89km of Awesome
Five days after running my 8th Comrades Marathon (my 7th finish), my legs have forgiven me. I can comfortably sit down and stand up without my quadriceps feeling like they have no give. My blistered feet might take a little longer to recover but my hobble/shuffle of the last few days has been replaced by regular strides. The human body is remarkable.
I'm often asked on social media, "Why do you run the Comrades Marathon?" and "What keeps you coming back?". It's a difficult question to answer with limited space as the reasons are many and varied.
On one hand, it's the expectation and hope of a 'perfect storm' on race day. Months of training, keeping healthy; staying injury free; the right kind of nutrition leading up to the run as well as during the race; the weather conditions on Comrades Day; getting enough sleep leading up to the run - these all have a major impact on the kind of run you will have. One aspect goes a little awry and you could end up being stopped at the top of Polly's, with 9km to go, forced to drop out because you didn't make the cut off on time. A heart-breaking defeat after months invested in training for this one day and the sad story of my 2013 Comrades Marathon attempt. But when all elements come together perfectly and you feel fit and strong throughout the 89km/56 miles of road between Pietermaritzburg and Durban and your feet touch the mat at the finish line, there's not much on this planet that can beat that feeling of victory.
There's also the maths-geek aspect of running that I love. Calculating how many km's left of the race, whether you need to pick up the pace or slow down, the 'do I have enough time to finish this comfotably?' moments of panic... How many sips of water, blocks of energy chews... These all become an exact science and keep your brain ticking over during the long day on the road. (Hope that answers the question of 'What do you think about all that time?).
Most of all, it's the reward of the race day itself. How can you train for something for so long if you aren't going to enjoy it? Even though I left South Africa over a year ago to explore bigger opportunities on foreign shores, the feeling of camaraderie at the start line on race day makes me proud of my South African heritage and confident that a unified South Africa is not just a dream but something that is alive in the hearts of the country's people.
Everyone is nervous at the start. Sunday 1 June was warmer that most starts in Pietermaritzburg. Still not balmy but at least we could move our fingers (usually numbed by the cold at the Maritzburg start)! Looking across the crowd of 17 999 other Comrades runners, lots of laughter and jokes hide the fact that not many have slept much the night before. We're all anxiously checking our watches, waiting for 5:30am, just wanting to start, to begin our journey to Durban. Yes, you will feel tired. Yes, you will feel pain. But as you tick off the km's leading to the finish, you will dig deep and find strength to keep going. The joy of competing in the Comrades Marathon is not only the physical battle but the mental one too - of defeating the voices in your head that tell you it's impossible to run that distance, finish on time, or overcome the physical pain and fatigue.
'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' swells through the crowd, lifting our spirits and uniting this family of ultrarunners. Age, gender, race, body shape, running pace - all fall away. We are one. The caps that have been removed from heads and held against chests during the country's anthem are put back in place as 'Shosholoza' blares out of the speakers and the teary-eyed runners become a dancing mass. Surely this is the South Africa we all dream of! The emotion of the anthem is replaced by joy and excitement and the countdown to the start commences. 'Chariots of Fire' is followed by Max Trimborn's famous cock's crow and the shot of the start gun we've all been waiting for. This is opportunity to do something extraordinary. To push yourself beyond your known limits and comforts and achieve the impossible. This is the Comrades Marathon.
Participants from 70 countries stream to South Africa annually for this legendary race. Will you be one of next year's 18 000?
