THE RUNNING MANN
C o l u m n
Running marathons in Musina is always hard work , but Mokgaetji Monakisi got the work done
“ no shi ( r ) ts ” given attitude towards their runners . I especially love the design of the shirt on the left and it is now in ‘ heavy rotation ,’ because I like to wear shirts from obscure marathons to the expos of big races , to establish my marathon running connoisseur credentials .
There were about 425 runners across all distances in Musina , but just 50 finishers in the marathon . Therefore , if you see me wearing a marathon shirt , there ’ s a good chance that it will be from Musina , and if you see someone wearing a Musina Marathon 2024 shirt , there ’ s a good chance it ’ s me . And , honest to God , to prove my point , I can confirm that I am writing this race report sitting in a hotel room in Hyderabad , India , wearing one of my Musina shirts … and I flew here wearing the other one !
Signing Out
At the finish , I jokingly asked Musenwa why we weren ’ t served chicken dust at the end of the marathon , and he answered in all earnestness , “ Unfortunately , the chicken dust took too long to prepare , and we weren ’ t going to be able to serve it on time . We opted for braaied lamb chops , wors , and pap instead . Apologies that we still couldn ’ t serve you on time .”
Rudzani Mandiwana . I ran his first event , the Elias Resort Marathon , on the 28th of December last year , which was enjoyable , but had a couple of issues . He has diligently taken the feedback from runners and keeps innovating in and improving his events . Furthermore , he has added half a dozen new village running events to the Limpopo calendar , often dipping into his own pocket to do so .
Once Julian had made his return to the finish , we started our journey back home – as mentioned , unfortunately before the braai meat was served . This got me thinking that there is an opportunity to recognise the runner who takes the longest time to finish . I ’ d propose a special ‘ Chicken Dust Award ’ for the last runner home in the marathon . After all , having spent many hours getting grilled under the Musina sun , the winner will definitely be very well done . And that would truly be a case of asphalt to ashes , charcoal to chicken dust !
The author and Julian Karp signing out from the Musina Marathon
Mandiwana also introduced me to local hero Rufus Photo , who ran the 10km as the event ’ s special guest . With four gold medals from eight finishes at Comrades , Photo is one gold or two finishes away from earning his Green Number , and I took advantage of the opportunity to have a photo taken with him .
Two for One Special
Perhaps the biggest highlight from the Musina Marathon is that you get a second shirt on finishing – a pleasant difference to some race organisers , who employ a
Images : Stuart Mann
The author ’ s photo with Rufus Photo ( and co-organiser Rudzani Mandiwana )
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 260 marathons and ultras around the world , and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , while his dream is to get sponsorships from a shoe company ( to pay for his running shoes ), a travel company ( to pay for his race travels ), and a beer company , so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style . You can follow all his adventures on his popular Running Mann blog .
Two shirts for the price of one at this marathon
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