The 2010 edition of the Comrades Marathon saw eleven Grahamstown athletes finishing the gruelling event.
This year’s Comrades was a down run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban and covered a distance of 89.28km.
The 2010 edition of the Comrades Marathon saw eleven Grahamstown athletes finishing the gruelling event.
This year’s Comrades was a down run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban and covered a distance of 89.28km.
Richard Hall, Kevin Rafferty, Mike Loewe, Martin Bekker, Andrew Slaughter and Jessica Goble finished their first Comrades and Colin Bosch of Rhodes finished his 15th journey.
Makana Moon editor, Mike Loewe, a member of Run/ Walk For Life Athletics Club, may have been the last local runner home, but his sheer determination to complete the Comrades in the same year he turns 50, may inspire many to tackle the event next year.
“It was amazing. Tough, sore, yes. But that is the nature of Comrades,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I spent so long at the outer limits of my ability and desires, and to be among so many South Africans of all colours and shapes, who were all seeking that one simple and thing to cross the line in under 12 hours, was totally invigorating”, said Loewe.
“I am left with the enduring memory of a black woman standing by the side of the race towards the end and shouting: ‘Go South Africa!’” Johan Conradie (also of Run/Walk For Life) completed his third Comrades, but this year ran the full distance barefoot.
The first local home was Thembinkosi Mdyogolo,running for the Port Elizabeth based Nedbank Running Club. He finished in 7:12:00, earning the only silver for Grahamstown.
Overall race winner was Stephen Muzhingi (Zimbabwe) winning a back-to-back title in 5:29:01. The overall women’s winner was Russian Elena Nurgalieva who finished a second faster than her twin sister Olesya in a time of 6:13:04.The Grahamstown finishers were:
349. Thembinkosi Mdyogolo (Nedbank) 7:12:00, 1830. Mlamli Klaas (Run/Walk For Life) 8:34:27, 2082. Jene Banfield (Run/Walk For Life) 8:41:07, 3466. Richard Hall (Run/Walk For Life) 9:22:57, 3564. Martin Bekker (Albany Road Runners) 9:25:56, 3708. Kevin Rafferty (Run/Walk For Life) 9:29:48, 4022. Colin Bosch (Rhodes Athletics Club) 9:39:01, 9434. Andrew Slaughter (Albany) 10:58:43, 11814. Jessica Goble (Rhodes) 11:38:03, 13317. Johan Conradie (Run/Walk For Life) 11:50:41, 13325. Mike Loewe (Run/Walk For Life) 11:50:42.
