Comrades runner’s big comeback
Danie was determined to run Comrades again after his accident
HE COULD feel the sweat pouring down his face. It felt as if his lungs were going to burst and every step seemed to require superhuman effort. But Danie de Wet had come too far to give up. Entering the home stretch of the Comrades Marathon the 37-year-old forced himself to pick up his pace to a steady jog. He was going to do it, the thing so many people had believed would be impossible for him ever to do: he was going to complete his seventh Comrades Marathon.
Three years ago, lying in a hospital bed with his life hanging in the balance, it seemed unlikely he’d ever be able to run a marathon again. Back then, having spent 13 days in an induced coma, he was told by doctors he was lucky to be alive.
This was after he’d been involved in a freak mining accident in which a nearly 2m-long industrial crowbar penetrated his body, skewering him like a kebab as it penetrated his left thigh, ripping through his upper body to emerge from his left shoulder.
The horrific incident at Sibanye Gold mine in Carletonville near Johannesburg made national news headlines (YOU, 13 August 2015).
As the X-ray showing the extent of Danie’s injuries went viral people shook their heads in wonder. How was it possible for anyone to survive such a grisly accident?
Danie, a mining engineering supervisor, was 3,5km underground when it happened. He’d been trying to unblock a water pipe when he lost his footing, falling on to a 1,8m-long crowbar. The sharp point tore into him, going right through his bowel, small intestine and left kidney.
At Netcare Milpark Hospital in Joburg two medical teams worked frantically to save his life. But though doctors told Danie he faced a long road to recovery he refused to allow the extent of his injuries get him down.
Then and there, lying in his hospital bed minus one kidney, he made himself a promise: whatever it took, he’d run the Comrades Marathon again.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I don’t give up in life, no matter what happens to me. If you still have the ability to walk, hear, see and run, why not do it?” Danie tells us matter-of-factly.
IT’S a few days before the Comrades and Danie’s in good spirits. We’re visiting him at home in Carletonville where he lives with his wife, Liezl, and their three children, Danelle (13), Elandie (11) and Danie Jnr (8). Although he’s upbeat about his chances in the 90km race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban it’s clear Liezl is feeling a bit nervous on his behalf.
She says after the accident she was convinced Danie’s running days were behind him, so when he announced last year that he was ready to start training again she was sceptical.
“I didn’t think it would get that far,” she says.
But Danie proved her wrong. Determined to conquer his seventh Comrades, he started training last June with a group of friends. It was hard going at first because he was so out of shape.
“I weighed 111kg and I was wearing these shorts that didn’t fit me,” he says. “I looked terrible and couldn’t even run or breathe and my chest was burning.”
His sedentary lifestyle together with an array of health issues had caused him to put on weight.
About six months ago he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and last year after he started experiencing stomach problems he discovered he had two ulcers. The latter problem put an end to his five-year volunteer service in mine rescue, although he’s been able to continue working underground as an engineer.
“When you’re in mine rescue you must lift heavy stuff, remove bodies underground, and it’s really tough,” he explains.
On top of this he was also trying to get over the emotional strain of losing both his father and godfather. His godfather, Nicolas van Rensburg – a keen runner who inspired his interest in the Comrades Marathon – died in October 2016 after a battle with motor neuron disease. A month later his dad, Luka, died as a result of a motorbike accident.
“It was a difficult time,” Danie says. But he doesn’t allow himself to wallow in selfpity.
“When you’re alive and wake up in the morning you can make two choices: are you going to be depressed for the rest of your life, or are you going to turn it around to be a positive thing?”
Thanks to all the training he had to do he’s now back to his ideal weight of 90kg. His health issues also forced him to make big changes to his diet – he’s had to cut out spicy food, tomato, lettuce and bread and is doing his best to avoid sugar.
Even though Liezl had her reservations about him running the Comrades again, medical experts gave him the all-clear. However, doctors warned Danie that he must keep hydrated and mustn’t push himself too hard.
“They even said the reason he’d recovered so quickly was because he had a powerful mindset,” Liezl says.
She still can’t believe how far they’ve come. Danie’s life-threatening accident was so devastating for their kids that they needed to see a trauma counsellor before they could visit their dad in hospital.
“If I had to go through this again, I wouldn’t allow [the visit] as it upset both the kids and Danie,” Liezl says. “He was sad because the kids didn’t want to touch or hug him because they were scared they were going to hurt him. He started crying. It turned into a nightmare.” But they made it through. “The biggest thing is that we’re blessed and we still have him. We’re happy to see him run the Comrades. That’s his passion,” she says.
DANIE recalls being intrigued by the race when he watched it on TV as a little boy. By the age of 16 or 17 he was taking part in road races himself.
He ran his first Comrades when he was 19, dedicating his run to his mother who’d died of a brain haemorrhage when he was in matric.
The last Comrades he ran before his accident was in 2013. “One of first things he asked when he woke up in hospital was whether he’d be allowed to run the Comrades again,” Liezl says.
Danie was relieved when Professor Ken Boffard, the head of Netcare Milpark Hospital’s trauma unit, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Why not?”
Danie has since gifted the 1,8m crowbar to Boffard and Milpark. And now he’s given them his bronze Comrades medal as a token of his gratitude.
He finished the race in 10 hours, 30 minutes and 37 seconds – comfortably within the 12-hour cut-off time. But when we catch up with him a day after the Comrades he admits it was so difficult he almost gave up about 60km into the race.
“We were running a big hill and it was very tough. You know you need to finish but your legs are gone and they’re sore.”
He had to set himself a goal and it was baby steps until he could regain his strength. “You say, I’ll run up until that tree and then walk until that one.”
It was this fighting attitude that got him to the home stretch, where Liezl was waiting for him, tears of relief streaming down her face.
Although his limbs are still aching Danie’s on a high when he talks to us. “I feel blessed,” he says. And in case you’re wondering, yes, he’s definitely planning to go back next year to do it all again.