|
C o
l u m n
|
THE RUNNING MANN |
One of many eyewitness accounts about the Epworth congestion |
|
a statement in writing that the ASA delegate ’ s concerns were not accepted , that the route was not to be changed , and the race would be run as planned . With a proverbial gun held to their head the Thursday before the event , the ASA Technical Delegates had limited options : Either they acquiesced to the Race Director , or they would have had to pull the plug on the entire event ! |
John Hall , who was race director of the Maritzburg City Marathon for 23 years and has been involved in road running since 1976 , and who possibly knows the Pietermaritzburg streets better than anyone else , was another dissenting voice . The normally reserved Hall referred to the route change as “ insane ,” and felt that he could not in good conscience fail to raise the Epworth issue before the race was held . An extract from Hall ’ s full message to the CMA Chairman Mqondisi Ngcobo is below :
I ’ ve been watching , with fear and trepidation , the progress around the insane change of route at the end of Alan Paton Avenue . Having lived in the city all my life , and watched , supported and run Comrades and many other events , I cannot believe this decision . If one cannot run on the freeway for some reason ( and those two lanes are closed anyway ), then Alexandra Road / Richie Road , is the logical alternative . If that is out of the question , then right at Ridge Road , angle into Oribi and left at Washington worked for years . IT IS WITH HORROR THAT I FOUND OUT that the ‘ solution is to put 4 or 6 Ambulances in the area .’ This is tantamount to an admission of the danger !!!! Think hard !!
I know the area intimately and know that ambulances can easily leave the area via Shores Road , the Agricultural Faculty or Epworth School , BUT how do you get an injured person who requires an ambulance to evacuate them out of that crowd at that bottleneck ?! Solutions are change of route or start in waves .
Right now , all I can do is pray that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING goes wrong , that 16,000 ( I believe ) runners are patient and stand around saying ‘ after you ’ and don ’ t push and shove , having lost valuable time for which they ran so hard to get a seeding . Again , I reiterate that my prayer is that I don ’ t have to say , “ I told you so .”
What was the response of the CMA Chairman ? A very polite but casual brush-off reply that , “ We will take your kind contribution to heart and factor it in as we plan for the next Down Run .” To be fair to the Chairman , he only received the message from Hall a couple of days before the race , and it seems unlikely that anyone or anything can change the Race Director ’ s mind once it ’ s made up .
Applying Some Logic
Meanwhile , what ’ s the official post-race response from the Race Director ? “ Last year we had a situation where police had not barricaded traffic on the N3 correctly , so we decided to change the route to ensure runner safety . Yes , it was narrower , and there was some congestion , but we had discussed this change with the technical delegates from Athletics South Africa ( ASA ) and two safety officers , who were satisfied that the route did not pose a danger .”
This begs the question … Comrades pays the relevant traffic authorities about R1 million per race , so surely if the “ police had not barricaded traffic on the N3 correctly ,” then that is the problem to address ? It ’ s really not that difficult . Holding the authorities to account and putting safeguards in place to ensure that the police do what they have been paid to do would seem a far more logical and sensible approach than flagrantly endangering the lives of your runners !
When Williamson requested feedback from KZNA in the final week before Comrades ( as , despite James ’ proclamations , it was clear that ASA Technical Delegates had raised concerns ), he was informed that an independent safety officer , from a local construction site , had been asked to do an independent assessment . However , it is unclear whether this construction site safety officer had any significant road race experience .
Furthermore , Williamson disputes claims made by the Race Director that the ASA Technical Delegate was “ satisfied that the route did not pose a danger ” and has
The real question to be asked is whether we have to wait for someone to needlessly die on the route before this apparent negligence and disregard for fundamental safety is addressed . James claims to have a voracious appetite for runner safety and welfare , but either lacks the ability to take outside counsel ( even that of experts ), or displays complete apathy to his responsibilities .
Not Much of a Reaction
This is all little consolation to Channelle . Her bookings for the Cape Town Marathon in October are now null and void . Her plans to run a maiden Two Oceans in 2024 also seem unlikely . Still , one can at least hope that her broken leg and shattered dreams will change the apathetic , negligent attitude and decision-making process of those entrusted with the national treasure that is the Comrades Marathon . Sadly , based on the lack of accountability across the board ( or should that be Board ) from Comrades House , it appears more likely that Channelle will just be another forgotten fallen Comrade on the road to Durban as standards at the Ultimate Human Race decline and the Spirit of Comrades evaporates .
On 27 June , Channelle sent an email to Comrades detailing her experience and the repercussions of the Race Director ’ s reckless routing . It took the CMA over a week to reply , with two sterile lines of text . The reply was impersonal and lacked empathy . Whoever wrote it did not even bother to sign the letter personally :
Thank you for your email and we are very sorry to hear that your race had to be cut short on the day . Your concerns are duly noted and will be raised . We hope this can be remedied for future events to avoid further injuries .
Kind Regards Comrades Marathon Association
Let ’ s hope that the nameless “ Comrades Marathon Association ” staff member is not the same person who ’ ll be looking after runner safety at Comrades 2024 . Sequels are nearly always worse than the original – even more so in the horror genre , where the body count always rises . The last thing Comrades needs is a sequel to the ‘ Nightmare on Epworth Street .’ Unfortunately , this is just one of the possible movie tag lines we can expect in 2024 , with ‘ Start Line Stampede ’ and ‘ Kingsmead Krush ’ also scheduled for production if the CMA does not urgently address their negligent approach to safety .
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 .
Images : Lesley Shaw , Norrie Williamson & courtesy Channelle Makhele
28 ISSUE 160 | www . modernathlete . co . za