Hi, I’m Melanie. In 2001 my son was enrolled in a swim school run by a lady named Lynn Schroeder. She also started a water aerobics class for the moms. Once she saw me swimming she convinced me to try and do Midmar. Shockingly I had never heard of this swim before as I had lived in JHB for most of my adult life. So at the ripe old age of 35 I started training for my first ever Midmar Mile. We did the qualifier or Capital K in November 2001 and swam 1000m. I was hooked I then entered and completed my first Midmar mile in 2002 in about 45 minutes. My mom who was 60 at the time decided that she would be joining me the following year. She then trained for Midmar 2003 and so I swam again. I was well and truly hooked.

 

The following year friends from Jhb decided they needed a third member to make up a team of three for the company swim and they promptly entered me as the third member of the team on the Saturday. I had already registered to do an individual swim that Sunday. And so a tradition was started and I began to swim on both days, first one as a team member and my second as an individual. My mentor (Lynn) has just completed her 60th crossing of midmar along with her husband. They have been swimming every year for the last 40 years. I am slightly behind them with 30 Midmars at 17 years in a row under my belt... YES, the maths don't work out... that's because we often swim twice as explained just now.

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I work at The Brown’s School for Special Needs kids and In 2006 I decided to ask permission from our principal at the time -Dave Smyth - if I would be allowed to use the pool and train some of our kids to do Midmar. He not only loved the idea but even got the school to sponsor part of the swim costs for the kids. So I asked if any of our children were interested in completing a Midmar mile  and 15 die-hards replied. They trained hard and gave up breaks and an hour on Saturdays. We first swam the qualifier called Capital K which is 1km. Then in the February of 2007 we hit the dam running. All 15 of us successfully completed the swim and proudly displayed our medals and tans in Assembly on the following Monday. This is how the best team in the school was founded  and since then we have grown to a record number of 45 swimmers (including parents, siblings relatives and friends) We have great fun training and the pride in getting that medal is unforgettable.

 

I have completed 27 Capital K swims, including some years doing a 3km in the morning followed by 1000m and just for fun a 500m swim  all on the same day. A total of 4.5km. I have been crazy enough to do this in 2009, 2011 , 2012 2013, and in 2016 and am still going strong.

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On the flipside, we have had people who have tried more than once to achieve this swim and with perseverance have managed to get that medal. Some are now faster than their coach.... Often our kids feel inadequate in their daily lives and succeeding at Midmar is a great confidence booster. If you, your child, family or friends wish to join in this great adventure please do not hesitate to contact me and I will give you all the details you need. You can also head over to the General Costs and Training Times page before clicking on the Register page. Fill in the details and that’s it! 

 

Mrs Melanie Visagie 
Midmar Maniacs Coach.