Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 121, August 2019 | Page 11

IN THE LEAD
Zintle Mokoka
“Her enthusiasm is
infectious, and everyone
who comes into contact
with her is soon inspired,
and almost always
leaves with a smile”
of Athletics South Africa, so she has a rather busy
schedule. And you can also add Facebook guru
extraordinaire to that schedule, because if you need
any information on road running, Colleen either has
it at her fingertips, or knows someone who does! In
fact, there’s a good chance you will actually find the
information you are looking for on her Facebook wall,
because more often than not she has anticipated the
typical questions runners ask, and already posted it!
WALKING START
Colleen’s involvement in the sport started some years
back when she took up walking to lose weight, after
falling out of a boat during a family outing to a dam,
and not being able to get back in. “I realised I had to
do something, so I started to walk three times a week
with Run/Walk for Life in Randburg. In those days,
because Run/Walk for Life was not a running club and
you needed a license number to compete in events,
I joined Randburg Harriers, as I wanted to walk in
races.”
The bug had bitten and Colleen, who admits she
simply cannot sit still, soon became involved in the
running of the club. From there it was a short step
to officiating at race walking events, and then road
running events. Now, Colleen can be found working as
a race referee at illustrious events such as Comrades
and Om Die Dam. And from there, it was a really short
step to becoming involved first in the administration of
Central Gauteng Athletics, and then with the Athletics
South Africa Road Running Commission.
The only part of all this work that is paid for is her teaching
vocation. The rest is all done as a volunteer. Talk about a
truly selfless servant of the sport, which owes Colleen a
huge debt of thanks. People of this calibre are seemingly
few and far between in the modern world.
Continuing her
Father’s Legacy
Zintle Mokoka ( Sinqe )
Mention the name Zithulele Sinqe and the athletics
experts will rattle off comments such as “incredible
marathoner” and “one of the all-time greats.” They’ll
also wax lyrical about “When he ran that 2:08:04 in
1986, he was the fifth-fastest ever marathoner in the
world.” Others will remember his 60:11 half marathon
time from 1987, when he was just beaten on the line
by Matthews Temane. Both were given the same time,
and it was the fastest time ever run in the world at
that time!
Zet, as he was affectionately known, would go on to
win the tough Soweto Marathon and the Two Oceans
Marathon, both on two occasions, and he inspired
many an athlete to don running shoes, not just
through his scintillating times, but also because he
was such a charismatic person. He was instrumental
in taking the sport to the people, as he would travel
far and wide to find young talented runners and help
coach them.
The late Zet Sinqe inspiring the youth
HARD WORKER
A typical day for Colleen begins with her waking at
3am – she is naturally a very early riser – and then
it is time to update various road running pages on
Facebook with all sorts of information, before heading
off to school around 6am to catch up on admin before
heading to class. This goes on until 3pm, then it is
either working on Athletics South Africa administration
or Randburg Harriers admin. Colleen is now also
involved in the new Zithulele Sinqe Series, serving on
the LOC (local organising committee), so a typical day
can easily end around 10pm.
11