MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
THE RUNNING
MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
This year I have spent a lot of time writing about clowns , some of whom are unfortunately connected to some of the larger races in SA , and you could say I was acquiring a severe case of coulrophobia – which is , of course , the fear of clowns . However , I seem to have developed a unique strain called antici-coulrophobia , which is a fear about what the aforementioned clowns will do or say next , which then means I have to spend a great deal of time writing about it !
Fortunately , I was confident that I could find a 100 % successful cure for extreme antici-coulrophobia by facing my fears head on and self-medicating at the clownthemed MadMac Marathon . The theme was chosen because the race venue is the site of the old Boswell Wilkie Circus in Randvaal , and there is still plenty of circus apparatus and remnants of the now defunct circus around .
A Cure for Coulrophobia
Given the ‘ clown show ’ that has been the norm in SA running circles much of this year , it seemed appropriate that the MadMac Marathon in the Vaal Triangle area of Gauteng had a clown theme this year , and it made for a fun outing as I added another marathon to my list . Marathon # 274 / Unique Marathon # 168 / 6 October 2024
After collecting my race number and goodie bag , I noticed that the Disaster Management and Emergency Response team were ready for all eventualities , should the proverbial hit the fan , with a single fire extinguisher and a couple of hundred rolls of toilet paper on site . I was very interested to see that in the Midvaal , you can buy ‘ virgin ’ toilet paper , which is apparently more expensive than the ‘ only used once ’ variety . ( I am assured that they make sure that the pre-used rolls have only been used on one side .)
Julian Karp has promised to dye his hair for next year ’ s race
Although Midvaal is far from Sandton in spirit , it is close by car – just 40 minutes – and with plenty of parking at the old showgrounds , this makes it one of the most accessible races in Gauteng . I drove my good friend and fellow marathon junkie Julian Karp to the race , as he had run the Shikhumba Marathon the previous day , near Giyani in Limpopo Province , and needed to rest his back before running another back-to-back marathon . Julian likes to run back-to-back marathons and then ‘ cyberbullies ’ those of us who prefer to have at least one beer-drinking day a weekend ( as you can see from the video above right sent to me by Casious Nkuna , who was supporting along the Shikhumba route ).
They differentiate between ‘ virgin ’ and ‘ only used once ’ toilet paper in Midvaal
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