Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 19

PACESETTERS
Some of the Pacesetters when
they met up on the second
day of the Expo, to collect
their flags and build a bit of
Pacesetting spirit
Thank you
to our 2019
Comrades
Pacesetters
Back from the UK for another
Comrades Pacesetting run,
Gary Dixon (Sub-11:30)
was also interviewed
by the SABC
The Sub-10:30
bus on the big
screen at the
finish
The Sub-12:00 buses are
traditionally the biggest and
happiest, and they were ably
driven home by Shahieda Thungo
and Lucas Seleka
O
n Sunday 9 June, the 94 th Comrades Marathon
delivered one of the most memorable races
in the history of the event, as Edward Mothibi
and Gerda Steyn took line honours with heroic
performances, but for many runners further back
in the field, their real heroes on the day were the
Modern Athlete Comrades Marathon Pacesetters,
brought to you by Bonitas.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for our Pacesetters
in 2019. While some came home perfectly on time,
others had a proverbial bad day in the office and were
unable to complete the race, or were forced to let
their target time buses go when they were no longer
able to set the required pace. That is why we try to
allocate more than one Pacesetter to each target
time, because there are no guarantees in a race as
long as the Comrades – even the most experienced
Pacesetter has good and bad patches over 90-odd
kays! Still, there were many happy faces at the finish
line as at least one bus for each target time came
home on time.
Modern Athlete and Bonitas would like to thank
our Comrades Pacesetters for their incredible
spirit and camaraderie, and for being willing
to take on the responsibility of helping fellow
runners in the Ultimate Human Race.
Thulane ‘Tallguy’ Mlangeni was
quite the celebrity when he
brought in the Sub-10:30 bus
Long-time Pacesetter Jeff
Ramokoka once again brought
his Sub-11:00 bus home on time
Our two Sub-10:00
Pacesetters at the finish,
Siyabonga ‘Siya’ Khumalo
and Maropeng George
‘Rocky’ Mojela
#FromStartToFinish
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