“I started running to fight my internal battles of anorexia and depression”

Published in 2016

Nandi Zaloumis-Mitchell has been running since she was in school. Running was something she could turn to, “to fight her internal battles of anorexia and depression,” she says. At first it made her lose weight rapidly but then it helped her grow strong again. She comes from a very active family, but she prefers running alone and says running is her friend. For longer runs, her husband Jody will run with her or her parents George and Liz will follow her in the car.

Nandi’s real passion for long distance running only began in earnest in 2014, the same year that she took on her first Comrades Marathon. It all started when her friend got injured and decided to sell her entry. Nandi says, “I thought: if not; why not? So I bought my entry on 24 April 2014, joined my first running club, ran my first marathon on 4 May 2014 and then ran Comrades.” All she wanted was to finish the race and to enjoy herself. Her goal is to always finish a race with enough energy. She finished her first race in a time of 10 hours 19 minutes, thanks to Debbie Fass, a current Team Vitality member who “kept her in check and talked me through the run until after half way.”

I had my hopes set on a silver medal time

On the day of Comrades 2016, Nandi’s goal was clear: “When I saw I could make it in under 8 hours I pushed it. Then to see my folks waiting there for me is always the best reward. I must say part of me runs to make my Dad proud, and I think he was,” says Nandi, after she finished her third Comrades marathon.

This was Nandi’s second year running for Team Vitality. She trained more for this one, but had higher expectations so pushed herself harder. Her previous two Comrades she entered for fun, but this race was different: she had a goal and that was to get a silver medal. She ran alone this year and so had time to notice all the different people taking part in the race.  She says, “Everyone is going through some kind of battle, big or small and we are all running for our own reason. Some running for a cause, others running to improve their time, others just running,” she says knowing this blows her away.

Nandi will start training again shortly after Comrades; she says she doesn’t believe in “slacking off her training”. She wants to finish a marathon in under 3 hours.

It’s no surprise she is an amazing athlete, she puts in the hard work and is extremely dedicated. Nandi says she wakes up at 2:30am and gyms at home, she then runs with her husband and if he doesn’t join she will wait until it is light enough for her to go on her own. She also trains with other women in the area when she does trail running.

Her message to fellow Team Vitality members who want to run Comrades

Nandi says to go for it. However, if you are just starting off, she advises to give it a few years until your body is ready. She says too many people start running, do Comrades and end up broken. She says it’s such an amazing race, “it brings people from all different aspects of life together, you wouldn’t know whether someone was a gardener or a CEO”.

“Everyone is equal on the road road and we are all out there to enjoy the great wonder of running, to build friendships and memories that last a life time.”