Pradeep meets a selfless milestone
Businessman, Pradeep Singh decided to take a different approach, dedicating his 20th consecutive Comrades Marathon this year to the causes of Majuba Rotary.
For some, a milestone is celebrated with dinner, or perhaps a glass of champagne.
Businessman, Pradeep Singh decided to take a different approach, dedicating his 20th consecutive Comrades Marathon this year to the causes of Majuba Rotary.
His long hours on the road pale in comparison to a R50 000 fund-raising target.
“I’ve done a few Comrades Marathons this way; this year, all money I raise goes to Rotary for its many projects.”
As reported in the Advertiser a few weeks earlier, Majuba Rotary recently embarked on initiatives to collect toiletries for babies at Morester Home Meah, blankets for the homeless and continued upgrades and support to La Gratitude.
Thus, Mr Singh’s efforts are certainly not in vain.
His preparation for the gruelling Comrades Marathon began six months earlier, with a set target of 1 000 kilometres of pre-training ‘mileage’.
Mr Singh also follows a diet of low carbohydrates and high protein.
“The more weight you burn, the easier the run is. One week before the Comrades, I will switch to high carbohydrates and low protein, what is known as carbo-loading.”
Despite numerous injury setbacks this year, Mr Singh remained confident he would complete the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
His intended finishing time is sub 11 hours.
“My best time was eight hours and 46 minutes in 2004.”
Speaking of his motivation to compete in the Comrades Marathon, Mr Singh said it was a milestone he never dreamed of achieving.
After all, his first fun run left him aching and out of breath.
“I built on from there, and when I completed my first marathon in 1996, I realised the Comrades was within my reach. I trained hard towards that goal.”
Beyond the Comrades, Mr Singh has a permanent number at the Loskop Marathon, finishes at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, has completed the Secunda 3-in-1 (three marathons of three distances in one day) and capped it off at the Kilimanjaro Marathon.
The following day, he climbed the immense mountain too.
“I must thank all who have supported me on this journey, especially my wife, Nisha, who always meets me halfway with a picnic basket. Thank you to the Rotarians for their assistance as well.”
For more information or to contribute towards Mr Singh’s Comrades total, contact him on 082 443 7366 or Daniel Couper on 082 560 4722.
