There must be an easier way from Maritzburg to Durbs
THERE was a lively buzz around the launch of the 2014 Comrades Marathon last Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rosebank. Guests at the breakfast event snacked on butter croissants and other pastries and sipped coffee, tea and fruit juices while they waited patiently for all to be revealed about the muchanticipated 89.7km race.
ON YOUR MARKS: According to seasoned runners, if you plan to run the Comrades next year you need to start training now and not in March. The race has been set for June 1 and will be a down run, from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
The master of ceremonies and Comrades runner, e.tv weatherman Derek van Dam, proudly wore his “small” medal for completing the race last year. The Comrades had converted him into a runner, he said, and he was looking forward to next year’s race with great enthusiasm.
Comrades Marathon Association vice-chairman Mac Chitja told guests that this year’s Comrades had been one of the toughest in a long time. He said the weather conditions had not been ideal and many runners had “bailed out” because they just could not handle it. However, “hard is what makes it great”, and that is why completing the race is such an achievement, said Chitja. GET SET: SAfm sports journalist Kwena Moabelo, who was the guest speaker, said the Comrades changed his life — he went from having chubby cheeks, a round tummy and a happy “BEE look” to the picture of health he is today. He has run the Comrades three times since 2010 — and will continue running as part of the South African tradition.
Rumours that a similar marathon was being planned from Johannesburg to Pretoria were dismissed by the marathon association’s race director, Johan van Staden. He said Durban had the history and the hills and joked that the run from Johannesburg to Pretoria would be “too boring”.
OVERALL: Association executives told us that every South African needed to run the race at least once in his or her lifetime. Maybe from the comfort of my armchair? The cut-off mark is 18 000 runners. Entries opened last Sunday and will close on November 30.