The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
MORE than 200 Zimbabweans are running this year’s Comrades Marathon in South Africa, which makes a return after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic with a “Down Run” from Pietermaritzburg to Durban this morning.
Dubbed the “The Ultimate Human Race”, this year’s Comrades Marathon starts this morning at the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg finishing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
According to information provided by the race organisers, a total of 210 Zimbabwean runners are taking part in the Comrades Marathon, which makes Zimbabwe the third highest represented country in the ultra-marathon. From that, 172 runners are male and 28 are female. South Africa has the highest numbers of runners with a total of 14 458, 11 432 male and 3 026 females. Next is the United Kingdom with 223 runners while India has the fourth highest number of runners with 209.
From the Zimbabweans who have entered the race, there are 11 enthusiastic runners who have made the journey from Bulawayo. From a group that calls itself the Swaggers, there is Lindsay Doolabh, Lauren Shenk and Debbie King. Doolabh is attempting the race for the first time, for Shenk it will be her third Comrades and King is the most experienced of them as it will be her fourth appearance.
What makes Shenk’s taking part in the Comrades Marathon remarkable is that she is running the race months after recovering from breast cancer. The 43-year-old mother of two who was diagnosed with the dreaded disease in August 2021, came off treatment in May, which means she has only had three months of preparing for what is considered one of the most gruelling races in the world.
Eight members of the Fitness First Club, Stanley Sibanda, Fatima Hassin, Andrew Zumba, Simbisai Mutandi, Fidelis Bhebhe, Tenacious Mabuza, Tawanda Dzudzo and David Gondongwe are the others who have journeyed from Bulawayo. Gondongwe is running the Comrades Marathon for the fifth time, for Sibanda and Hassin, it will be the third stint, while the rest are making their maiden appearances.
The first Comrades Marathon was run on Empire Day, 24 May 1921, when 34 runners lined up before the Pietermaritzburg City Hall to commence a race to Durban to commemorate the spirit and camaraderie of the soldiers who fought in the Great War.
Pietermaritzburg City Hall
It owes its origins to the tireless efforts of its founder Vic Clapham (war veteran and SA Railways engine driver) whose vision it was to create a living memorial to the spirit of his “comrades” who suffered so greatly in the war.
The first race was run on old dust roads, with the runners having to pass through several gates and at least one stream. It was won by Bill Rowan, a 26-year-old Transvaal farmer in a time of 8:59, which would be the slowest winning time in the history of the race. There were 16 official finishers of the first race.
