Many The Miles

Steve and Eleanor Pienaar are the first South African couple to complete the Marathon Grand Slam.

- Eleanor Pienaar

I was born with an allergy to South African grasses and grew up with colds, flu, bronchitis and even pneumonia. When I started running, I would train for a week or two and then get sick and have to take a week off and start all over again. It was only in my thirties that I was able to do serious training and get fit enough to start running marathons.

Steve has had a few accidents and doctors advised, on more than one occasion, that he would never run again. While doing military service, he injured his left knee and had to have keyhole surgery. While training for the Comrades on a dark winter’s morning, he had a headon accident with a bicycle. He tore the ligaments and dislocated the cartilage in his left knee.

While at work, he was side-swiped by a heavy-duty vehicle and it rode over his bionic left leg, crushing his calf muscle. He also had an accident while cycling where he collided with a car. But he continues to run!

Our Grand Slam journey has developed over many years. After Steve completed his Green Number [awarded to athletes who have completed 10 races] and I got my back-to-back medals on Comrades, we needed a new challenge. Our family live in the UK, and for my dad’s 60th birthday, he asked us to run the London Marathon. Five members of the family ran the race, including my mom, who ran her first marathon. This sparked a desire to run more international races and we combined our passion for travel and running into an adventure that has taken us across the world.

Huge challenge