Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 116, March 2019 | Page 20

THE RUNNING
MANN
By Stuart Mann
The aMAIZEing Race
When I was young and naïve I thought you had to wait until the end of January to run your first marathon of the year.
Luckily, I’m older and wiser now – and this newfound wisdom has unearthed two great options for those that want to get
their first marathon done a week earlier. Either go digging for diamonds in the Kalahari Desert at the Finlime Marathon, or
butter your mielie in Welkom at the Mielie Marathon!
(Marathon #202 / 19 January 2019)
The only shade in Odendalsrus is in the dogbox!
before the local dominee, Ds. Phillip McClaren, gave us a detailed route description
followed by a short prayer.
Hills Anywhere?
I
am a firm believer in a balanced diet. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why
I run – so that I can eat and drink whatever I like, whilst balancing the calorie-
counter books by running a marathon every weekend. However, I do recognise
the need to periodically consume the odd vegetable, and the Mielie Marathon
seemed like a healthy way to start 2019.
Welkom is an easy three-hour drive from Johannesburg, most of which is double-lane
highway down the N1. Although the drive is easy, getting out of your air-conditioned
car on arrival isn’t – it was still a scorching 36°C at 5pm when I collected my race
number, ‘running mielie’ shirt and a 1kg pack of mielie meal at registration.
The first 7km are through the suburbs and it wasn’t long before we hit the Welkom
city limits and started feeling the heat from the rising sun. Having said ‘Totsiens’
to Welkom, you head due north on the R30 through stereotypical Free State
landscape: Flat, dusty and hot. The gold price might fluctuate, but the altitude
remains a steady 1,350m in this part of the world! The one thing you don’t have to
worry about in Welkom is hills. There is only one hill in the entire region – aptly (but
very uncreatively) named Koppie Alleen (‘Only Hill’) – and the organisers make sure
that you go nowhere near it during the marathon!
Welkom has yellow mielies above ground and yellow gold below. Until recently,
25% of all gold globally was mined here. The goldmines provide the only contrast
to the monotonous, flat landscape. Whilst passing one of the mines, a conversation
started within our running group where we all agreed that these days only
politicians can afford to wear gold... the rest of us get to eat mielies.
This year’s event had just over 800 participants equally spread over the four
distances on offer – a full marathon, half marathon, 10km and 5km ‘Colour Run’
for the kids (which I suggest they rename to the “Children of the Corn” Fun Run).
With heat a big factor in this part of the world, we got going at 5:30am, but not
You hit the neighbouring town of Odendaalsrus at the 17km mark. As luck would
have it, I bumped into local legend (and Odendaalsrus resident), Louis Massyn,
who holds the joint record of 46 Comrades finishes. Four decades ago, all the way
back in 1979, Louis and a few friends decided that Welkom needed a marathon,
so they grabbed the husk by the ears and planted the seed that is now the oldest
marathon in the Free State.
Louis completed his 38th Mielie this year and I enjoyed a few kilometres in his
company. He relayed a lovely story about how he used hometown advantage to its
fullest to win the race in 1984: It was just another long run for him, cruising around
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ISSUE 116 MARCH 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
They Breed Them Tough