Apology Offered
When I chatted to Celi Makhoba , he was quick to apologise , saying , “ A sincere and humble apology to everyone who was affected . To lose water is a serious problem . You cannot afford to run short of water .” He also thanked the Chillie Runners supporters group and the anonymous person who connected a hose pipe to a tap on the promenade for their help in supplying water to the athletes during the race .
On the lack of water he said , “ I take full responsibility , but it does not mean that I did it .” According to Makhoba , “ We ordered 100,000 water sachets from the company called Splash . They wrote to me [ to confirm the order ]. The same company sponsored us with 60,000 energy sachets and 16 trestle tables . We were supposed to be driving around at 3am in the morning .”
A pancake flat double-lap route including a long stretch along the promenade
As to why there was no water on race day , “ I communicated with the owner of Splash on Thursday afternoon . On Saturday I phoned to double check and give a breakdown of quantities for each table . He was not answering . I tried a number of times . I ’ ve done so many events using him and he ’ s never let me down . Thank God the weather was with us .”
Thanks to the weather , runners had much of the promenade to ourselves
I asked what he did on race day to try to rectify the situation . Bottled water had been ordered from Coca-Cola for the finish line , and this was redistributed to the tables . However , he seemed surprised when I told him that marathoners running at 3-hour pace did not get any water , and the only water I had enroute was where the tables had gone out and bought their own .
Chillie Runners to the rescue
Time for a Beer !
The one point of interest along the industrial section is the Lion Match Company headquarters at 20 Mahatma Gandhi Road , where an impressive lion statue guards the front entrance . The lion also comes with sound effects , as I found out to my surprise when I approached the beast and a canned “ MGM movie-style ” roar erupted . I thought it was on a motion detector , but it looks like it was a case of perfect timing , as I ’ ve been told the roar only happens every hour on the hour .
If anyone doubted that subliminal advertising works , after finishing the race I headed over to Campbell , who was diligently guarding the Hillcrest Villagers cooler box . Being the gracious host that he is , Campbell offered to buy me a beer , and after a marathon sans water , that was an offer I was not going to refuse . I genuinely reached into the cooler intending to grab a small lite beer , but when my hand came out , I suddenly realised that I had a large Lion in my hands . I ’ m blaming the Lion Match Company for that one !
Suffering in Comparison
The organisation of this race by the local running administration is in stark contrast to the Best of the Best Marathon that I ran in Durban in February . The latter had the same start / finish venue , is organised by one of the local running clubs , Ama Ravens , and was flawless in terms of execution . Perhaps it ’ s time to leave the running of companies to actual businesspeople rather than politicians – and the running of races ( literally and figuratively ) to actual running clubs , rather than to the administrators .
Although there were plenty of clouds at this year ’ s Durban City Marathon , there were a few silver linings amidst the doom and gloom . This is a flat , attractive route that could turn into a major event in the hands of competent organisation . Until that happens , however , there are better marathons to run and travel for . However , if KZNA does stick with Durban City Multi Sport Club as the organisers for future years , then a catchy race slogan would be , “ All slaughter , no water !”
The power of subliminal advertising … led to me slaying the king of the beasts at the finish
Speaking of politicians , there were some noteworthy participants in this year ’ s event . The Deputy Minister of Health , Sibongiseni Dhlomo , completed the 10km in 1:22 and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal , Sihle Zikalala , ran the half marathon in 2:18 . Post-race , I wondered whether Zikalala had ( once again ) diverted all the water to his residence in La Mercy , as happened after the recent storm damage to the water supply , but since the La Mercy Residents ’ Association didn ’ t capture video footage of a Splash Distributors truck outside his house the day before the race , I don ’ t think we can pin this service delivery issue on him .
As for the route , it ’ s pancake flat , and as an out-of-towner , I enjoyed the novelty of the lengthy 7.5km section along the promenade , with the added bonus that there was no traffic to worry about and the bad weather kept the peddlers away , so we had the promenade largely to ourselves . At the 10km mark , you do a short dog ’ s leg up the last pier on the promenade , and then venture into the backside of Durban ( pun intended ). This is the most boring part of the route , but it goes by quickly as you do a 5km inland loop before heading back oceanside towards the Suncoast Casino .
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 240 marathons and ultras around the world , and his current mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , so he is particularly looking forward to running the 45k Timbavati Traverse on 9 July . If you ’ d like him to run your race or talk at your event , email therunningmann @ gmail . com . You can follow his adventures on Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and on his popular blog .
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