LOCAL runner Gerald Pavel recently took on the Washie, which is the oldest 100 miler in South Africa.
The epic race started in 1977 and is run from Port Alfred to East London in the Eastern Cape. At the 39th instalment of the race, Gerald and his team of three seconders stood at the starting line of the whole night and whole day race on Friday 3 July for 26 hours of running over the 160km distance.
Gerald, an Austrian by origin, runs for Durban Runner Athletic Club based at Glenwood Village. He completed his 3rd Comrades this year and running the Washie was on his bucket list of things to do. Completing it was a dream come true for this determined runner.
The entry requirements for the Washie is that each runner must have a team of seconders to look after them throughout the night and day as they run the 160km.
Gerald’s team comprised of high calibre runners Prodigal Kumalo, a Comrades Marathon gold medalist and a running shoe specialist working at The Durban Runner; Zisandele Mkhize who finished second at the Drakensberg Northern Trail, and Charmain Shandu a SkyMarathon runner.
They gave him encouragement and paced him on the road while making sure he was eating enough and was well hydrated with 32Gi and water.
After battling hard terrain with mean hills, sleep deprivation and hypothermia, Gerald finished the race in 25h50m47s as one of the 51 runners who finished out of 64 that started the race.
At the end of the race, Gerald said: “This was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I would not have done it without the incredible support of my seconders’ team.”
Zane Ebrahim, Chairman of Durban Runner Athletic Club, said he had faith that Gerald would finish.
“Gerald is the most driven runner I know. If anyone is crazy enough to attempt the Washie, it’s Gerald. He has the strongest will!”
