The Kalmer Phenomenon

There is no relationship quite like the relationship between sisters. When your sister goes into the same career as you, it can spell disaster or make your bond even stronger; luckily for Rene and Christine Kalmer, the latter happened.

2012 SPAR Grand Prix winner and double Olympian Rene, and her little sister Christine have always been close, but their mutual love for running brought the sisters even closer together.

They both started running as youngsters, but Christine does admit that seeing her sister running is what got her into the sport. “I started running when I was six. When I was younger, Rene and my brother Herman would get programmes from primary school coaches and they would train together. I felt really left out!” the 26-year-old says.

“I think Christine grew up thinking that running is something you had to do,” Rene chuckles.

The sisters train together and say that their parents played a big role in how they carry themselves.

“There’s a good age gap between us so we are not competitive, we support each other,” 32-year-old Rene says. “We don’t fight, we just don’t come from a fighting family, and we prefer to laugh things off. I really don’t like conflict.”

“I think because we train so much, we don’t have any pumped up energy. By the time we get home we are so tired,” Christine adds.

But Christine says that Rene isn’t quite as mellow as she claims to be. “She won’t let me beat her. Even if she’s having the worse day, if she sees me coming she kick things up a gear!” she says.

“Ok maybe it is a bit of competitive, from her side,” Rene retorts laughing.

Rene believes the key to their success is that their parents are not sporty.

“My mother likes sport but she isn’t a fanatic even though she always encouraged us to do sport. When we were younger my dad was doing his MBA so she always took us to cross country races, so he could get the opportunity to study, basically that’s how everything started”

“I think my dad was surprised, having two sporty kids. It was quite a shock on his system! It was quite difficult for him at first because he isn’t sporty at all. He used to drive us to our races and then go and shop or something! He understands it more now and he’s really supportive. I think that was our advantage, that we didn’t have parents that pressured us; they just want to see us enjoying it,” Rene says.

Their parents’ love and support is what has encouraged them to keep pushing on over the years they say. “They are very supportive and proud. Our parents really try to support us even though they would probably like grandchildren they still take us to competitions,” Rene says.

Christine, who is also an engineer, had a breakthrough season this year with a string of good performances especially in the SPAR races.

“I really surprised myself and hopefully I can build from here,” says Christine, who runs track and goes up to half marathons.

Rene had undoubtedly the best season in her 15-year career, winning four out of five SPAR 10km Challenge races, and representing South Africa at the London Olympics.

“This year has definitely been the highlight of my career so far. Winning the SPAR Grand Prix title and qualifying for the Olympic Games for a second time, I think that’s any athlete’s all time dream,” Rene says.

“The London Olympics were very special because my family came with me. My brother couldn’t come because his passport was stolen the day before he had to fly from Berlin, which was really sad. But the rest of the experience was really great.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better year. I really had difficult years in 2010 and 2011. It showed me that you just need to keep pushing and constant training is the secret. That somewhere all your hard work will be rewarded.”

Christine says seeing her sister working hard and succeeding is her biggest motivation.

“It helps to have Rene there every single day. There are days when I don’t feel like training, especially during the holidays and she’s always there to help me. Also seeing that she goes through hard times yet she still pushes on is encouraging.”

“I work from 7:30 in the morning until 4:00pm in the afternoon. I train before and after that. I am more of a recreational runner; I do it for the fun. If you are not at the top and not at Olympic level then you need to have a job. I have the degree so I might as well use it” she says.

“It’s hard, I was so happy the day I found out I have unpaid leave. I use all my leave for competitions.”

Not that Christine hasn’t had some really good times as an athlete; “Getting the opportunity to go and study in the States on an athletic scholarship has been the highlight of my career so far. The four and a half years I spent there is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Rene also has first-hand experience when it comes to trying to find the balance between having a job and being a professional runner.

“I have only been running full time for the past three years. I was a school teacher before then. I taught grade 8 and 9 although it was really difficult at times. It’s also good to know that you are good at something else so that running doesn’t define you,” Rene says.

In fact teaching is something she might consider doing again towards the end of her career. “I might go back to teaching because I really enjoyed it. The kids really respected and looked up to me because I was a runner. Running is so singular, it’s all about you. Teaching was my way of giving back.”

She had some very interesting moments as a teacher Rene remembers. “One year I was on the Sports illustrated swimwear edition, although I was in my normal running gear and not in a bikini. I became the swimsuit teacher! By the end of the year I was known as the FHM teacher. The kids use to bring the magazines to school for me to sign.”

But don’t think that the Kalmer sisters are all work and no play; they’re just normal girls they says. “We love shopping and socialising together. Last year we went to Zanzibar with a friend of Rene’s and the year before that we went on road trip together,” Christine says.

“We enjoy life. We love travelling and doing it the budget way,” Rene adds.

Another thing they have in common is their love for food. “We love sushi, Mexican food, brownies, ice cream and pizza. We are lucky because as long distance runners we burn a lot of calories so we don’t have to watch what we eat too carefully,” Rene says

Another one of Rene’s loves is coaching young girls. “I coached 10 girls last year but stopped this year to concentrate more on my running. I’m still involved in their running and it’s really great to see them improving,” she says proudly.

Part of the reason she loves coaching is because there isn’t enough support for female runners in South Africa she says.

“There isn’t enough support, especially on the development side, there’s quite a gap between school level and the top. The jump from junior to senior is quite difficult because of the lack of support. We lose a lot of talent because there are a lot of opportunities at school but not enough at senior level. You have to fund yourself when the resources are here and the rest of the world comes to SA to train.”

“We need to invest in more coaches and medical support. It’s very expensive and a lot of athletes don’t have the money to get the medical treatment. We need to at least have physiotherapists available to all athletes. “

But hard as it may be Rene says youngsters must stick to their dreams and work hard. “You shouldn’t compare yourself to others; you should follow your own dreams. Do what you can to get to the top. Don’t look at what at what other people have and what you don’t. Running is a roller-coaster ride. The highs are very high and the lows are very low. You need to go through the lows to appreciate the highs. The lows prepare you for your future.”

“You must remember that your talent is not taken away from you when you have injuries and are going through a hard time.”

With 2012 almost over both ladies are now looking forward to next year. “It would be nice not to work and just concentrate on my running but I am also the kind of person who needs something else to do,” Christine says. “I will probably concentrate on the SPAR races again next year but I also want to improve in half marathons,” she states.

“Long term I want to go the next Olympics in Rio. Short term, I really want to mature in the marathon. Winning the Soweto Marathon in 2009 was one of my biggest highlights. Winning the people’s marathon in Soweto was amazing; it was incredible seeing all of those people who came out to support us,” Rene says.

“I really want to improve my marathon time, so that is the goal for the next four years. One day I must also run the Comrades, someone needs to give the Russian twins a go. I want to go for the SA records, there is nothing like running your personal best.”