Mokopane runners reminisce on their Comrades experience

MOKOPANE – Several athletes from Mokopane participated in the 96th Comrades Marathon on June 11.

Hope Poopedi says she started the race energetic and excitedly.

“I was running for my back-to-back medal and managed to improve on my time of last year. My time this year was 10:40:00 and I received my medal.”

She said she felt more in control this year than in previous years as she knows the road and had a plan in advance.

“At around the 50km mark I decided to take off my tights and keep only the short one on. I was so tired I could not bend over and that was when the supporters helped me to take off my shoes and remove my tights. I am truly thankful for them. At the end of the race, they even gave me a jacket to keep me warm.”

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She says running the Comrades helps a person. It is a great way to train your mind, and makes a person resilient.

She refers to the ultra-marathon the “pole-to-pole”, saying you “run from pole-to-pole and walk the next pole-to-pole. This is also where you socialise and interact with other runners and you realise that you are running as a family.

The 90km is a long distance but the further you run from the starting point the more confidence you get from the runners next to you and you find out that your body can actually do it, she remarked.

“Crossing the line was like my life was filled with joy and disbelief. It was the best feeling that I had, I felt fulfilled. The long hours of training, hard worked and sticking to a diet paid off. Running the Comrades is a great gift you can give yourself.”

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Mekia Senwamadi described the Comrades as an “awesome experience”.

“I believe the training, which started in November, was very effective. I covered almost 2 000km between November and June.”

He added that the race itself was a rollercoaster.

“The cold start was expected, but due to roadworks, there was congestion in the first 15km or so, and it was difficult to really pace yourself. I decided to run with a sub-10-hour bus driven by Rocky Mojela from Polokwane until 15km. From there, I ran solo. The strategy was to run an average of 06:30:00 on the flats, a bit faster on downs, and do run/walks on hills and it worked very well for me.”

Senwamadi added that the Comrades is an emotional race, and one always has to be mindful not to get carried away by emotions.

“Passing the disabled kids of Ethembeni really humbled me. Here are the kids who line up the street to support us, and at that time, they were in the zone of the Comrades spirit. Their disabilities did not hold them back from reaching out a hand and touching a runner, nor did the lack of sight in some of them. I ran the first half of the race very cautious. I made sure I reserved as much energy for the second half as I could and it worked. The steep downhills after Botha’s Hill did not trouble me, and Fields Hill was also comfortable. I made up a lot of time there.”

He says the club’s support on the road was excellent. “We had support at 38km, 54km and 72km provided by members of Folang Trust.”

He decided to rejoin the Polokwane bus at around 70km, but felt they were a bit slow and he pushed ahead.

“This was a big mistake. At around 81kms, I was finished. The bus caught up with me and I decided to hang onto it into Kingsmead. I had targeted to run a sub-10:30:00 time, but ended up finishing in a time of 09:55:30, getting a Robert Mtshali medal. It was a very wonderful experience.”

One thing he appreciates is the friendship that was created with fellow clubs from Mokopane, the Potties Athletic Club and the Mogalakwena Mine Athletics Club.

“On the road, when we see each other, we encourage each other and it really gives one a boost.”