I think the biggest thing I have learned from being a My Conditioning Coach athlete is that, in every so-called failure — whether it is objectively a failure or simply feels like one — there is also success.
My journey with sport started at school, where I competed regularly. But for a long time, I measured myself by how I performed and by what I thought other people expected from me. When I didn’t perform the way I believed I should, I saw it as failure.
Eventually, after school, I decided I didn’t want to compete anymore. It was easier not to compete than to feel like I had failed.
Of course, I had to do some inner growth myself. But getting back into competitive sport, and eventually becoming an MCC athlete, taught me to look at things very differently.
A race that didn’t go to plan
One of the hardest races I have experienced was UTCT 2025.
I put a lot of pressure on myself going into that race. I definitely wanted to podium and I wanted to perform well. I think we often perceive pressure from the outside, but most of it actually comes from ourselves. We imagine what other people are thinking and expecting, when in reality, people probably don’t care nearly as much as we think they do.
But that doesn’t make the pressure feel any less real.
At that stage of my life, coaching had also become one of the biggest things giving me a sense of purpose. That sounds a little sad, I guess, but I wasn’t enjoying my job and I really missed my family.
Training and racing had become incredibly important to me — perhaps a little too important.
So I really wanted this race to go well.
It didn’t.
From the beginning, everything felt wrong. It was incredibly hot and very fast, and there were two overseas athletes racing who I hadn’t expected. I struggled almost immediately.
When we reached the first real climb, I remember thinking, “I want to quit. I want to stop.”
I started thinking of reasons why I should stop.
I eventually finished the race, but I felt like I had surrendered. In my head, I had failed.
And one of my first thoughts was: “How am I going to tell Morné and Bobby?”
When failure became a lesson
What surprised me most was their reaction.
They were incredibly proud of me.
Instead of treating the race as a failure, Morné described it as a huge learning opportunity. He told me that my next race was going to feel so much easier because my brain had been stretched.
That really stayed with me.
I remember thinking, “Wow. I wish I had looked at bad races — or so-called failures — this way before.”
Because it makes sense.
You can’t always have a good race. You can’t always feel good. You can’t always perform the way you hoped you would.
You’re human.
And sometimes the races that hurt the most teach you the most.
And then, the following week…
There was an unexpected reminder of just how much can change from one race to the next.
The week after UTCT, I ran the Winelands 21.1 km — and won the race in a season-best 1:20:56.
I think that says a lot.
The race I had walked away from feeling like a failure was followed just a week later by one of my best performances of the season.
It reminded me that one race doesn’t define you as an athlete.
And perhaps that is exactly what Morné was trying to teach me.
What MCC has taught me
That, for me, is probably the biggest thing I have gained from MCC.
I have learned that success isn’t always about the result. Sometimes success is finishing when everything in you wants to stop. Sometimes it is learning something about yourself that you wouldn’t have discovered in a perfect race.
And sometimes a race that feels like your worst can actually prepare your brain — and your body — for what comes next.
That has changed the way I see myself as an athlete.
Why MCC?
For any athlete considering joining My Conditioning Coach, I would say that, in my experience, you are treated as an athlete — whether society perceives you as one or not.
The training system is structured and rigorous, but it is also very science-based. Most importantly, it is tailored to the individual.
You’re not just given a generic programme. The training is based on you, your needs and what you are trying to achieve.
And I think that’s what makes the difference.
For me, MCC has given me more than a training programme. It has changed the way I think about performance, about failure and, ultimately, about myself.
You can’t always have a good race. You can’t always feel good. You’re just human.
And I’ve learned that there can still be success in all of it.