From school caretaker to his first Comrades this year

Benoni Northerns Athletics Club (BNAC) member Albert Mthuki is fit and ready to run his first Comrades Marathon on August 28.

Sporting a cap, golf shirt, shorts and running shoes for his Benoni City Times interview, Albert cuts the figure of a man determined to conquer “the ultimate human race”.

His protruding calf muscles and toned thighs serve as a testament to the fact that the 43-year-old has spent the past three years preparing for the 90km marathon.

Albert began running as a hobby in 2019 after a shower accident left him limping for three weeks.

“After I recovered, my body was so relaxed. I then decided to run. At first, it was only for fitness as I knew nothing about the sport.”

Running with no goal, Albert, who has been employed at Ashton International College for 22 years as a caretaker, approached junior college teacher Robyn Daniel who, at the time, had completed four Comrades Marathons to find out more about the long-distance running.

Robyn invited Albert to join the BNAC. He ran with her and other BNAC members at his first hills session in Bedfordview as part of the club’s 2019 Comrades programme.

“It was quite an eye-opener for Albert. There’s a hill next to the N12 highway, which we now call Albert’s Hill, because I remember looking at him and he was hating it. If anything it showed how perseverant and strong-minded he is,” Robyn said.

Albert continued training with the BNAC in 2019 but couldn’t participate in the Comrades that year as he hadn’t ran in any qualifiers.

“We got him a flight ticket to watch us run the Comrades. After watching the spectacle and the festivities, he told me he was sold, he wanted to do it,” added Robyn.

Albert ran his first marathon at Kaapsehoop in 2019 and clocked 04:19, setting him up well for the 2020 Comrades Marathon.

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His wish was to run his first 90km at 40 years old so that he would have completed 10 races when he turns 50.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, had the last say as the 2020 marathon was cancelled.

This didn’t deter Albert though, as he continued training.

“During lockdown, he would run 21km at the Ashton International College grounds and we also did a 45km run around Benoni in 2020,” explained Robyn.

Last year, Albert got his first taste of the Comrades when he participated in the virtual 90km race, running four laps of 23km around Benoni and finishing in 10:05.

“Training is going well. I used to wake up at 03:00 and do 18km. Today, I do around 90km a week,” a proud Albert said.

“I want to challenge myself. You learn a lot of things about yourself. Running has opened my mind and challenged me in many ways.”

His determination paid off at the TRACN4 Elands marathon in Nelspruit when he clocked a sub-four-hour time of 03:52:34, granting him a ticket to the Comrades down run.

Such is Albert’s determination that the myriad photos of past Comrades runners crawling to the finish have given him the motivation to believe that despite the challenges, he can do it.

“Finishing is winning,” Albert said.

“I want to know how it feels. I want to see if I can manage. My family and friends have already warned me against crawling to the finish line.”

Albert’s Comrades journey has been documented by Robyn on a Facebook page titled Albert’s Journey to Comrades (https://www.facebook.com/alberttocomrades), which details his training and marathon participation for the past two years.

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