Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Comrades champ Dijana: Running for a better life
IT is the morning after the glorious day before and Tete Morena Dijana is being feted for his incredible Comrades Marathon achievement during the champions’ breakfast at the Elangeni Hotel on the Durban beachfront.
Resplendent in a green tracksuit, Dijana looks comfortable as he takes in the adoration from the room packed with fellow athletes as well as media, race officials and Comrades legends.
The smile he wore as he entered the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday with the mayoral baton and a rose in hand, flickers intermittently across his face as he acknowledges the well-wishers.
Upon receiving his prizes – a huge dummy cheque for R260 000 and another smaller one for R100 000, as well as a huge trophy, a gold medallion and a big green wreath of flowers – Dijana rejoins his teammates at their table.
Taking off the wreath, he places it over Dave Adams’ head and stares into the old man’s eyes and whispers, “Thank you, coach”. Adams smiles before taking the wreath off and putting it back over his athlete’s head.
Later, as we sit for the interview, Dijana explains his actions: “I am being celebrated today because of that man. That is why I wanted him to have that wreath. I only joined his team in June, but not once did I feel like I was a newcomer. He made me feel at home and treated me the same as the rest.”
Dijana’s victory at the Comrades Marathon was an incredible feat, given that he was running the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban for the first time. Granted, the man he beat, Nedbank Running Club teammate Edward Mothibi, also won the race in his maiden up run in 2019. But Mothibi had finished fourth in his maiden race in 2018
and had thus given an indication of his capabilities.
Not so for Dijana, who had come in 50th in his first run in 2019. To then smoke the rest of the competition like he did speaks volumes for the 34-year-old from Signal Hill in Mafikeng.
That he is talented cannot be denied, for anyone who completes the gruelling 89.8km run in five hours 30 minutes and 38 seconds is a gifted runner. But there’s got to be more motivation.
Dijana had that in abundance. A father of two kids who works as a security guard, he found it hard to provide – not only for the children, but also for his unwell mother. And he realised that being successful in running could help in this regard.
“I started running while I was at school doing track events. Later, I found out about Stephen Mokoka and saw his time trial records at the club and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. So, I did all the developmental running – from track through cross-country and on to the roads with 10- and 21km races.”
But with his mom and dad having left when he was just eight years old and his mom ill, Dijana had to grow up quickly and take care of her and his little sister. Becoming a father meant his responsibilities grew even more.
Already aware of his talent, he began to enter races. In 2019, after his Comrades debut, he competed in the CANSA 48km race in Polokwane and finished in second spot and earned reasonable prize money.
Inspired by Mothibi’s victory in 2019, he wanted to join his home boy under Adams’ tutelage, but the move took forever to materialise.
Waiting for this to happen, he finished runner-up to record breaker and role model Mokoka at the Nedbank Runified 50km in Gqeberha earlier this year,
He eventually teamed up with Adams and Mothibi in June, deep into the team’s preparation for the Comrades Marathon. But having gone through another difficult period, Dijana knew he had to work his socks off.
“I had it tough in the past year and the last six months of it were worse because I literally went broke. In December I could not buy my children clothes for Christmas because my mom has now moved into a home in Fochville and I’ve had to use all my savings towards getting stuff for her. On top of that, I had to travel between Mafikeng and Klerksdorp for training and that took a toll on my finances. I ended up having to borrow money from mashonisa (loan sharks).”
The Comrades Marathon presented a bigger opportunity to improve his bank balance.
Having had a fantastic camp where Adams hardly made him feel like an intruder or second rate, Dijana made the trip to KwaZulu-Natal confident of doing well. “I came here believing I would get into the top 10,” he says. “Of course, it was hard to be in camp for three months because I missed my kids. I spoke to them daily, but it didn’t make it any easier. But they were my motivation to train hard and I knew I had to do something special at the race to make a better life for them.”
The R260 000 winner’s prize, plus the R100 000 that he received from being the first South African finisher, will no doubt make a huge difference to his life. Add to that the surprise R100 000 that he got from his employer, security company M7 National Group, plus the same amount he is said to receive from the North-West provincial government, and Dijana’s efforts and sacrifice were well worth it.
“I still can’t believe it is me who has won the Comrades Marathon,” he says, flashing that now famous smile of his.