JRAC’s own Master Athlete

“Comrades has always been more than a race to me; it is an insight into what the human spirit can achieve with guts and determination, and epitomises what self-sacrifice and self-belief really mean”. David Ross from UK.

The above statement resonates well with my belief about Comrades Marathon. As a novice, who by virtue of age, also qualifies to be called a ‘master’, I learnt a lot about what it entails to strive for something big.

After watching Comrades for years and being reluctant to partake in it, I finally decided to actively participate. My decision was informed by the desire to achieve something, at my old age, that I could point to as a motivation for my children. I wanted to illustrate to them that irrespective of age, circumstances and difficulties, if you put your mind to something, nothing can stop you.

Comrades, with its massive demands, was a perfect choice for this purpose. Late in 2018 I set out to pursue this goal, running as a lone ranger. But sooner than later my attempts at training alone confirmed the African Proverb that “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together”. One of the demands of Comrades is to go far. It then dawned on me that I had to join a club if I wanted to realise my goal of running and finishing the Comrades. Hence I searched for and joined Just Running Athletics Club (JRAC) in mid-January 2019.

Then serious preparations started. I quickly realised that Comrades is a jealous partner that takes over your life and paralyses you to a point where you become so obsessed with it. You find yourself talking about it continuously with your family, friends and colleagues. The intention is not to brag, but it is a natural reaction to its possessiveness.

My early morning hours and weekends were taken over by early training sessions, weekend long runs, marathons, ultra-marathons, very long runs with other clubs as well as our own 60 Km long run. All these sessions were directed at sculpting me, fortifying my muscles and ligaments in preparation for the Ultimate Human Race.

Now the big question is, “how did I survive and withstand all the demands of Comrades?” This question takes me back to David’s quotation. I convinced myself that Comrades is bigger than a race. It can serve as a fountain of inspiration from which one can draw lessons about life. The first thing is to know exactly what one wants from running Comrades. Know the ultimate goal of running this Ultimate Human Race. It is important to distinguish between a means to an end and an end itself. To me running and finishing Comrades was not an end itself but a means to an end, which is the lessons I would draw from taking part in Comrades and use them as motivation for my children. Pursuance of this ultimate goal served as a constant reminder to me in difficult times both during training and races.

Second, my mind and heart had to be fixated on my goal. We normally keep in our hearts things that we love and those that we hate in our minds. To realise my Comrades goal I had to keep it closer to my heart as something I love and allow its demands to preoccupy my mind, irritating as they were. In short, I learnt that once you have chosen Comrades there is no turning back. You must focus on it.

Third, I had to have a strong determination, like the Bushmen people, in order to achieve my Comrades goal. When the going got tough, I had to remind myself about my overall goal of running Comrades. This served as a driving force from which I drew inspiration and which carried me through the hills and valleys.

Fourth, Comrades is synonymous with a battle field. You cannot go into a battle without a strategy. The same rule applies to Comrades. I had to prepare a training and running strategy as early as possible. The strategy considered training regime, terrains, length of long runs, approach to each marathon in terms of pace, etc. For each race I developed a pace band. I did some of the long runs in line with these pace bands in preparation for the actual race. This helped me a great deal to test my strengths and compare my performance in different races.

For the Comrades Marathpn itself, I took time to get information about the terrain over which we would run. It was not enough to only know that it was an up run. I tried to get to know about all key landmarks. The talk of only BIG FIVE HILLS was not enough for me. I wanted to know the terrain between these hills so that I could consider all of them when I developed the final strategy.

I tried as much as I could to train according to the information I had gathered. Of course, as a novice I made some mistakes, but I continuously assessed my strategy and sought advice from the team mates and made necessary changes. I tried not to be arrogant and think that I had arrived.

Fifth, I learnt that it is important to know yourself because if you do not, you will be persuaded by every piece of information you happen to get. As much as it is very important to seek advice, do not simply take it at face value without taking into account your capabilities, abilities and interests. Take the advice but also consider these three facets and see if it works for you. Sometimes you should never limit yourself. Try to get into the untested waters and see what will transpire. Of course, try the untested waters long before the actual race so that you can see what works and what does not. You MUST not overvalue yourself. You must also know your limits.

Sixth, I cannot over emphasise the importance of other runners in the life of a runner. This was particularly the case during the Comrades. The mere presence of other runners around me was a big boost for my confidence and desire to do more. The support I got en route stimulated me to do more. The sight of JRAC’s paraphernalia drove me crazy and injected some spirit of revival in my exhausted muscles. The cheering from the JRAC support staff left me with both a feeling of appreciation and guilt. I was overwhelmed by excitement. On the other hand, I thought of the time and money they had spent to go to Durban simply to support us. I told myself to do more in their name and the name of JRAC family.

In conclusion, Comrades is a social school for building one’s focus, resilience, cooperation with others, comradeship. For these qualities to be successfully instilled, I realised that I had to place determination, self-sacrifice and self-belief at the centre of my endeavours. Finally, the journey towards a successful Comrades would have been lonely or even impossible without JRAC family along my side. AmaXhosa say, “Umntu ngumntu ngabantu”, loosely translated it means, “A person is a person through other people”. I feel indebted to all of you for your support and advice.

SINQOBILE – TOGETHER WE TRIUMPHED.