Marathon sees athletes with ‘dry mouth’ for 10km

Michelle Baeta took on her first 42km and Comrades qualifier in the form of the Sedibeng race in Vereeniging on Thursday. Even though she enjoyed the race, she was hassled by blisters on her feet. The heat was unbearable, but she pushed through with the support of her brother (who ran with her). She completed the race in 4:31 and is now excited about doing further training for the Comrades.
Athletes from Vryheid Athletics Club competed in the Prince Mangosuthu Ultra-Marathon in Nquthu on Sunday. This ultra-marathon was first held in 2011, hosted in partnership with Biggarsberg Athletics Club. The race takes place annually as part of Umzinyathi District Municipality’s commitment to promoting healthy living, personal discipline, social cohesion, and nation-building through sport and recreation. This year’s race was a ‘down run’ from Nquthu to Dundee, covering various distances to accommodate both marathon and recreational runners – 52km, the newly-added 21km, as well as 10km and 5km races. Melissa Scheepers said she had to stretch her legs to maintain her pace. In the early morning, before the start, local men serenaded the athletes with ‘Shosholoza’ and other songs while they anxiously waited for the gun to set them off. Melissa shared her experience of the race… “Ons staan in die donker, ek kan skaars voor my sien. Sonder enige waarskuwing of afkondiging hoor ek iets wat soos ‘n klapper klink en ek word van agter gestoor. En besef dat die wedloop begin het en soek vinnig na my horlosie se ‘start’ knoppie. Ek kan verstaan dat die atlete haastig is, want die eerste 10 atlete kry baie geld. Ek was net daar vir oefening want die wedloop het baie kompeterende atlete opgelewer soos byvoorbeeld Chrizelle Roberts van Nedbank wie net twee atlete van my af weg was. Soos ek harldoop in die eerste 10km hoor ek hoe atlete kwaai skree: ‘Haibo, no water’. Ek besef toe dat daar fout is. Ons het eers op 25km ordentlik water gekry. Dit was ‘n wedloop met baie opdraandes en op die einde was dit baie warm.”

ALSO READ: Local athletes represent Vryheid throughout Natal

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.