Panorama Running Club’s Comrades heroes get together to compare aches and pains
The body takes a few weeks to recover from a Comrades Marathon but the achievement lasts forever.
Numbing limbs and haunting thoughts are no match for a heart-pumping for that sense of accomplishment.
A brave few that took on one of the greatest road running challenges in the world met for a post-race catch-up to share stories of the grueling course and their individual experiences. Comrades Marathon organisers stated that 16 072 started the 87.7 kilometres run with 14 896 crossing the line at the end of a dramatic day. Panorama Running Club sent eight runners to KZN, seven of them accomplishing the superhuman feat.
First-timers Estelle Laney and Dinama Malepe were impressive earning their medals in 10 hours 50 minutes and 22 seconds and 10 hours 57 minutes and 51 seconds, respectively. Matome Mogoboya and Maritagane Mapheto took on the rolling hills for the second time while Joelene Moodley finished her fourth race. Matome finished in 9 hours 2 minutes and 53 seconds, Maritagane was the club’s fastest in a time of 8 hours 22 minutes, and 10 seconds with Joelene crossing the line in 11 hours 15 minutes and 58 seconds.
In his sixth Comrades, Kevin Murira was close behind Maritagane in a time of 8 hours 29 minutes and 42 seconds while Jackie van Schoor came home in 11 hours 34 minutes and 32 seconds. Completing the Comrades for an incredible 15th time, Jackie noted, “It is a very emotional day for the entire day. You go from extreme highs to rough lows. In those final kilometres though the thought of not finishing becomes non-negotiable.”
Most talked about by the Comrades where the ‘buses’, which is a term used to describe the large groups of people using each other to gradually pace their way to the finish. Each bus has a driver who is an experienced runner with several Comrades under their belt, and these masses of tarmac-pounding competitors can consist of hundreds of runners at a time. Getting stuck behind these groups can be brutal, as Maritagane found out while on course for a sub-8-hour finish.
While pictures on television screens show the human drama unfolding in the final hour of the race, 2023 has seen the drama extend well beyond the finish line. The cut-off time at the Sherwood checkpoint has traditionally been 16:40 but this year was reduced by 10 minutes. Panorama chairperson Andrew Morrison-Young was left heartbroken with less than eight kilometres to go when the gun signaled the end of his day with the clock on 11 hours 9 minutes and 12 seconds.
Despite the crippling setback, Andrew vowed to go back and has already begun planning his seventh attempt.
“It is a deeply personal experience for everyone that tests every aspect of who you are,” said Andrew, who was at the start well over an hour in advance in the shivering cold. This is commonplace for those who stretch themselves beyond the limits for the ultimate medal, because as Andrew notes, “The Comrades is a cult.”
