ROAD RUNNING
The Voice of
You ’ ll find Madumetja Donald Mathipa behind the microphone at many races in the Gauteng area , greeting you the minute he sees you , whether you are a supporter or a runner , with something unique to say about each person , but while he loves doing race commentary , his real passion lies in his hometown race in Tembisa . – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
Running the 2014 Two Oceans Ultra
Donald at Comrades 2018
Donald is no slouch when it comes to running . He boasts a 10km PB of 30:38 , has clocked 1:05:11 for the half marathon , and ran a 2:21:23 marathon . He has also earned silver medals in both his Old Mutual Two Oceans runs , with a best of 3:30:08 for 44 th place in 2011 , and earned a Comrades silver in 2015 for his 6:46:08 finish for 89 th position . But it is as an announcer that many Gauteng runners know him .
He started his announcing ‘ career ’ in 2008 when he ran for the Powerade team managed by the late George Koertzen , who at the time was the foremost race announcer in Gauteng . “ I was doing a course in communication science at UNISA and approached him , because I wanted to add to my skills . He asked when I was available and that was it ,” recalls Donald . “ I did my first stint at the start of the Vodacom Country Challenge and then he used me at more races . He also sent me to Swaziland so I can say I am an international race commentator !”
However , while Donald can be seen on the mic most weekends , this is not what he considers a career . “ I love talking at races and have fun with the runners , but for me this is a sideline . I really want to see races in the townships grow and uplift the communities , in particular in
Tembisa , where I have lived since 2009 .”
The Dream
Donald originally hails from Mpumalanga , where he honed his early running career . “ I was good over the shorter distances , up to the half marathon , but I did the longer stuff because that was the only way I could run full time . But my heart and my body are in the shorter distances .” He moved to the Kempton Park area to be able train at Esselen Park with the Nedbank Soweto team , including future Comrades winner Modibe Ludwick Mamabolo , but like so many promising athletes , Donald had to work to live and thus could not focus solely on running .
He also found that the mileage required to run Comrades as a contender did not agree with his body , and since he couldn ’ t earn a living just racing the shorter distances , he had to shelve his dream of being a professional athlete . Instead he ploughed all his energy into what was to eventually become the Tembisa Mile . “ We do not have many well organised and supported races in the townships , but it is important that we do have events here , for a number of reasons . It brings the community together and they take ownership and take pride in it . It also opens up opportunities to the community either to run , or to get into organising events .”
The Mission
So Donald embarked on a journey in 2010 that changed his life , when he and a few others in Tembisa decided to put on a road race . “ We started with an 8km and 3km race . We wanted a competitive race with medals and prize money in a township , but it wasn ’ t easy , we really struggled in the beginning , and so decided to change the 8km to a 5km in 2011 . We had some leftover T-shirts from other races and used them as incentives , and some of the better runners came , but the masses didn ’ t get T-shirts , because
Images : Jetline Action Photo , Manfred Seidler & courtesy of Tembisa Mile
12 ISSUE 110 SEPTEMBER 2018 / www . modernathlete . co . za