Runners at the ready for Comrades
WHEN the gun goes off at the Durban City Hall tomorrow morning signalling the start of the 97th Comrades Marathon, among the thousands at the start line will be 82-year-old Maros Johannes Mosehla, 72-year-old Patricia Fisher and 21-year-old Monique von Benecke.
Mosehla and Fisher are the oldest of the male and female runners and Von Benecke is among the youngest who will tackle the gruelling 85.91km from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
Mosehla, a retired bricklayer from
Sekhukhune, Limpopo, is running his 11th Comrades. He was 50 when he ran his first. He said he was ready to take on the challenge once again.
“This year my training has been good, but my body is not too good. I do believe I will complete it. I do, however, prefer the down run.
“Last year I completed the race in 9h26 and this year I hope to cross the line by 10 hours,” said Mosehla.
Fisher, from Manor Gardens in Durban, is going for her 34th medal.
“There were three Comrades that I did not complete. My best time has been 9h30. Now I finish around 11h40. I am passionate about running, but now I just look forward to finishing the race and getting the medal.”
Fisher said she was sitting on the side of the road watching the Comrades runners and thought “if that lady could do it”, so could she, and has been at the start line ever since.
“Every year after completing the race I say I am not going to do it again, but I keep going back. I definitely want to be part of the pack that will run the 100th Comrades in three years. I love the atmosphere on the road and people cheering me on,” said the grandmother.
Von Benecke, from Meyerton south of Johannesburg, together with her dad Godfried and boyfriend Steven van Vuuren, will be running their first Comrades.
“I have been running for a while and decided to run Comrades because it is a big challenge. We have been training since last year. I had planned to run last year but I did not qualify because I was too young,” said Monique.
“I have only watched Comrades on TV, but this is our first time running this route. I am prepared and feeling good,” she added.