Courageous doctor bags medal after Comrades Marathon
Doing it for a charitable cause, New Market’s Place of Purpose co-founder, Dr Johan Meyer, was among many finishers of the Comrades Marathon this past weekend.
Dr Johan Meyer bagged the Bill Rowan Medal after completing the 2022 Comrades Marathon for a good cause.
He completed the Comrades in 7:37, missing the silver medal with seven minutes.
Being his first Comrades Marathon, he participated in memory of his father who also ran in the marathon, while also raising funds for Place of Purpose (POP).
POP is a non-profit institution with the mission of improving the lives of young people (16 and older) who are intellectually and academically challenged by offering a secure and supportive learning environment.
Dr Meyer said his first Comrades Marathon was ‘truly an amazing experience’.
“I set out to reach my goal of running silver, a comrades under a time of 7:30 minutes. The atmosphere was electric with all the traditions before the race – almost 15 000 people singing the National Anthem, then Shosholoza ending with Chariots of Fire before the canon goes off,” he said.
He said there was an amazing support for almost the whole 90km and that the highlight was to see his family at the arranged points on 30km, 57km and 70km.
“I was on pace all the way with about 15km to go. As I thought I had this in the bag, I started cramping. Every small hill seemed like Mount Everest and I quickly got into trouble with the time not stopping. I was astounded at the South African spirit experienced during the race,” Meyer said.
According to Meyer, the Comrades Marathon made him very proud of being a South African.
“Everybody is cheering you along, and with the generosity of many people, we raised almost R50 000 for the Place of Purpose, which in this difficult economic climate is simply amazing,” he said.
Also Read: #comrades2022: Results from Boksburg athletic clubs
Also Read: Electric atmosphere at Comrades Marathon expo
