#Letters: Tongaat resident completes Comrade’s Marathon despite tornado impact
"It was a difficult race with everything that had happened and I just tried to will myself to the finish" - Amisha Lahldas.
Tongaat resident Amisha Lahldas writes:
Like many other residents of Tongaat, June 3 destroyed me from the inside as my home was destroyed from the outside.
It is hard to describe what it is like to see the place where you have lived for 40 years literally fall apart.
It compounded a difficult 2023, where I had a jaw operation after escaping a touch of cancer.
But despite feeling heartbroken, I rallied myself because I had entered the Comrades Marathon, which was just a week later, and had committed to running for charity.
It was a difficult race with everything that had happened and I just tried to will myself to the finish.
After just making it through the final cut off on the course, I wasn’t really sure of the timing and just kept pushing.
Unfortunately, I was unable to make it within the 12-hour time limit, but I still crossed the finish line just two minutes and 38 seconds afterwards.
In my mind, I have still conquered the up run and also managed to raise R6 500 for Community Chest Superheroes.
Sometimes you have to look hard to find the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is there.
I still see myself as a survivor and a hero.
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