Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 77, December 2015 | Page 33

THIRD RECIPIENT: RICHARD MALOSE MONISI Known for his can-do attitude, Richard has shown that you need not let a disability come between you and your dreams. He was born blind due to severe cataracts, and at the age of 10 he underwent an eye operation which resulted in 5% sight in his left eye. Years later he first came into contact with the running fraternity through a Rocky Road Runners Club member named Gerald Fox, who was training other blind runners and offered to train him as well. Richard took to the sport immediately and this proud Green Number Club member completed his 11th Comrades Marathon this year, in spite of losing his pilot mid-race for the second year in a row. In the 2014 Down run, he displayed true tenacity when his pilot bailed 16km out of Durban – he simply hauled out his white stick and ran the remainder of the route on his own, finishing in under 10 hours. This year he once again lost his pilot, at Drummond, but he completed the second half of the race on his own and came home in an astonishing 8:50 to earn a well-deserved Bill Rowan medal. Richard’s passion is to teach young disabled people that it is possible to exercise and join in mainstream events, and the Comrades Marathon forms a huge part of his life. Together with his concern for others, comes the pride and joy of being a much-loved and popular figure in the greater running fraternity. JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: WESLEY BOTTON This year’s Comrades Journalist of the Year is Wesley Botton of The Citizen newspaper. Wesley has completed the Comrades Marathon four times, and tells us that the Comrades is more than a race, “It’s an overwhelming adventure, and no matter how tough it may be to complete the gruelling event, something about it keeps drawing me back.” 2015 WINNER’S BLAZER: GIFT KELEHE TOP CHARITY DONOR OF THE YEAR: CAREL NOLTE The CMA is exceedingly proud of its Comrades Charity Drive, which benefits six officially recognised charities, and this year the CMA presents its Comrades Marathon Top Donor Award for the most funds raised to Carel Nolte, who raised R153,000. Carel tells us that he loves everything about the race: “The camaraderie of runners, the people along the road who sing and cheer and give you support and sustenance, helping others after you have been helped, getting thr