uMhlanga resident ready for debut Comrades Marathon

CHRIS Young’s journey to competing in his first Comrades Marathon is one of resilience and perseverance.

The uMhlanga resident, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2011 and 2015, playing rugby, was given little chance of ever running a marathon, let alone the Ultimate Human Race.

However, this year, Chris, also known as Youngbukk to his Crusaders Athletics Club KZN, will take on his first-ever Comrades Marathon, a race he holds dear to his heart.

“I was actually planning on running in 2011. We had just done a 25km route tester, and a day after that, I snapped my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing six-a-side cricket. The guys up in the clubhouse said they heard the snap. I had to have immediate surgery, and that effectively killed my dreams that year. I did the rehab and began afresh, and in 2015, I put my rugby boots back on and snapped my ACL, on the same right knee, again.

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“My biokineticist, physio and chiropractor all said the same thing to me: ‘You won’t be able to ever run the Comrades Marathon.’ They had my best interests at heart and suggested I take up cycling as a way to build up strength. In 2019, I did my first 70.3 Ironman race in Durban, and I have done a few half-marathons. Last year, though, I was halfway supporting friends, and the vibe and the hype from the crowd was so infectious, that the next week, I booked an appointment with my biokineticist and told him of my plan to run the Comrades. He did some research and came back to me, saying I could do it, however, I would need to spend time in the gym with strength and conditioning. At that point, I was ready to accept the feedback whether it was good news or bad news. When he said that, I went and bought some running shoes and began running again,” he said.

Now, the 38-year-old is ready for his first-ever Comrades Marathon and has been training in anticipation of the event.

“In training for the Comrades Marathon, I qualified at last year’s Cape Town Marathon, and then at the Dolphin Coast Marathon in March this year, I improved on the batch I’ve been seeded in. I’ve done a couple of route tests and run up Cowie’s Hill, Botha’s Hill and Inchanga. Any athlete will tell you they are quite taxing. I’ve also completed a few route testers, and this week, on the public holiday, a group of us are running 56km from Hillcrest all the way to the finish in PMB.

“I would like to complete my first Comrades Marathon in 10 hours, however, I haven’t exactly said to myself that I’m going to chase a time. It’s my first Comrades Marathon, and I’ll be happy with any medal. I don’t want to go in a position where I’m chasing the clock. I just want to run and enjoy the day and, once I get the feel for it, then set myself a target for next year for my back-to-back,” he said.

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