South Africa – Beauty of Exercise

It inspired me, it overwhelmed me, it humbled me, it took all of me! The spirit of the Comrades Marathon.

On Sunday 4th June 2017, I had the enormous privilege of standing on the start line of the Comrades Marathon 2017. It was an absolute dream-come-true. As a kid growing up in South Africa, I was brought up having a huge appreciation for this race. Every year the race was televised from the start to the finish – 12hrs+ of viewing – the South African nation was caught up in the grips of the Comrades fever. I was in awe of the runners who took part and had a huge respect for each and every one of them.

At 5am on the 4th June 2017, I was huddled in my starting chute with my gorgeous hubby, Martin, and good friends Sue & Richard Ollerhead. It was dark, the atmosphere was electric – combination of nerves and excitement – lots of people rushing to get into their starting chutes… and then the singing started. The entire field of 20k runners were singing Shosholoza and the South African national anthem – it truly brought a lump to my throat. This was followed by the music of Chariots of Fires (again, very emotional), then the iconic Max Tribold’s Cock Crow…. and bang, the start gun at 5.30am. And we were off!

I can recall the entire experience step-by-step, but will save that for another post. Instead, I wanted to share a few (of the many) special moments that truly touched me:

As a South African brought up in the apartheid era, I was completely humbled by the spirit of the Comrades. Blacks, whites, nationals, internationals – everyone was united by the raw emotion of the Comrades. Throughout the entire day, the 20k field of runners were cheering and supporting each other along the way. No matter who you were and where you came from, we were all equal – united in this beautiful sport.

The support on the day is second to none. There are crowds of supporters from start to finish – the entire 88km. Singing, dancing, cheering, calling out your name, handing you food, drinks, spraying you with water – creating the most amazing atmosphere! You truly felt like an elite runner competing in the Olympics.

The organisation of the race is on par with the Olympics. It is flawless! From pre-race registration, the ongoing communication, international ambassadors for each country, race registration, expo, hospitality, logistics, refreshments every 2km, choice of refreshments, pacing buses, entertainment, medals, photos, etc. All international runners, together with their supporters, had access to an international tent at the finish where they were served food and drinks all day. It was position right next to the finish line – so truly amazing for our families/supporters.

On the Friday before the race, I joined the international athlete course tour. Part of the tour was to visit the Ethembeni School for the Disabled – one of the Comrades official charities. As the bus stopped, the children we waiting for us with welcome signs for each country. Despite being faced with adversity, these children had the biggest smiles on their faces. They sang and danced for us and gave us each a beautiful, hand-made beaded bracelet. The colours of the bracelet were those of the Comrades Marathon and Ethembeni School, and consisted of 88 x beads – one for each km of the race. There was hardly a dry eye in the audience.

After the tour I was hanging out in the hotel lobby. Sitting next to me was a young African runner who was chilled and relaxed. His buddies came to join him and sat down for a cup of tea. There was much excitement in their conversation (in Zulu/Xhosa). At one stage I overheard them talking about their race pace of 3.50-4.00/km. I looked over at them and asked if they were planning to run the race at that pace. They all laughed and their coach asked me if I knew who they were. They were the gold-medal runners! (Ludwick Mamabolo finished 4th in 5:42; and Sphiwe Ndlela 6th in 5:45.) Truly humble and super-friendly gentlemen.

Two weeks later and I am still on a high. This event is without doubt one of the most rewarding races I have ever done! Now to consider returning next year for the ‘Back-to-Back’ medal…