THE ED ’ S DESK the ed ’ s desk by SEAN FALCONER
Sean Falconer
THE ED ’ S DESK the ed ’ s desk by SEAN FALCONER
Safety First !
In my last Ed ’ s letter , published just before the Comrades Marathon , I wrote about my memories of covering and working at the Comrades , and I ended by saying that I looked forward to all the stories that would come out of the 96th edition of the Ultimate Human Race . Little did I know that the race would result in one heck of a furore – an outbreak of public anger – as various things seemed to go wrong on the day , from seeding , security and sound at the start , through bottlenecks and cut-offs , to an empty finish line several minutes before the final 12-hour cut-off .
Sadly , it had all started so well , with Tete Dijane and Gerda Steyn both setting new race records , and Johannes Mosehla becoming the oldest ever finisher of the race , to mention just three of the many achievements on the day . On a personal note , I also took great pride in watching the Official Comrades Pacesetters coming home , as I was once again part of the leadership team that selected and organised them . I had a terrific day following their progress and feeding info to the SuperSport television commentators , who did a great job of giving the ‘ bus drivers ’ some much-deserved recognition as they led their buses in .
The story also attracted mainstream attention , outside of the running community , including a disappointingly bland Carte Blanch television ‘ expose ,’ but I feel too much focus was placed on the cut-offs and empty finish line , while not nearly enough was said about the safety issues . I ’ m not trying to downplay the cut-off issue , or ignore the incredible disappointment that the cut off runners must have experienced , but the cut-off controversy probably affected at most a few hundred runners , while the safety issues affected the entire field , potentially putting over 16,000 runners at risk . That ’ s why I say the safety issue is far more important .
The Irony of Timing
Having nearly finished this edition of the mag , I sat down to write this Ed ’ s Letter , on the same day that I heard the tragic news that a 46-year-old runner was killed during the Washie 100 Miler in the Eastern Cape , having apparently been hit by a bus . The Washie runs along a notoriously dangerous road , partly at night , and many a runner has endured close shaves during this race , so I think it is a minor miracle that this tragedy only occurred during the 45th edition of the race .
Just the day before the Washie tragedy , the Comrades Marathon Association finally issued a media release , seven weeks after the race , to ostensibly address all the issues raised by the running community . Unfortunately , let ’ s just say that it was underwhelming . That ’ s about as diplomatic as I can put it … because it didn ’ t actually address most of the issues , most notably the safety issues . That apparently only merited a single , vague sentence !
For this reason , I am glad that this edition of Modern Athlete takes a closer look at the safety concerns that arose from this year ’ s Comrades . I know many of you are already suffering ‘ reader fatigue ’ from the repeated mention of the Comrades 2023 issues , but I also think that ‘ just letting it rest ’ now will potentially mean that the problems get swept under the proverbial rug , which could see it all happening again next year , which could end in more tragedy . I feel that the more the running community collectively highlights the problems at Comrades , the sooner we will see positive change .
Sean Falconer
But then came that empty finish line just before the end , and immediately , many of us knew something was not quite right . I have been watching and covering the Comrades for nearly 40 years , and I had never seen that before . I remember turning to my fiancée , in shock , and saying , “ What just happened ?”
Controversial Coverage
Now , unless you ’ ve been living under a proverbial rock , you ’ ll know that this story blew up spectacularly in the days following the race , with two of our columnists in this mag – Stuart Mann , a . k . a . The Running Mann , and Norrie Williamson – amongst the leading voices of dissent tackling the various complaints and issues . Things took a few ugly turns along the way , and I did not agree with everything said by these writers as well as others , but I very much agree with the view that several aspects of the Comrades need serious attention before next year ’ s race .
Image : Nicole Hayes
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