THE RUNNING MANN
C o l u m n
sign would have been funnier ). And there was also the mysterious large heart-shaped S2 , which had the local residents stumped . According to race organiser Charmaine van der Merwe , “ We would like to know ourselves , as this is a mystery here in town . We were even approached by our local newspaper to find out whether we were responsible for it with our races , but it has nothing to do with the marathon .” ( Sidenote : When race organisers spray paint distance markers on the road , is this called Grafeeti ?)
Biblelingual … when your sign is in English , but your services are in Afrikaans .
A few other signs caught my attention along the route . I was intrigued by a large advertising board ( in English ) for a local church whose final line noted “ Afrikaans ” services . I guess that this means they are Biblelingual ? There were also some interesting road names ... With all the current interest in UFC , and the revelation that despite being ranked number one in the world , Dricus du Plessis is only number seven in Boksburg , I am sure that there are some competent brawlers in Middelburg . I am not sure whether ‘ Hospitaal van der Merwe ’ is a place or a
person , but that would be a great name for a mixed martial artist !
After 16km in the Kanonkop suburb , we were finally directed into new territory . We crossed the Klein Olifants River and then headed past the Mhluzi township , which includes a gentle climb to the halfway mark . There are not that many hills in Middelburg , but one local runner did try to convince me that the gentle incline up Totius Road was “ tortuous .” I wasn ’ t convinced , but the entire route has 464m of climbing , so the gentle pulls do add up .
I would pay to watch Dricus du Plessis fight Hospitaal van der Merwe !
BRING US A SHRUBBERY !
Just like the Editor of this magazine , I am a big fan of Monty Python ’ s comedic films , and this race had me reciting parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail as I ticked through the kays . One of those scenes was where King Arthur and his party encounter the Knights who say Ni … because I spotted some very nice shrubberies . Strange the things that running marathons makes one think of !
The MMC route has a lot of out-and-backs , and some gentle pulls that add up to a total elevation gain of 464m . 45