ROAD RUNNING
Zubayr and Lameez at the start of the 2022 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon ( with shoes .)
As she approached the halfway mark of the 2022 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon , Lameez Isaacs found herself thinking that she was a failure … as a mother . That ’ s because it had been a rocky start to the morning of the race , when she discovered that her 22-year-old autistic son , Zubayr , had forgotten to pack his running shoes , prompting a panicked phone call back home to her husband , Faizel , to jump in the car and dash through from Bellville to Green Point with the shoes .
“ We stayed in a hotel the night before the race , so we would be close to the start and lessen anxiety on race morning . I booked us in the same room , in the same hotel , as the year before when we ran our first marathon , as Zubayr likes that kind of thing , but this year I made him responsible for packing everything , and he forgot his shoes ,” says Lameez . “ I only realised later that when we leave for a race , he puts his running shoes on , and that ’ s why he forgot them , but on the morning , I had a real mom meltdown ! After my hubby rushed through with the shoes , we then had to rush to get to the start , so we expended a lot of energy on all of that . Zubayr just kept apologising – that ’ s another thing he does – but we got there , and we started on time .”
After all the fuss , Lameez says she found it hard to get into the run , as her mind was racing . “ I felt like a failure as a mother , because I was so emotional at the start , and as I was running , I was thinking about the
future , getting our lives back on track , and helping Zubayr stand on his own feet . I realised I needed to trust the process , and trust him , so as we reached halfway , on the spur of the moment , I told him I think he needs to do the second half on his own , and that I was going to slow down and wait for his aunt . He said , trust me , I can do this .”
Hard to Let Go
This was not the first time that Zubayr was running on his own . In fact , he ran solo in his first 5km event in 2017 , at Cell C Day of the Races , and since then had finished several races without his mother alongside , but this would be his first marathon race alone , and in just his second marathon outing , too . As Lameez waited for her younger sister , Lee-Anne to catch up to her , she says she couldn ’ t help worrying about her son , but her concern soon eased .
“ After I left him , I walked for a while , so that I wouldn ’ t catch him or see him . It was incredibly tough to let go , but I wanted it to be his achievement . And that ’ s when I saw once again how wonderful the running community is , because as I passed friends supporting on the route , they first asked me what happened , why I was not with Zubayr , but then told me he looked fine and was running strongly ,” recalls Lameez .
“ That allowed me to focus on my own run at last , and on helping my baby sister , who wanted to run her first sub-six . She was ecstatic when we finished in 5:58 , and my day was complete when I saw Zubayr waiting for me at the finish . He had run just under 5:30 , and I know it must have been a tough day out for him , because we reached halfway on pace for a 4:30 , but it was very hot , and they had changed the second half of the route , making it much hillier . Still , I could tell he was very proud of what he had achieved , and so was I .”
Due to his condition , Zubayr is a man of few words , and he speaks in a slow monotone , so his description of the race is short , but you can nevertheless hear some pride in his voice . “ I found this second marathon easier than the year before , and I was happy to go . I never said a word to anybody in the second half , I just focused on getting to the end , and when I finished , I got something to drink , then went back to the finishline to wait for my mom and aunty Lee-Anne to finish . My mom was really happy for me , because I was brave back there .”
Challenging Times
The Isaacs family has travelled a long road with autism . Lameez and Faizel have three children , with sons Zubayr ( 22 ) and Ziyadd ( 21 ) both on the spectrum . Their eldest , daughter Alia ( 24 ), is currently in her final year of an engineering degree . While Zubayr has a milder form of autism , Ziyadd is nonverbal , which means that if he gets lost or separated
Lameez and her sister , Lee-Anne , with Zubayr after the marathon
A running family – Zubayr with parents Lameez and Faizel
35