Smorgasbord of passion and dedication brings rewards

THREE months of intense sporting activity will have sporting enthusiasts feeling quite dizzy, wondering, perhaps, how the momentum is sustained in a city the size of East London.

Spare a thought for the traffic and related metro departments who have played an amazing role in securing safe sporting activity on our roads.

It is true that not all departments have come to realise the incredible benefits that these events bring to the city, but there are individuals who work tirelessly and give the best of themselves.

All East London needs to become a serious contender as an international sporting capital is a 24-hour round-theclock clean city and a buy-in from all players.

A city where organisers of events do not, themselves, have to sweep disgusting roads in the early hours of the morning so as to ensure the safety of runners and others – not to mention, to give visitors and television viewers a better impression of what the city can and should always look like.

The citizens themselves need to take serious responsibility for the state of areas they visit.

Particularly when litter boxes along the eastern seaboard of the Esplanade are available in meaningful supply, but remain empty while the street itself is littered with cardboard, cans, bottles – broken and otherwise – chicken bones and other animal carcass. The organisers of the most successful events are generally folk with a real passion. The passions may differ in respect of what drives them, but that is another debate altogether.

For many, the success of an event is the competition on show, and when the organisers are from the sporting code concerned, their own commitment and “game” will be lifted by the quality of the field on offer.

That was certainly true of the Ohlson’s Lager Road Running Championship years, and while I know this comment can be construed as looking back somewhat, the fact that the performances being delivered today generally battle to compete with those then must be lessons to learn.

In her interview, after the recent Jumbo Beach 2 Beach Half-Marathon, Rene Kalmer called for the South African Half-Marathon Championships to be brought back to East London, because even though she is too young to remember the great races in 1987, 1991 and a few others, she is astute enough to recognise what the record books tell her about them.

The fire the athletes and the organisers all had in their bellies was contagious, while the administration of roadrunning was in the hands of the very best this land has produced and the media interest at its best.

Most importantly, every organiser should be able to honestly look at themselves in the mirror and know “it is not about me”. The team ethic works, the horses for courses appointments as opposed to jobs for pals and the dream of witnessing the best contest possible will drive an possible.

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event The Comrades Marathon is a terribly long race, but it has to rate as the greatest challenge any ordinary roadrunner will face.

In the weeks ahead we will feature aspects of the race that might make a difference to this year’s entrants and look at some of the characters. A new running slot, with all the latest in racing, training and personalities, will begin on Wild Coast fm tomorrow at 8.15am and will become a weekly feature. Without the media, our events would be anonymous. Email: