Rauna Paulus: From headaches to heroics on the track

Rauna Paulus overcame early health challenges to become a prominent Namibian long-distance runner, representing the country at regional athletics competitions.

The Oupumako village-born former athlete battled an excruciating headache every time she was on the road, but that didn’t deter her.

“I took a keen interest in athletics at primary school and I always outsprinted my classmates in the 60m dash. But I was almost lost for athletics because once I ran, I got a terrible headache but I persevered until I was well at secondary school, but it stopped later.”

Paulus was not fond of sprints and joined other middle distance runners at A Shipena Secondary School and made inroads in the 800m, 1 500m and 3 000m.

“I was a dominant force during the inter-schools meetings and I constantly qualified for the national meetings,” she says.

Paulus says she joined other pupils who trained after school and later started running early in the morning before going to school.

She says life in Katutura was not as risky as it is today.

“My athletics career took a new and very interesting twist when I joined Welwitschia 77 Athletics Club after I finished school in 1996. It was very exciting to train under Manager Muundjua and to become more of a tactical runner,” she says.

“I even started to run longer distances, like the cross-country, the 10km, 21km and the full marathon, which is run over 42km. I started training with top athletes like Joseph Tjitunga, Beata Naigambo, Ruben Indongo and Elizabeth Mongudhi-Leino.”

She says her training regimen became tougher than the routine she followed during her years at A Shipena.

“Although the training became tougher, I really enjoyed myself and I pushed myself even harder, because I was now in the midst of fellow ambitious young athletes, and that motivated me even more. Elizabeth Mongudhi-Leino, was always my toughest opponent,” she says.

“No matter how hard I have tried, I just could not beat Elizabeth . . . Athletics was really exciting back in the days, and I miss running very much,” she says.

Paulus also received several personal accolades during her promising running career.

Her awards range from the most dedicated girl in the cross-country race to the best achiever award at A Shipena in 1993.

“However, my best athletics moment came after I was crowned junior sportswoman of the year by Welwitschia 77 in 1994. Our club had so many celebrated athletes, and to be named the best from the young ones was a thrilling moment.”

Paulus also had her moments with the Namibian athletics team and represented her country in regional tournaments in countries like Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Despite all her efforts, podium finishing remained evasive.

“It’s a very tough and cruel experience competing in Africa. The athletes are hungrier and they are all gunning for gold. Those people train like hell and they are always motivated to win to secure better living conditions for themselves,” the retired runner says.

“My first race outside our borders was at regional cross-country championships in Zimbabwe, but unfortunately, I didn’t make it among the top-three finishers. I finished among the top 20 during another cross-country race at Stellenbosch, South Africa.”

Paulus also had special moments beyond our borders and her best achievement on foreign soil was during an ultra-marathon in Durban, South Africa, were she was the first lady to finish 332 laps around a track during a race that started at 07h00 and ended at 19h00 in the evening in 2000.

“I have also tested myself at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in 2004, which was run around the Cape Peninsula over a stretch of 56km. I really surprised myself by finishing the spectacular course in 164th place out of 6 207 finishers,” she says.

“I also had a podium finish with the Namibian team consisting of Elizabeth Mongudhi-Leino, Joseph Tjitunga and myself in 1999 after we returned with a silver medal from the Southern African Regional Cross-Country Championships in Maputo, Mozambique.”

The accolade earned the cross-country trio a prestigious best team achiever award during the old Namibian Sports Council’s annual sport awards.

Paulus participated in two Tertiary Institutes Sports Association of Namibia Games that were hosted by Namibia during her years at Business and Intellectual Authority College.

Although she is happy with her athletics achievements, she says she regrets stopping running after the birth of her children.

WORK, FAMILY

The single mother of two daughters and proud holder of an office administration diploma from the Katutura Youth Enterprise Centre is employed as a telesales operator.

“I make sure the orders from our various clients are delivered timely and correctly,” she says.

“I call our clients, which range from retail stores to individuals, to inform them about our new products or brands,” she says.

Paulus’ advice to young athletes is to be respectful to their elders, disciplined, and to work very hard.

“There is nothing like ‘I can’t’, because with hard work and discipline, nothing is impossible,” she says.

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