ROAD RUNNING
The following year he ran another marathon in East London , then lined up for his first ultra at the Two Oceans Marathon . “ I didn ’ t know Cape Town or the race route at all , just lined up . Another runner told me five hours would be a good time to run , and near the end of the race I was passing lots of runners who had seemingly stopped , or were walking . When I crossed the line , I thought I had broken five hours , because I had only started my watch when I crossed the start line , but my official time was actually 5:02 .”
Notes of Thanks
The Comrades brings runners of every walk of life together , but some need financial support to be there
Later in 2009 he ran his first Comrades , and admits that once again he went into it not knowing what to expect . “ Same as with the Two Oceans , I had no idea what I was doing , or how to pace myself , I just rocked up in Pietermaritzburg and ran . I thought I would be able to go under nine hours , but clocked 9:34 . I was a naïve runner who pitched up and just gave it a go . Now I treat my running like a science , but can ’ t run that kind of time any more . In fact , I would be delighted if I could still clock 9:34 now !” he jokes .
Time for Change
By 2010 , Tom says he was burnt out by his work on the Wild Coast , so he accepted a new job in Cape Town and became a consultant . In 2014 he returned to the UK temporarily for work , but was back in SA the following year , before moving to Johannesburg in 2017 . He did another year on the Wild Coast in 2020 , and was there during the second and third waves of the COVID pandemic . He helped design and implement a successful COVID-19 vaccine roll-out at Madwaleni Hospital in the Eastern Cape , which led to vaccination rates of above 90 % among the over-60s . “ During the third wave , not a single patient required hospital treatment for COVID , let alone any deaths , despite there being high numbers of cases in the villages in that area ,” says Tom proudly .
Since 2021 , he has been in Johannesburg full-time , working for Right to Care , a leading healthcare
Several of the runners who were helped by the Raising Comrades Spirits Fund wrote personal notes of thanks to Tom , and we ’ d like to share a few of them here . We have not published the runners ’ names , to respect their privacy , and have thus edited these messages ever so slightly , but the Modern Athlete team has seen all the original mails and can attest to the genuine gratitude expressed in all of them .
“ Good morning , Dr Tom , I wanted to thank you from my bottom of my heart for helping me out with the Comrades entry and God bless you so can able to more Comrades my wish is to meet you .”
“ Wow , thank you very much Tom , I am short of words to thank you , but my club elders and executive team will have to thank you . From me I wanna say many more blessings must come your way ... many , many more , thanks !”
“ Good evening , Sir . We would like to thank you for your assistance for allowing our member to run the 2022 Comrades Marathon . We will also like to give great thanks to the people who contributed to the foundation that you started . Thank you , again . God bless the hands that assist those who are in need . We will pray for you and your Foundation more than we pray for ourself . In our language , we say Modimo keo atlhonolofatse seatla se se abang .”
“ Thank you so much , I have received the money and definitely I will love to join you on the road . Please , let ’ s make time .”
“ Hi Tom , I am really grateful for your concern and effort to make my wish as a participant in this year ’ s race come true . Thanks once more for not giving up on me .”
Tom is asking more runners to put their hands up and help raise funds to help deserving runners
organisation started in 2001 to address the public healthcare emergency of HIV and AIDS in South Africa . He also spends about 10 % of his time seconded to Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg .
Through the years , Tom has continued his running . While living in Cape Town he added a few more Two Oceans medals to his collection – he currently has five – and also complete the Comrades again in 2012 and 2013 . He missed the Comrades in 2014 while back in the UK , then ran his fourth upon returning to SA in 2015 . He entered the 2016 race but didn ’ t run it , as his son had been born late in 2015 and parental duties with the young baby were his priority that year . He was back at the Comrades start in 2017 , and went on to add three more medals before COVID saw all events cancelled . Now , with seven medals to his name , Tom says he is determined to push on to 10 and earn his Green Number . “ I ’ m just excited for the race to be back on after a two-year hiatus , and can ’ t wait for race day on 28 August !”
Paying it Forward
In terms of the funds raised through his campaign , Tom says that he did not get as many applications for assistance as he expected , possibly due to launching the campaign so close to the closing date for entries , so some of the funds are still left over . “ I gave it some thought what to do with the rest of the money . I may still pay out some more to those who have entered this year , but I am thinking of rolling the remaining funds over to next year , and once again paying half the entry fee for runners who can ’ t afford the full amount .”
“ That said , entry fees may be lower next year , so I may decide to pay the whole entry fee for deserving runners . That may also make things easier , as I can then pay the money directly to the CMA for those runners ’ entries , instead of having to pay money out to individual runners , or their clubs . There is no perfect way of distributing money , as I have found this year , but most importantly , next year I don ’ t want this to by just my thing – I would like others to be involved , too ,” he adds .
Tom ’ s BackaBuddy page is still open , so anybody interested in helping deserving runners can still donate at www . backabuddy . co . za / tom-boyles , and if you ’ d like to make contact with Tom , you can reach him at raisingcomradesspirits @ gmail . com .
Images : Action Photo SA
36 ISSUE 152 | www . modernathlete . co . za