Anyone can achieve Comrades with hard work, says Berea couple
Berea couple, Bilal and Fazila Moosa are ready to tackle this year's Comrades marathon.
JUST 15 years years ago, Berea’s Bilal and Fazila Moosa would not even have contemplated running the Comrades Marathon. This Sunday the couple, with a combined 14 Comrades medals under their collective belt, will set off at the start of the 2016 Comrades Marathon in Pietermaritzburg to tackle the ultimate human marathon together once again.
Bilal and Fazila Moosa said they only started getting active in 2002. “My mother developed a heart condition and my dad had died of a heart attack. I felt we needed to get active and live a healthier lifestyle. We started with 5km fun walks on a Friday evening, with our children and my sister and brother-in-law. Before long our running friends encouraged us to do more races, longer distances and eventually we joined the Chatworth Athletic Club and I ran my first Comrades in 2003,” Bilal said.
The couple can be seen running together around the Berea, and the beachfront . They always tackle the Comrades together. “We start together, run together and finish together and have each other as support along the way,” said Fazila. “You can only plan so much, but the crowd and their energy along the way just carries you through,” Bilal said.
Fazila said she was a bit nervous this year. “My last Comrades was in 2010 so its been a bit hard to train around two teenagers and a four-year-old,” she said.
Bilal, who has his green number, said the Comrades was a special experience. “When you get to the start and hear the national anthem and Chariots of Fire, the hair on your body stands on edge, there is no better feeling. We started running late in life but anyone can do it and achieve Comrades, it just takes hard work, training and dedication,” he said.
“I think it’s an achievement just getting to the start line because you don’t just run the Comrades, but have to qualify to run it. The cherry on top is finishing the race. When I run the Comrades, I don’t think about the 89km, its important to have a plan and Bilal and I break down the race into smaller goals of 10km and 20km along the way. We do it for our own personal achievements, the race is a really a mind game, especially after halfway.”
