Former long-distance runner takes on Jakarta's rat race

Former long-distance runner takes on Jakarta's rat race

By Ivy Susanti

JAKARTA (JP): Martha Kase used to run for victory in her days
as one of the country's top long-distance runners. Today, she
runs a small food stall in the Senayan sports complex, the place
where she once trained and competed.

Visitors to Senayan Stadium and the nearby tennis complex can
meet Martha, the 1987 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver medalist
in the women's 3,000m, in her stall every day with her two
children, Imelda Tersia Rahawadan, who is four and a half years
old, and Roberto Immanuel Rahawadan, 18 months.

Her husband, Yohanes Rahawadan, who is also a long-distance
runner, accompanies her, particularly on Saturday nights when
they open the stall round the clock. They sell instant noodles
and coffee.

"Today, our stall is two months old. We open the stall at 6
a.m. and close at 10 p.m. I leave home at Lippo Karawaci,
Tangerang, at about 4 a.m. with my children. They are getting
used to the dawn wind," she told The Jakarta Post.

Martha, 27, said it was her idea to open the stall to meet the
family's needs. She said her husband was initially reluctant to
open the stall because he was afraid of losing face with his
family.

"At first, bapak prevented me from opening this stall. He said
he would be humiliated with his relatives. But finally he gave
up. Now when I complain to him that I am very tired, he will snap
'it's was your wish to start this work. You have to bear the
risk'. So I just continue working," she said.

"But recently he asked me to find an assistant because he
noticed that I am getting exhausted."

Martha, who was born on March 6, 1972, started training in her
hometown of SoE, a city in Timor Tengah Selatan regency in East
Nusa Tenggara when she was seven years old. She was invited to
join the centralized training center of the Indonesian Amateur
Athletic Association (PASI) at Wisma Krida, also in Senayan
complex, in 1980.

"PASI offered cash bonuses for national athletes who could win
in the SEA Games. In 1987, a gold medalist got Rp 1.5 million
while I, as a silver medalist, received Rp 1 million. It was a
lot of money in those day," she recalled.

She said she failed to land a job at the West Java Regional
Development Bank (BPD) even though she provided a recommendation
from the chief of PASI's West Java chapter.

"The current athletes are luckier than I was. They got bonuses
from PASI and its chapters that they represented each time they
won in the championship," she said.

Yohanes, 35, is still running to earn a living and wants to
compete in the 15th National Games (PON) in the 5-km and 10-km
events. However, he failed to achieve the time limit of 32:00.00
for the latter event for PON in the national track and field
championship in November. He finished 18th out of 19 runners in a
time of 35:12.34.

Yohanes, who is from Poka village in Maluku, has a final
chance to qualify for PON in another national track and field
championship in Surabaya, East Java, next year.

He is now training at Fajar Mas Murni athletic club here. The
club is owned by the chairman of the Indonesian Amateur Athletic
Association (PASI), Mohamad "Bob" Hasan.

"I'm not attending the training center. It's tiring. I don't
want to waste my energy in track and field training. I don't want
to be too serious in this job because being an athlete in
Indonesia is not a prospective career."

Martha said she told her husband they should return to their
village after PON. She said was tired of trying her hand at
business.

"If God wants him to perform in PON, he will. The competition
is getting tougher. After that, he promised me we could leave
Jakarta, either to go to my home village or to Ambon, or even to
Irian Jaya. Our lives could be much better in SoE. I want to
start my own business," she said.

"However, I don't want to live in a transmigration area
because we will be placed in a remote location."