C o l u m n
THE RUNNING MANN
would still expect the high standard one has come to experience at the Jackie Gibson . Another basic that was missing from the race were distance markers along the route . However , there is some mitigation for the organisers , who have also promised to address these issues for the 2025 event .
Meanwhile , I certainly did not have an appreciation of how much complexity is added to a race when you close a major highway , as explained by Nathalie Roelf , spokesperson for Johannesburg Harriers . “ We underestimated the time of the closure of the freeway to the start of the race . The difficult task about the freeway is that we needed the whole freeway to be shut before even placing a single piece of equipment on the road . Once all the entries / exits on the race route have been shut , we have to wait for the police to give a green light that the road is now clear . Only then can we start placing equipment . So many things did not go according to plan on the morning of the race . All we can say is that , many lessons were learnt in 2024 , and 2025 will be a bigger and a better year .”
Safety in numbers ( and near this SAPS runner ) in downtown Johannesburg
The M1 Highway presents runners with a different view of Joburg
The race has full road closures along most of the route
Enjoying the early morning sunshine on quiet , clean streets
the provincial government did sponsor crime wardens to supplement our security at the race venue .”
Closing the freeway is a major coup , she adds . “ It was not an easy task . With Jackie Gibson , it used to take us less than an hour to do a dry run with the JMPD , but with Johannesburg City Marathon , it took us months to find the most workable solution to close the freeway . Even a week before the race , there were so many uncertainties . We really appreciate the great work that was done by JMPD to make sure that the event was a success .”
I really enjoyed the downtown Joburg part of the route , and it is a pity a bit more of the city itself cannot be explored . One of the high points of the route ( metaphorically ) and the definite high point ( literally ) is Constitution Hill , just before the 25km mark , which reduced most of the those around me to a constitutional walk until the summit was breached at 1788m above sea level . Another drawcard on this section of the route is the opportunity to run over Nelson Mandela Bridge without the risk of getting mown down by a taxi . Whilst not quite as spectacular as the Sydney Harbour Bridge , the Nelson Mandela Bridge does have the benefit of having far fewer Australians around it .
Another race highlight is running across Nelson Mandela Bridge
Going Downtown
Knowing this now , perhaps I should have appreciated my stint as a highwayman ( n ) more than I did ! You stick on the M1 until after the halfway mark , where you exit onto Empire Road at 23km for a five-kilometre loop around Braamfontein and Parktown . ( Sidenote : Is it OK to call this five-kilometre stretch a ‘ parktownrun ?’) Now , downtown Johannesburg has a bad reputation , but I was surprised that this part of the city was remarkably clean and safe . However , I wasn ’ t going to take any chances , and after I spotted a runner in SAPS kit , I stuck close to him … just in case .
I was also interested as to whether the Joburg Metro put in some extra effort to “ tidy their room ” before the marathon , but I was told , “ the city keeps those parts of Braamfontein and Parktown clean of late .” With traffic police and waste management being the biggest cost for most races these days , I wondered whether the municipality had donated their services for this event . Sadly not , with Nathalie confirming , “ We paid for almost all the services that were provided on the route , but
Images : Stuart Mann
22 ISSUE 169 | www . modernathlete . co . za