THE RUNNING MANN
C o l u m n
Images : Lesley Shaw , Norrie Williamson & courtesy Channelle Makhele
Norrie Williamson took photos of the safety hazards and obstacles along the Epworth detour
Voices of Warning
Channelle is correct in that , and several people did in fact point out that squeezing 16,000 runners though a dark , narrow passageway with four 90-degree turns before the field has spread out is a recipe for disaster . Norrie Williamson and Anand Naicker were two of the people who immediately flagged this as an issue . In their capacity as the officially appointed Technical Delegates ( TDs ) for the race , representing KwaZulu- Natal Athletics ( KZNA ), they raised various safety concerns in an e-mail to the Race Director , Rowyn James , and other Comrades officials on 10 May .
However , the safety concerns were apparently of no concern to the Race Director , who failed to reply , or even acknowledge the mail . After Williamson followed up with a second mail , the Race Director finally replied 10 days later , choosing to ignore the safety concerns and rather took offense at the tone of the email : “ I do not appreciate your reference to the ‘ CMA office tardiness ’ and would expect a more professional approach than that from you / TD ’ s / KZNA !”
James continued , “ Lastly , I take instruction from the CMA Board , who I report to , and no-one else – and they instructed me to address a letter to KZNA regarding the TD appointment , which I have done , and until the CMA receive a satisfactory response from KZNA regarding the letter , the ‘ status quo ’ remains unchanged .”
Principled Objections
These are the facts that I have collated . The TDs were appointed on 28 February . Williamson began trying to engage with the Race Director on 9 March , but was continually rebuffed . The TDs should be notified of and must approve all route changes ( like that of the detour up Epworth Road at 3.5km ) and venue changes ( like that of the finish moving to Kingsmead ), but they found out about these changes via third-hand information .
My interpretation is that James ( and / or someone within the CMA ) was not happy with these TDs , potentially because he knew they would do the job properly and would stand up to bullying . Therefore , the CMA tried to get the TDs changed through KZNA . It is disturbing that the Race Director seemed far more concerned with dodging and belittling the TDs rather than discussing or even acknowledging safety concerns . To date , Williamson says the Race Director has not even enquired as to what the specific safety concerns were !
One of the slides from Norrie Williamson ’ s video presentation highlighting problems with the Epworth detour
Williamson and Naicker felt that their positions were untenable and resigned on 17th of May . I have a copy of Williamson ’ s resignation email that details various procedural breaches and apparent violations of the Safety in Sport Act . His resignation letter concludes :
Taken at face value , the current proposals have predictable outcomes that could be disastrous and considered negligent , if not reckless . The impact of overcrowding in sport is well documented , both internationally and locally , ( e . g . Ellis Park ). The outcomes are not to be taken lightly , and are not something the sport should be party to . It is emphasised that this comment is made based solely on the information at hand , given that the Race Director has failed to respond to the concerns already communicated .
In acknowledging the potential seriousness of these changes , together with the remaining lead time , and the lack of concern displayed by the Race Director and Board , as both a professional engineer , and Technical Delegate , I am unable to be further involved with the 2023 race .
Concerns About Safety
Naicker , who has vast experience as a senior athletics official and race referee , says that he and Williamson were in “ complete unison ” with their safety concerns and about the disregard for standard protocols . Having been involved as a technical official in various capacities over the past 20 consecutive Comrades , Naicker is in an ideal position to comment on the apparent slide in standards at the 2023 event .
He reflects on the situation and interactions with the Race Director : “ This astounded me , and immediately I felt that Comrades is not about what it stands for – it ’ s now a business that has its own interests , and personalities that have little or no regard for those that sacrifice with blood , sweat , tears and hard-earned money to be a part of this . I felt that this situation was so surreal . Surely safety , irrespective of their Safety Officer ’ s experience , is an integral part of Comrades . Having experienced and witnessed deaths in Comrades as a technical official , we cannot just pay lip service to this .”
Concerned for the safety of the runners and the integrity of Comrades , Williamson continued to probe . He visited the site of the route change and took photos of various safety hazards in Epworth Street , and violations of World Athletics standards . He put together a video presentation to highlight the dangers , and shared it on social media ( as well as at talks at running clubs ). He also appealed for runners to be careful along this section , as he was genuinely concerned about the risk of someone falling and actually being trampled , possibly resulting in serious injury , or even worse , death , and that no ambulance or medical help would be able to get access to an injured runner because of the congestion .
Tapping Local Knowledge
The route change is so fundamentally flawed , and obviously dangerous , that there is no possibility of a rational safety officer denying that congestion and resultant safety issues would occur . A safety officer defending the Epworth detour would be like a geologist trying to convince you to join the Flat Earth Society !
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