Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 131, June 2020 June 2020 | Page 22

ROAD RUNNING
go through that much pain and suffering. It is truly brutal.
But at the same time, I believe anyone who wants it
enough can do it, and in doing so, experience one of the
greatest adventures they will ever know. The memories
we have now – not just of the race, but the entire leadup
from the training to the adventures in Durban and
surrounds each year – I am so incredibly grateful for.
I think it was Muhammad Ali who said he hated every
minute of training, but decided he would do it now and
live the rest of his life as a champion, and I’m so glad
we decided to do similar and give it a go. Yes, it is a
sacrifice – not just for you, but also your loved ones –
and it is difficult and downright unpleasant at times, but
looking back and thinking of all we have gotten from it,
the memories, the friends, the laughs and the incredible
experience that Comrades is, it really is something very
special, which I am incredibly grateful to be a part of.
Luke and Sean gritting their teeth in 2016
back, but once up, we were now in the home straight,
with the smell of victory in our noses.
The course with its new finish went underneath a railway
line before going up another steep hill, and as we got
into this dip just a few kays out, with every minute
crucial, Luke’s legs decided to lock… Solid, debilitating
cramps, to the point where he couldn’t move. We stood
there, panic in his voice as people streamed past on
their way to their medals. I thought he was going to cry,
not from pain, but because he was so close and we
were going to miss it because he couldn’t get his legs
to uncramp and move. It was absolutely heart-breaking,
and my worst memory of the race. I prayed so hard, and
after what seemed like ages, with many passing runners
shouting support, “Come on, guys,” he managed to start
moving again, and eventually even doing little runs.
It was now touch and go, and with every breath I could
hear him wincing in agony, all the way until I saw the
1km board with the pace car parked next to it displaying
just over 14 minutes remaining. “One more run, boy!
One more run and you’ve got this!” I screamed to him. If
he could even run just a small part of that last kilometre,
then we had the time to comfortably walk it in. And that
is what he did, and more. We ran past 1km and kept
going until I forced him to walk to prevent any potential
last cramp lockups. He was in pure survival mode and
it was awesome! We caught up with the 12-hour bus
under the bridge and followed them in run walking over
the line in pure emotional bliss at 11 hours 54 minutes!
Jim Harwood was shouting for us on one side of the
finish shoot, whilst Jayde and Gina were in tears as they
screamed support from the other! I saw the TV camera,
and knowing our friends and family were watching at the
club, raised my hands and just shouted at it. Luke was
in shock, not just because of what he had done to his
body, but because he could not believe we had actually
made it. Truth be told, we probably shouldn’t have
gotten there, but it didn’t matter, because we did! Tears
of happiness and relief were shed, and what a different
feeling that was compared to the bittersweet finish of the
previous year.
COMRADES 2017
Jayde Brammer 9:53:26
Sean Altern 11:54:19
Luke Altern 11:54:20
Devon Hansen DNQ
Ecstatic disbelief at the 2017 finish
CELEBRATORY MOOD
In the weeks after that run, we were all quite sick with
colds, but we also burnt a hole in Gina’s couch from
celebratory cigars. Also, party packs of Simba chips
were eaten guilt-free as meals, and quite a few botties
of red wine made their way down our throats, only to
sit in our foreheads the following morning. None of this
mattered, though, because we made it! Already, we were
talking about the next year, the 2018 Down, which was
going to be the last one for all four of us for quite a while,
and hopefully at the end of it there would be medals
coming home with each of us. It would then be a nice
break until we felt the need to make the journey again…
That said, I struggle recommending the Comrades to
anyone I care about, because I don’t want to see them
Post-2017 club run
EDITOR’S NOTE
As mentioned in the introduction of this article, Sean
Altern wrote this shortly after the 2017 Comrades,
and mentions at the end that the four mates were
planning to run the 2018 race. Well, we looked up
their results and found the following:
Jayde Brammer 8:52:08
Sean Altern 11:17:55
Devon Hansen 11:17:55
Luke Altern 11:30:56
So Jayde took more than an hour off his previous
best, and Luke comfortably finished well inside the
cut-off for his second medal, while Sean ran in with
Devon, who finally claimed a finisher’s medal to
round off this story. Sounds like Sean has another
chapter to add to this piece about friendship and
camaraderie! Perhaps we’ll publish that one here
someday in the future.
Images: Jetline Action Photo & courtesy Jayde Brammer & Sean Altern
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ISSUE 131 JUNE 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za