JRAC at Comrades 2019

The Just Running Athletics Club (JRAC) has experienced an exponential growth this season, evidenced by among others the number of Comrades Marathon entrants that increased from 24 in 2018 to 40 in 2019, a whopping increase of 67%!

Comrades Ultra Marathon is a pilgrimage of runners. Leading up to the event, the profiling of Comrades runners on social media platforms by the JRAC Marketing Team created the excitement within the running community and admirers. All the JRAC runners were involved in one form or the other. We wouldn’t have succeeded and coped with the pressure that comes with Comrades had it not been for their messages of encouragement and support.

Of the 40 runners who qualified for Comrades, 36 were able to assemble in the starting line up while the balance was not able to start due to various reasons. I must take this moment to thank the Coaching Desk for the sterling work that they did in the preceding months. They designed training schedules every month, which incorporated among others, speed training, tempo and hill repeats. The system provided flexibility to runners in terms of running schedules and this contributed substantially in helping members to qualify and prepare adequately for qualifying races and ultimately Comrades Marathon.

The JRAC runners who lined up at Durban City Hall on Sunday, the 9th June 2019 represented the club very well. About 89% of them finished the race and I am proud to say that they finished strong. Which talks to the preparations that preceded the race. We thank those who could not finish for their participation; as a matter of fact, the mere fact that they were in the starting line-up is an achievement in itself. Of importance is the lessons learnt by all participants without exception. Indeed as we take the break to recover it is the appropriate time to reflect on the lessons learnt and to incorporate them in the training that starts in the second half of the year.

A special mention needs to be made of the Logistics Team for co-ordinating the deployment of the volunteers, both JRAC members and family members. This group of volunteers, in the spirit of JRAC Family orientation, accompanied the Comrades Runners to Durban and were stationed at different points of the Comrades route to provide that needed push and support for their loved ones. To the volunteers, your sacrifices and selflessness are not taken for granted at all. These are the people who shared the resources of their families, both money and time, to make the JRAC brand shine. On behalf of the leadership of the club I would like to say thank you uncountable times for your love of the club. This is what makes JRAC.

I would also like to thank members who contributed to the kitty for the supplies on the route. We thank all the JRAC members who were at home glued to the TVs for the whole day praying for us and continually sending messages of encouragement and sending the snippets of videos that featured our runners. This is the characterisation and the embodiment of the JRAC family, each member contributed to the building of brand JRAC, hence we call it a family. I sincerely believe that next year we will beat this mammoth benchmark that was set this season.

Simon Mahudu
JRAC Secretary General