First runner home not from local club
“That runner is not registered with our club although he was running in our colours."
Xolani Bavuma, who was last week noted as the first runner home from Brakpan-based club Carnival Runners, is, in fact, not a member of the local running club.
The 32-year-old, who was the 692nd overall runner home out of the 17 031 who took on the Comrades Challenge, ran a time of seven hours, 53 minutes and 38 seconds to earn a Bill Rowan medal (for finishers with a time between seven hours 30 minutes and nine hours); but is, according to Carnival Runners chairman Coenie van Heerden, not registered with the club.
“That runner is not registered with our club although he was running in our colours,” the chairman told the Herald.
“This matter was reported to the Comrades Marathon Association, but with no success.”
The Herald sent an email to the Comrades Marathon Association on Tuesday, June 13 seeking clarity on the matter and enquiring about what steps will be taken if the runner is found to have been contravening the rules.
