Hitting the road again . . . at 80

WHEN Dion Heigers was challenged by his son to join him for a 1.8km jog, he did not think he would be able to do it.

That was 30 years ago. Today, the 80-year-old is tackling the gruelling 89km Comrades Marathon for the 26th time.

Heigers is the oldest runner in today’s marathon and hopes to finish for the 13th time.

He will join more than 21 000 runners in the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

The great-grandfather from Centurion, Pretoria, ran his first Comrades in 1986 and has a best time of 9 hours 37 minutes. The record for the down run is 5 hours 20.49 minutes.

“Most of my races were just an attempt to complete,” said Heigers. “This route, whether you start in Durban or Pietermaritzburg, is still up and down the whole way. It never gets easy, no matter how old you get.”

Heigers might sound enthusiastic about running, but it was not always like that.

“We have a house on the South Coast and my son asked if I wanted to run from the beach to the main road, which was 1.8km away. I said no. He suggested I put on my tennis shoes and go. That Christmas — 1984 — I was given a pair of running shoes and I never stopped. That is how ridiculous we get when we get older.”

He said he tries to run 10km a day, but on weekends he does 21km, 32km or a marathon.

Heigers, a former public servant, was 65 when he received

This route is up and down the whole way. It never gets easy, no matter how old you get

his green number on the completion of his 10th Comrades.

“The sport of running and walking has exploded with more and more people doing it. It’s a nice, friendly community. You always meet new people along the way.”

He has also completed 17 Two Oceans marathons. “My advice is it is never too late to start running or walking. It is not just for health or fitness reasons.”