Benoni runners brave the Comrades up run

It was hot, hilly and just plain hard core.

June 7, 2017

Logan Green 2 minutes read

Michael Veliotes of Benoni Northerns Athletic Club was all smiles when the City Times spotted him in Pinetown. Veliotes finished his first Comrades on Sunday.

It was the 2017 Comrades Marathon – a strenuous and punishing 86.73km journey on foot from Durban City Hall to Scottsville racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, June 4.

Benoni’s running clubs were, as always, well represented at the Comrades.

A number of local road runners managed to climb the innumerable KwaZulu-Natal hills to reach the finish line by the 12-hour cut-off and conquer their Comrades dreams.

Others, however, would not be as fortunate as they became victims of the world’s oldest and longest ultra-marathon.

Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) was the local club with the most Comrades entries and therefore, with the most finishers.

Of their 170 runners who lined up at the start, the club had 121 finishers.

Benoni Harriers Athletic Club had 20 runners who reached the Promised Land while Daveyton Hearts Athletic Club had 10 members finish the gruelling ultra-marathon.

Benoni High Athletic Club had two Comrades conquerors.

Daveyton Hearts’ Johnny Mokgoko has made a habit of being the first runner home from a local club.

Johnny Mokgoko of Daveyton Hearts Athletic Club (left) and Fanie Mphuthi of Benoni Harriers Athletic Club are spotted running together near Inchanga at the Comrades Marathon on Sunday.

The 45-year-old picked up a silver medal (for a time from six hours to sub-seven hours and 30 minutes) with his gross finishing time of seven hours, 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

He was followed shortly afterwards by BNAC’s Sanyana Buda, who crossed the line in a time of seven hours, 18 minutes and 23 seconds to claim a silver medal.

Buda’s club mate Paseka Taolane was third best of the locals with a time of seven hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds; while Fanie Mphuthi of Benoni Harriers was the first runner home and the only silver winner from his club.

He came in with a time of seven hours, 23 minutes and five seconds.

Bill Rowan medals (for a time from seven hours 30 minutes to sub-nine hours) went to BNAC’s Dieter Stapel, Wesley Woest, Norman Baloyi, Segole Pond Tsoka, Reginald Khanyi, Clayton Wiesner, Mark Dingle, Themba Msibi, Mpho Pilusa, Michael Pappas and Gunter Stapel; Benoni Harriers’ Solomon Mngomezulu 8:43:07and Phillimon Mbokazi 8:52:39; Daveyton Hearts’ Edward Kodisang, Motlatsi Sibane, Patrick Sentsho, Khomotso Comfort Malatji, Tshupetso Matsheta and Kenneth Zwane.

The top woman from a local club was BNAC’s Lauren Fisher (29), who crossed the finish line to pick up a bronze medal with a time of nine hours, 30 minutes and 41 seconds.

Lauren Kate Fisher, the first local women home at the 2017 Comrades Marathon.

Fisher was the 3 245th overall finisher and the 168th open woman to finish the race.

The Northerns and Harriers runners who came together as Team Old Mutual Shongololo managed to bring the 15-m long worm home for the second time in two years.

We caught up with Team Shongololo at the Comrades Expo the day before their big up run:

The team, led by BNAC’s Stephen Msimango and Harriers’ Dawie du Toit and managed by former BNAC chairman John Mitchell, crossed the line in a time of 11 hours, 12 minutes and 53 seconds.

Last year the Shongololo came in at 10 hours, 52 minutes and 37 seconds.