“The Comrades is doable, preserve as much energy as you can,” advises Rethabile
Rethabile Maloba from Seshego says the idea of running the comrades sounded far fetched and unrealistic but she is aiming to cut her second Comrades time by 47 minutes this year.
POLOKWANE – Rethabile Maloba from Seshego says the idea of running the comrades sounded far fetched and unrealistic but she is aiming to cut her time by 47 minutes this year.
Read more: “Make the best of it” – Comrades participants give advice to fellow runners
“I learnt about the Comrades Marathon from other runners. Almost every second runner on the road, that I met, would talk about it and it sounded crazy to me. I made it clear to my current coach, Lufuno Mudau, that I did not have aspirations of participating as my plan was to only run the Two Oceans, but he changed my view on the race,” she explained.
Rethabile explains taking a trip to Cape Town in 2016 to support her friends, who were participating in the Sanlam CT marathon. Little did she know that she was about to start her own marathon journey. “I was there as a supporter and the vibe around the race unfolded my dream of running the Two Oceans one day and the minute we got back, I began running. One day, I was running alone around the Peter Mokaba Stadium, planning to run a 5km when I met a gentleman by the name of Lufuno Mudau. He invited me to join him and my 5km turned into a 10km and that was the beginning of my running journey. I then started training for the Sanlam CT Marathon, which I planned to run as my first marathon. I had a terrible experience at the Sanlam marathon as I was injured at the 15km mark, but that did not stop me from crossing the finish line. I finished the marathon in six hours and the results taught me that despite any challenges along the way, victory is always certain,” she added.
Rethabile spoke to REVIEW about her first Comrades experience and said it was a challenging but educative experience at the same time. “The build up towards it was not an easy one, emotionally and physically. I had sleepless nights, weight loss, nightmares and anxiety. The long awaited day finally arrived on 10 June 2018. The Comrades was by far, the hardest race I have ever done in my life. I had to dig deep the entire time and it was a test of my tenacity, my perseverance and my stubbornness as I was not willing to quit while in the battlefield. My finish time was 11 hours and 40 minutes and come 2019, I will be claiming my back to back medal, hoping to cut my time by 47 minutes,” she said.
She advises novice runners going for this years Comrades to visit a physiotherapist for a foot rub beforehand and to not get carried away and start fast.
“The trick for the race is to ensure that one preserves as much energy as possible as the race is long and it is emotionally draining. One must go into the race mentally ready and just run their own race, as well as pray to the Almighty for strength and have lots of fun on the road. The Comrades is doable,” she concluded.
