The 2019 Comrades Marathon took place on Sunday 9 June. Six of our ASICS FrontRunners took on the gruelling human race and conquered the ‘up run’ - here is what each of them learned along the way.
Khomotso Mokgonyana (09:49:20)
I learned that Comrades Marathon is a long and gruelling race. And, it is a race against yourself - your body and your mind. There are times when you are going to have to dig very deep. Early in the race (at about 32km) I was hit by fatigue and had to find my inner strength to keep going. I had to give myself a little pep talk, remind myself why I wanted to be there and what my goals were. If you are not mentally strong, you will never make it to the finish line. That being said, a training and racing partner is also a huge help for a race like Comrades - their encouragement can be invaluable.
Raeesa Solwa (09:52:05)
Comrades was such a rollercoaster of emotions. Growing up in Westville, we watched comrades every year. Runners passed Westville on both the down- and up-run. I watched every year on TV, too. So for me to actually be participating in this ultimate human race was such an amazing experience. Something no words can really explain. The highlight for me was definitely the support team that had my back the entire way! I couldn’t have asked for anything better. You are basically alone in your head the entire race and to just see your family and friends out there supporting you and encouraging you is amazing. I am so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! Also, crossing that finishing line with the sub 10 hour bus for my first Comrades, the crowds cheering, everything was just out of this world.
Solly Malatsi (10:45:12)
The key lesson for me on this Comrades up run was running on feel - I adjusted my initial race plan based on how my body reacted to the tortuous hills of the first half of the race. The stinging climbs of iNchanga crucified my legs, leaving me feeling like I was carrying extra kgs on my feet. It was right there that I made peace with tackling the rest of the distance based on how I felt. When I left fresh, I ran for as long as I could only walking the hills. When I felt heavy, I walked as much as I could to regain some strength to run again.
It made me realise how liberating it is to go into the race with more than one plan because ultimately Comrades will blow your Plan A. Mine was to finish comfortably. Ideally a sub 10:30. Plan B was to beat my 11:36 down run time and Plan C was to finish before cut off time.
Charmaine Mohokare (09:44:27)
Confidence in your gear! Most importantly your shoes. No, really. Mine were so amazing, I didn’t encounter any issues (didn’t lose any nails!). And; two days on I can still walk. When I started I felt a slight twinge in my ITB but I managed to push through that and finish the entire race without any issues whatsoever. A lot of that came down to the shoes, I believe. It made me realise just how important it is for people to do a Motion ID at an ASICS outlet before buying shoes for a big training block and goal race. People tend to buy shoes because someone else is running in them and running well, what they should be doing is checking if those shoes are indeed correct for them and what they plan to run.
Caroline Pule (11:30:33)
I’ve never done such a challenging race in my life, but proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. That mental application is crucial. One has to be mentally prepared - obviously physically too - but because of how challenging it is, if you are weak mentally it will effect your confidence and that will negatively impact your performance. Aside from the physical aspect I also took a lot of confidence from going into the race well fuelled and rested. I also took a lot of confidence from my shoes - know that you have trained in them and know that they will carry you through. I ran in ASICS GEL-Nimbus 21 and they were magic.
Admire Muzopambwa (06:41:46)
This was my best Comrades performance to date! The up run is really challenging and very different to the ‘down’. But, I proved to myself that with the right preparation and a good back-up crew (I had six seconders along the course) I can keep pace with the best. I’ve never gone that pace in the first 30 and was in the mix with all the top elites the entire time. I left it all out there and when I finished, every inch of my body was sore. It was the happiest sub-7 I have ever done.
Wandisile Nongodlwana (07:28:18)
Comrades is a race that only on the day, do you know how you will do. It requires perseverance; patience; endurance; and, the ability to adapt and readjust the race plan. Confidence in your gear is also crucial. When the body was almost giving up, I didn't have a slightest worry that I was in the ‘wrong’ gear. For the first time in years, I ran Comrades from start to finish in shorts without chaffing. That says a lot about the material used in ASICS shorts. Also, my lightweight ASICS GEL-DynaFlyte 3 carried me to my seventh silver with great cushioning. Without a doubt, the London to Paris expedition greatly assisted me with the required mileage in preparation for Comrades. This is something I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, in that period of time.
Wietse van der Westhuizen (11:29:50)
Due to circumstances (breaking two ribs while qualifying!) I was very anxious about this year’s Comrades. Even though I had a good seeding in the C-batch, I was completely under-trained and decided to start further back with my daughter and a few friends. We waited for the start, anticipating rain that never came. The weather was absolutely perfect! The nervous excitement was palpable. Tears freely started flowing as the crowd listened to Chariots of Fire. Two crows of the Cockerel and we were off!
The race went well up to about 39km when I suddenly had a drop in blood sugar levels. I hit the wall badly and went through a terrible patch for about 4km. After my wife found me at Drummond and fed me about 10 delicious date balls, I got a second wind. At that point we also heard the news that the winner just crossed the finish line. Gerda finished her race as we were shuffling down iNchanga!
We were conservative about our energy use going up the hills and made use of a run-walk strategy, running downhills and the flatter parts to make up a little time to walk the whole of Little Polly’s and the feared Polly Shorts. The predicted 28 °C dissipated and the cool breeze was welcomed.
One of my best friends was going for his 10th finish and he was even more unfit than me! Trying to keep him motivated helped me inadvertently. We crossed the finish line in 11h29min, number 42 in the bag for me. Geoff got his permanent number, my daughter finished her sixth. A proud and tough day at the office!
