. She says: “There were new trails to explore and this year my little girl was there for whom I really wanted to finish. I was literally running towards her at the finish line, the biggest drive to finish the race.”
It was never about coming first for her, but about running home to little Klara and making her proud.
If you are wondering if you can achieve something, the answer is yes, you can! Kombrink serves as an idol to the entire human race – not just mothers and runners. She has proven that anything you set your mind to can be achieved.
