Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 63, October 2014 | Page 34

RT OF IT!
BE PA
BAMBA IQHAZA

comrades

Ma

Modern Athlete is proud to be the official print magazine
partner of the Comrades Marathon, and with early entries
pouring in for the 90th running of the world’s biggest ultramarathon, runners must make sure they don’t miss out on this
special running of the great race! – BY SEAN FALCONER

ENTRIES FLYING IN
T

he 2015 Comrades Marathon entries
opened on 1 September with a BANG! On the first
day of entry, over 3300 runners put their entries in,
which is almost double the number of the entries
taken on the first day of entry last year for the 2014
Comrades Marathon, and by mid-September the
count had already passed 8000 entries.
Entries for the 90th Comrades Marathon are limited
to 23 000 runners and entries will close on 30
November, or once the quota of 23 000 entries has
been filled. Runners are therefore urged to send in
their entries soon to avoid disappointment, as no
more entries will be taken once the quota has been
received or after the closing date of entries.

The first entrant for Comrades 2015 to
drop off her entry at Comrades House in
Pietermaritzburg, Nontuthuko Mashimane,
says she fell in love with the Comrades
Marathon before she even fell in love
with running.
“I was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg,
so I had the advantage of NOT watching
The Ultimate Humane Race on TV, but from
the route itself. My parents made it a family
outing every year, packing a picnic basket and
camp chairs. We would spend the whole day
cheering for runners. Even though I didn’t
really understand how far 89km is, I knew
they were doing something brave and special.
In high school and varsity, I volunteered at
the medical tent and worked at the Comrades
apparel shop, then I spent a year in the UK and
every time I wore a T-shirt with the Comrades
badge, I would be stopped and asked all sorts
of questions about the race, and even if I had
run it before. That made me so proud to be
South African, and from Pietermaritzburg.
My desire to be part of Comrades as a runner
grew, especially when I saw my brother
Sibonelo ‘Sibs’ Mashimane complete his first.
I will never forget the expression on his face,
of exhaustion and of pain, but also of ‘it was
all worth it’ when he crossed that finish line.

34

So on the day the entries opened,
1 September, before I went to work,
I checked my TO DO list and it said
‘1. Go Enter Comrades,’ and that’s what I
did. Being at the start of the race in Durban
will be a great honour and achievement, but
seeing the Flora Mile and the green grass
at The Oval, knowing that I’m home, will
be epic and life-changing for me.”

Nontuthuko hands her entry
in to Novani Naidoo of the CMA

ISSUE 63 OCTOBER 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

You can enter as follows:
• Online via the Comrades Marathon website:
www.comrades.com;
• By posting a completed entry form with
proof of payment to the CMA Office:
P.O. Box 100621, Scottsville, 3209;
• By handing in a completed entry form
together with payment at the CMA office
in Pietermaritzburg.

BE PART OF IT – BAMBA IQHAZA!

Images: Lauren Van Der Vyver and courtesy CMA

FIRST OFF THE MARK

I wanted that feeling too! He now has six
Comrades in the bag and is aiming for his
Green Number, whereas I just want to do
one, to make me feel so awesome, and
when I realised the 90th running of the
world’s biggest ultra-marathon is next
year, I knew that’s the one I wanted to
be part of – Bamba Iqhaza!