Randburg Harriers enjoy the experience of Comrades
Local running club sees 58 finishers out of its 67 runners at the Comrades Marathon.
Randburg Harriers can celebrate the success of its runners at the 95th Comrades Marathon.
The down run in KwaZulu-Natal on August 28 saw 67 runners enter from the local running club, with 58 finishing.
“We are proud of every single runner who spent months preparing for the ultimate human race and, ultimately, had enough courage to take part,” said the club’s public relations officer, Buwi Moeketsi.
“We’d also like to give a special mention to Richard McCafferty, who finished in 07:27:46, making him our first male and only silver medallist. Another special mention goes to Dimakatso Mashini, whose time of 08:53:14 made her our first female and only female recipient of a Bill Rowan medal. She also came fifth, overall, in her age category [50-59].”
Moeketsi, who also completed her first Comrades, said to be part of the ultimate human race is ‘indescribable’.
“To know that you are part of something so big is both emotional and surreal. It takes a lot of physical and mental strength to get to hold that medal in your hand. You become grateful for a body that allowed you to get to that finish.”
She added that the support on the road is incomparable to that of any other race.
The community got behind the runners and motivated them to keep going.
“The cheers and words of encouragement were endearing. It was beautiful to experience.”
But she joked that she still wonders which of those climbs were the ‘down-run’ part.
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