And that’s a wrap for Comrades Marathon 2017.
Vusumzi Mafu was the first of four Grahamstown, Eastern Cape athletes to finish today’s Comrades. Mafu finished in 7 hours 55 minutes 03 seconds.
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo finished his 10th Comrades Marathon, earning his permanent number. He finished in 8:59:33.
Justice Yaka finished in 10:46:59 and Seyiso Tilese finished in 11:03:48.
The 2017 Comrades Up run saw 17 031 athletes starting the race outside the Durban City Hall with 13 852 finished the 86.73km within the 12 hour cut-off at the Home of the Golden Horse Casino, the Scottsville Racecourse.
Comrades Doctor, Jeremy Boulter confirmed that about 400 runners were treated at the Comrades Medical Tent. Boulter says, “We had a good day in the Medical Tent. The ICU section was normal. The Medical Tent itself wasn’t overloaded and we coped extremely well. We treated about 2.6% of the field which is just slightly above average, considering that it was quite a hot day.”
Boulter mentioned that a few runners had had chest pains but it was nothing out of the ordinary, he said. He adds, “It was a normal day of controlled chaos. We are happy to confirm that all runners are doing ok.”
Netcare’s St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg treated 80 runners, of which 40 were admitted. However, by lunch time yesterday, all but 3 had been discharged. The majority of athletes were treated mainly for dehydration, apart from a few other minor issues; and were discharged.
Netcare’s St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban treated 10 runners mainly for dehydration and they have also since been discharged.
Boulter concludes, ‘We would like to thank our doctors, physios, paramedics and all other medical staff and volunteers who assisted our runners on race day. We are very grateful to you all for a job well done under trying circumstances.’
Meanwhile, The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) together with major co-sponsor, Old Mutual hosted the 2017 Old Mutual Prize Giving Breakfast Monday, 5 June.
The celebratory occasion saw the nation’s and the world’s elite ultra-athletes, including the 2017 Comrades Marathon champions, joining CMA sponsors, road-running dignitaries and the media at the Southern Sun Maharani Hotel in Durban.
The 92nd Comrades Marathon on Sunday, 4 June 2017 saw Arthur Ford Athletic Club’s Bongmusa Mthembu claiming the winning position in the Men’s Race while Nedbank Running Club’s Camille Herron from the USA won the Women’s Race.
Grahamstown athletes at the finish, Pietermaritzburg (86,73km):
Vusumzi Mafu 7:55:03
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 8:59:33
Justice Yaka 10:46:59
Seyiso Tilese 11:03:48
Men’s winner – Bongmusa Mthembu 5:35:34
Women’s winner – Camille Herron 6:27:35
Grahamstown athletes through Polly Shortts (79,2km)
Vusumzi Mafu 7:13:43
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 8:12:12
Justice Yaka 9:53:04
Seyiso Tilese 10:14:12
Leading male, Bongmusa Mthembu 5:07:32
Leading female, Camille Herron 5:54:00
Grahamstown athletes through Umlaas Road (66,7km)
Vusumzi Mafu 5:58:27
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 6:48:15
Justice Yaka 8:13:49
Seyiso Tilese 8:40:01
Bossie Bosman 9:31:51
Leading male , Bongmusa Mthembu 4:21:36
Leading female- Camille Herron 4:56:54
Grahamstown athletes through Cato Ridge (56.7km)
Vusumzi Mafu 4:55:06
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 5:41:28
Justice Yaka 6:50:11
Seyiso Tilese 7:22:57
Bossie Bosman 8:04:16
Leading male, Charles Dibate Tjiane 3:40:48
Leading female, Camille Herron 4:10:11
Grahamstown athletes through Drummond (42,7km):
Vusumzi Mafu 3:36:04
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 4:06:16
Justice Yaka 4:56:33
Seyiso Tilese 5:26:37
Bossie Bosman 5:51:40
Leading man, Charles Dibate Tjane 2:47:29
Leading woman – Camille Herron 3:07:23
Grahamstown athletes through Winston Park (29,7km):
Vusumzi Mafu 2:26:15
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo 2:52:16
Justice Yaka 3:16:33
Bossie Bosman 3:43:52
Seyiso Tileso 3:44:42
The leading man, Thobani Chagwe went through Winston Park in 1:50:21
The leading woman, Camille Herron went through Winston Park in 2:07:55
Grahamstown athletes through Pinetown (18,2km):
Vusumzi Mafu (SANDF EP) 1:29:52
Thembinkosi Mdyogolo (Nedbank Running Club, Eastern Province) 1:46:15
Justice Yaka (Albany Saints and Sinners Multisport Club) 1:57:47
Bossie Bosman (Run/Walk For Life Athletics Club) 2:12:07
Seyiso Tilese (Tinarha Athletics Club) 2:19:52
The leading man, Sootho Raletebele went through Pinetown in 1:08:22
The leading woman, Camille Herron went through Pinetown in 1:18:24
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Original story published in Grocott’s Mail print edition on Friday 2 June:
Running enthusiasts and Comrades marathon supporters will be glued to their TV sets come Sunday (4 June) when the 92nd edition of the Comrades takes place.
This year’s Comrades is an Up run and athletes will start outside the Durban City Hall and finish 86.73km later at the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.
Grahamstown athletes taking part in Sunday’s race are Liam Henaghan, Justice Yaka (Albany Saints and Sinners Multisport Club), Bossie Bosman (Run/Walk for Life Athletics Club), Thembinkosi Mdyogolo (Nedbank Running Club, Eastern Province) and Seyiso Tilese (Tinarha Athletics Club).
Mdyogolo will be running his 10th Comrades on Sunday, earning a permanent green number at the finish.
A total of 491 runners are set to join the coveted Comrades Marathon Green Number Club at this year’s 92nd Comrades Marathon. To date, 12,622 athletes have earned their place on the Comrades Marathon Green Number Roll of Honour. Green Number runners retain their Comrades Marathon race number in perpetuity. They are members of an exclusive band of individuals who have experienced a special relationship with The Ultimate Human Race.
Mdyogolo ran his first Comrades in 2006, which was an Up run. He finished in 6 hours 55 minutes and 10 seconds, which is his fastest out of his nine runs.
Yaka has completed the Comrades 11 times, earning his permanet number (35856) in 2012. He has a personal best of 9:30:06, which was his first run, in 1996.
Henaghan will be running his second Comrades on Sunday, Bosman and Tilese are both going for their fourth finish.
Thousands of athletes have already descended on Durban for the Comrades Expo at the Durban Exhibition Centre. The three day Comrades Expo is the largest running-related exhibition in South Africa.
Runners can look forward to a feast on race day as the CMA Race Director, Rowyn James has confirmed that 45 refreshment stations will be provided along the route.
Along the route their will be 30 350 litres of Coke, 10 650 litres Fanta / Crème Soda, 828 000 Energade sachets (150ml), 51 360 Energade RTD bottles (500ml), 1.875 million water sachets, 9 tons of bananas, 8 tons of oranges 1 ton of biscuits 21 000 honey nougat energy bars and 3 tons cooked potatoes.
James says, “The health and well-being of our runners is paramount and we are exhausting all resources in ensuring that we cater to our athlete’s needs on the day.”
The Comrades Marathon will be broadcast live on SABC 2 from 5.03am on Sunday morning until 6pm. You can follow how the Grahamstown runners are doing on Grocott’s Mail Sport Facebook page and GrocottsSport (Twitter).
