MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
THE RUNNING
MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
Borderline Crazy
The inaugural Musina Marathon held in the northern extremities of Limpopo was the only marathon in the whole of South Africa over the entire weekend of 7-8 September , so of course I was there , as I continue my quest to run ( and write about ) every marathon in South Africa . Marathon # 272 / Unique Marathon # 165 / 7 September 2024
Musina is a stone ’ s throw from the Zimbabwean border and the last town on the N1 before hitting the Beit Bridge border post and crossing the Limpopo River . Musina is also where the devil spends his winters … when he wants to warm up . It ’ s a place where your entry level sunblock is Factor 50 . And legend has it that a Scotsman visiting Musina made the fatal mistake of sitting down on the pavement and ended up with hard boiled eggs in under three minutes . In other words , this is a fantastic place for a connoisseur to run a marathon !
I had been on the lookout for a marathon in Musina since chatting to Lufuno Musenwa at the start of the Shikhumba Marathon in October last year . At the time , I wrote , “ He ’ s trying to get a marathon going in Musina , which is even further north , so I will be keeping an eye out for that .” Well , Musenwa kept his word , and I kept mine – and naturally , my friend Julian Karp was eager to accompany me . ( Actually , he had already entered when I suggested the trip .)
Heading North
It ’ s a long drive north along the N1 to Musina , which was made longer with some roadworks , accidents and queues at the five toll booths along the way , and we eventually pulled into the Musina Rugby Club just over six hours after departing Johannesburg . It ’ s always sweltering north of the Tropic of Capricorn , but thankfully , the heat of the day had cooled off as we collected our race numbers and shirts . The most notable feature on the local landscape are the baobab trees and these featured prominently on both the race number and shirt .
The race was due to start at 6am , but we eventually set off at 6:20am , as the drivers of the lead vehicles apparently decided to have a bit of a lie-in . Every minute counts
Well-stocked support tables along the route
in Musina – it might not sound like much , but an extra 20 minutes on the Musina tarmac in full sunshine can break a man . Luckily , in the end we got a relatively cool day , with the high not quite breaching 30 degrees . I normally expect a few organisational issues with an inaugural marathon , and was hoping that all the water tables would have sufficient liquid refreshment . I ’ m pleased to report that the race organisation was spot on , with plenty to eat and drink at all the tables .
Lufuno Musenwa and the author both kept their promise
22 ISSUE 174 | www . modernathlete . co . za