Madiba magic at Dubai Marathon

Two friends journeyed from their home in Stanger to the United Arab Emirates to take on the Dubai Marathon in memory of the late Nelson Mandela on January 24.
Yathin Narothum (38), a barber by trade, and his good friend Basil Naidoo (52), a traffic officer, have been competing in road races for a number of years.
The pair were humbled by the experience of running in the marathon and how revered Mandela was throughout the world.
Wearing bright green shirts with a tribute to Madiba, they took on the marathon and finished it in 4 hours and 56 minutes. The two were satisfied with their time, which was not their best, as they were stopped often by people wanting to chat.
“We wanted to make our town and country proud. It was amazing to see how many people from all over the world appreciated what Mandela did,” said Narothum.
“It was so encouraging, people would come over and pat us on the back and ask us about Mandela,” he said.
Naidoo was even asked to do a television interview about their race and was asked about Madiba.
Although the marathon was a unique experience, both runners already has an impressive record of achievements.
Narothum has six Comrades medals and a Two Oceans medal, while Naidoo has earned his prestigious Green Number, having completed ten Comrades and he also has seven Two Oceans medals in his trophy cabinet.
The pair decided that it was time to take on an international marathon.
“I began surfing the internet and read about the Dubai marathon and said to Yathin that we should go for it,” said Naidoo.
The race was particularly memorable for Narothum as going to Dubai was his first trip out of South Africa in his life.
“Flying the country’s flag was really something else, it was similar to how I felt doing my first Comrades,” he said.
Both plan to run this year’s Comrades and Narothum has his mind set on getting his green number.