Athlete suffers double blow to marathon’s cancellation
For Montclair resident, Thandokuhle Nkonyeni, two items were going to be ticked off her bucket list this year as she had planned on participating in both marathons.
WHILE one of the country’s most celebrated and annually anticipated marathons would have been done and dusted and the winner long announced by now, the cancellation of this year’s Two Oceans Marathon was more than a let-down to some athletes.
This past Saturday, 11 April, would have marked the 50th anniversary of the race which many runners enter to test their readiness for the annual Comrades Marathon held in June.
For Montclair resident, Thandokuhle Nkonyeni, two items were going to be ticked off her bucket list this year as she had planned on participating in both marathons.
“I joined Phuma KZN Athletics Club last year in preparation for Comrades 2020. I’m a very active person and running is one of my favourite sports.”
“I really enjoy the therapeutic aspect of it as I get to release all the negative energies, while clearing my head, challenge my body and explore my own limitations,” she said
After qualifying for Comrades in November last year at the Bluff Marathon, Thando, as she commonly known, was really excited and looking forward to this year’s marathon as a first-time runner. And as do many athletes, she entered the 58km Ultra Marathon as well which was going to be a first for her.
“It was then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. I was disappointed because this meant my training plan was going to be affected,” she said. With this realisation came a cascade of others.
“I had already paid for transportation and accommodation in Cape Town. The bookings were done with the help of the company’s director. None of us received refunds, instead they told us we can move the booking for next year or we will get 50 per cent of our money back,” she said.
As for her running the Comrades this year, she said, “With the 21-day lockdown, there is no running. I’ve only been doing exercises at home to keep fit but it’s not the same as being on the road. I’m not adding any mileage on my legs to prepare for the Comrades. They sent us emails to say they haven’t decided whether to cancel or not, we just have to wait for Friday, 17 April.”
“All these possibilities might not work well for me as a novice. If the marathon continues, I might run it unfit and might not finish it within my target time. Preparation time would be very short counting that I will still need to run at least 60km as part of training, I will not have enough recovery time. I might run it with injuries, which is not good,” she said.
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