Debbie Ivins Comrades' Story Highlights the Fighting Spirit of Determination

Photo Credit: Debbie Ivins

Debbie Ivins has an inspiring Comrades story that started six years earlier when she became seriously ill and doctors told her she couldn’t run.

Johannesburg, South Africa (19 June 2024) – Running is not for everyone, but for some, it is a journey to healing. Lacing up one’s running shoes and focusing only on putting one foot in front of the other, can be extremely cathartic. Many find solace and for Debbie Ivins, that was the case.

She shared that she turned to running as a way to heal after a long battle with infertility and several miscarriages. She explains that she was in a dark hole and running became a way of climbing out of that. She had tried many other things first, having never been inclined to sports, so she took part in a play, wrote a book and even tried her hand at extra roles in local films, but none of it quite spoke to her as profoundly as running!

“I decided to enter the sporting world as my next challenge. I was never a natural athlete growing up, so this was completely out of character but from a place of pain and despair, I discovered a love for running that I never knew I had. It became more than a hobby to me. It became a journey to a new state of health and fulfilment and improved my emotional well-being too.”

“Running introduced me to a lifestyle and community of people I never knew I needed. I still think one of the best things about running is the people it has brought into my life. Running makes friendships stronger and stronger. We help each other stay motivated, positive and excited about life!”

Debbie ran for a full year before she set the goal of running her first Comrades Marathon in 2012. Having grown up in KwaZulu-Natal she fondly remembers attending races on the sidelines, cheering on all the runners.

“I knew to finish the Comrades was a miracle and my debut race saw me crossing the finish line with just 13 minutes to spare. It was a challenge like no other. Not only on the day itself but the months of training and sacrifice beforehand, to prepare physically and mentally for the 12-hour journey that lay ahead of me. It was not only the distance I had to conquer but myself.

I leant how to keep the faith during the lows that came with this season, the same applies to life, if we don’t give up eventually the finish line will come. I earned by back-to-back medal the year after, and in total ended up doing 6 Comrades marathons, the last one being in 2018. Little did I know at the time, my health would soon take a complete turn and with it, my dreams once again, would be shattered.”

Debbie’s love for the marathon was paused as she faced her most difficult health journey. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease after months of misdiagnosis and testing. The disease changed how she could live her life.

“I became critically ill, with internal bleeding and ulcers, and eventually diagnosed with Chron’s disease, which in turn, depleted my body from head to toe. It ripped me to the core, physically and emotionally. From losing weight, bone mass, hair, strength, the ability to run, enduring stares and gossip, being misunderstood while misdiagnosed, even breaking my nose and so much more!
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My frail state and crumbling bones limited my ability to be the athlete I once was but I trust the athlete that I have now become will still be someone who can use her story to bring hope and encouragement to others.”

Three years ago, Debbie moved to Johannesburg and decided to join the local running club, Fourways Road Runners and the social running group, JP Runners. She found that the groups quickly went from being friends to feeling like family. They became an amazing support group.

“They were supportive of the hard time I was going through, and accepted the frail, yellow (due to liver complications), fragile human I had become. It didn’t matter what the outside looked like, they saw my heart.”

Despite being unable to run, Debbie entered the Comrades each year in the hope of going; as she jokes, she is “addicted to hope”.

“At the beginning of 2023, afraid for my life, the doctor told me I couldn’t run for an entire year, and the likelihood of ever running again was next to nothing. With the osteoporosis that had developed and compromised heart, severe anemia, etc etc, 2023 was perhaps the hardest year of my life. I nearly didn’t pull through, more than once….”

But true to herself, she entered the 2024 Comrades again, found a new doctor and took a new approach to learning about how to work with her body. By January 2024, she was running long distances again and was feeling ready to work towards the Comrades. And then, she was lined up at the starting line and ready to go! After 6 years away from the marathon, she was finally back!

“It was one of the best days of my life! I felt stronger than I have ever felt before running the Comrades. I was much faster than ever before. I smiled the whole way. Everyone commented it looked like I was flying. I still feel like I am flying! High on joy and gratitude and it is surreal. Miracle. God. 6 years of waiting came back six times the blessing….”

While her story focuses on all the positives, Debbie insists that it isn’t all roses. You have to focus on recovery and what serves your body, and don’t dwell too much on the negatives.

“I do not like dwelling on the negatives. Every day is a new day and I wake up and make the most of it. I want to encourage others that even if things don’t end up the way you hoped it would, you can still choose to enjoy your life and make the most of new experiences. The Comrades has taught me many things, including how to handle suffering. The life lessons from the past all serve as stepping stones for me and I’ve grown in grit and determination.

My running stamina comes from my past hardships, and this year, I think I had 6 times the strength after 6 years of waiting to stand on that start line again. It was a miracle to reach the start and to finish was a blessing that I wasn’t sure would be possible. The fact that I had an absolutely amazing, strong, fun, fast run, is a miracle. Even the doctors are astounded, from where I have come from to now.

“I am humbled to be able to keep sharing, like now, and even the medical staff cannot believe I have come from where I was to where I am now”

Living in faith not fear, as this journey is for life …. But I am human and have dark days still, but … I choose to be better, not bitter and always focus on the good and not dwell in pity or on what was lost over the years, and the damage I now carry. Nothing is wasted. My pain has purpose….”