Beating the odds to realise a dream
Comrades medal for passionate Bay man
DRIVEN by a life-long passion for running, Simon Matebese overcame considerable odds to conquer the Comrades Marathon over the weekend. Thousands of runners completed the epic run from Durban to Maritzburg on Sunday and there have been many inspirational stories.
Matebese’s journey is one of those that has been keenly followed on social media.
The 54-year-old factory worker, who runs to work and back home every day, has overcome serious financial, medical and nutritional constraints.
He did not have proper running shoes and has no sponsor, except for the generous donations he now receives from his work colleagues.
Yet Matebese, who is employed as a general worker in an office furniture factory, still managed to run a respectable time at the Comrades, missing the 10-hour mark by 19 minutes.
“This is a positive and inspirational story about someone who has nothing to give but his passion,” his manager, Melvin Humpel, said.
“If he can live his dream at 54, what is stopping other people from doing the same thing?
“Everybody at the factory respects and admires him.”
Matebese runs 19km from his home in the Soweto-on-Sea township to the factory in Central and also uses his lunch hour to train with other athletes at the Westbourne Oval stadium every day.
Matebese said yesterday: “All I ever wanted to do was to run. It didn’t matter whether I had sponsorships or running shoes.
“The assistance I received from my company has helped fuel my passion, to improve my times and make something out of my running ability.” Humpel said: “Shoes have been a big challenge for Simon because a person is supposed to only run 1 000km before the durability of the shoes runs out.
“He runs almost 8 000km before he can get new ones.”
Matebese suffers from a medical condition that forced him to hang up his running shoes temporarily.
But with the help of the factory he received healthcare that suppressed his blood pressure and he was able to run again.
Humpel, together with other colleagues, assist Matebese by buying running shoes for him as well as nutritious supplements.
Matebese said: “I wish that everyone who comes from the same difficult background that I come from could be encouraged to do better.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you come from, it is never too late to start living your dream.”
Matebese’s next target is the Washie, a 160km marathon from Port Alfred to East London.