Development programme helps athletes achieve their dreams

Sipho Dumakude was running by himself without a training or nutritional programme or running gear before joining the Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) in 2016.
He wanted a new challenge after completing six consecutive Comrades Marathons between 2011 and 2016 with Carnival City Runners.

Dumakude attended the BNAC weekly time-trial at Homestead Dam where he met club legend and lifetime member Steven ‘Mango’ Msimango, who told him about the BNAC development programme for runners from previously disadvantaged areas.

“The programme has helped me to grow as a runner. I had five Comrades Marathons’ under my belt when I joined the club. I was training by myself, running with a stopwatch,” he said.

“I was introduced to running programmes, nutrition, running shoes and a running watch. I’m grateful to the club,”

Dumakude has since completed five Comrades Marathons in Northerns colours. He earned his green number in the 2022 down run, and as a beneficiary of the programme was appointed as one of its coordinators to assist others.

The programme is divided into two sections. One trains athletes for the Comrades and the other is for runners who specialise in other distances, including juniors and walkers.

It helps those without inadequate resources to join a club or enter a race and those who intend to run the Comrades.

It also assists those who have finished an official 10km, 21.1km and 42.2km as a walking event in the top 20 in the last 12 months.

BNAC’s development coordinator Stephanie Gormely, explained the club always looks for opportunities to uplift members of the community, whether in running or establishing a business, adding their tradition steeped in helping others makes them attractive.

“Northerns is one of the biggest traditional clubs in the country. We are an amateur club with lots of talented individuals, but we focus on our community. We acknowledge there is a large portion of our community that doesn’t have the opportunities others might have,” she said.

Gormely said they recently helped top runner Bright Mikolongwe run his first marathon and also got him professional training at Bruce Fordyce’s Fordyce Fusion.

She added they will also assist another of their development runners, Nkanyiso Mthembu, get his level-one coaching certificate in June.

“Some guys we helped are domestic workers who never thought they could run. The large majority of them run the Comrades. We help them with all the logistics, including funding for qualifying marathons.

“We are sending around 17 development runners to the Comrades this year. We are always looking for funding because the more funds we get, the more people we can help.”

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