When Comrades Marathon's youngest runner Ella Meiring feels her legs straining on Botha's Hill, about 60km into the gruelling 89km ultra-marathon next Sunday, she will draw strength from a near-fatal crash while running three years ago.
Meiring, 20, from the small Western Cape farming community of Klaasvoogds, was hit by a minibus taxi from behind while running a 21km race in 2020.
“God lent me His angels' wings and gave me a second chance at life,” she said.
“I came to the realisation about how short life is and to live life to the fullest, which meant pushing myself out of my comfort zone and doing new things; but also making my dream of Comrades come true. I've always wanted to do it.”
Meiring, who finished the recent Two Oceans marathon, credits her uncle's quitting smoking for her love of running.
“He quit smoking when I was 10 years old. That's when we began a habit of doing evening walking. Gradually, we started running and entered our first race, which was a 5km,” she said.
Meiring, an aspiring schoolteacher, said her love of research and learning about the feats of past women winners Isavel Roche Kelly and Frith van der Merwe shaped her love for the race.
“If these ladies can record such achievements, how can I not finish my comrades in under 12 hours?”
Another inspiration is retired court transcriber Petra Myburgh, 74, the oldest female runner set to brave a wintry start in Pietermaritzburg with 21,091 others for the marathon's 96th edition.
Myburgh will be at the start with her son Jean, 35, for her 24th Comrades. She recalled how she paid a heavy price during her first run in 1997.
“I had thought I was going to conquer the world and went too fast, and had seen myself poised for a Bill Rowan medal. I was supposed to have held back a bit,'’ said Myburgh.
While she didn't make her goal then, in 2000 she achieved her personal best of 9 hours 11 minutes.
Myburg said she was looking forward to crossing the finish line at Durban's Kingsmead Stadium, to which the race is returning this year.
“I prefer the cricket stadium as opposed to Moses Mabhida Stadium. It has its special character. What I love most is losing myself to the sound of spectators banging the barriers as a welcome,” said Myburgh.
Someone else looking forward to crossing the finish line is retired business consultant Goolam Suleman, 76, who started running at the age of 58 when he tackled the Om Die Dam half-marathon in Hartbeespoort, North West.
From then, the father of two, who is also an author of a true crime book about gangsters between the 1950s and the 1970s, has tackled eight Comrades marathons but only finished five.
He said his first was the most memorable because he made it through the finish by a whisker in 11 hours 59 seconds and 55 milliseconds.
“I was the third-last finisher on the day. Although I was overjoyed I had to deal with some serious soul-searching questions on whether I would give it another shot. This thing takes a lot of hardship and pain," said Suleman.
“On the day, man, things happen. Though you may have been adequately trained it’s about listening to your body. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.”
Suleman said the race is like no other in terms of the support runners receive on the route.
“It becomes difficult for loved ones to plot you. But all is not lost as you can never be alone on your Comrades. The camaraderie is unmatched. You have people who cheer you on no matter what race, colour or creed,” he said.
Pietermaritzburg runner and former journalist Thabang Mathebula will be gunning for a back-to-back medal after finishing his maiden Comrades last year, scooping a silver medal in the process.
The Save Orion club runner hopes to repeat his feat of finishing in a good time but also to raise R100,000 for an early childhood development centre for uMvini Community Foundation in rural Maqongqo near Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal.
Last year's race was dedicated to raising funds for an early childhood development facility in rural Ncwadi near Bulwer, outside Pietermaritzburg.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.