HUGELY POPULAR COMRADES APP
The Comrades App was amazingly well received by our runners and supporters, with 65,000 downloads, 4,500,000 impressions, 575,000 searches, 450,000 engagements and 45,000 social media shares!
THE COMRADES ICE ID BRACELET
Comrades Marathon runners and supporters have contributed to charitable fundraising by purchasing 257 personalised Comrades ICE ID Bracelets. 25 % of the retail price is being donated to the Comrades Marathon’ s Charity Drive, benefiting the nation-building activities of the six official Comrades Charities: The Community Chest of Durban & Pietermaritzburg, PinkDrive, Sports Trust, Starfish Greathearts Foundation, Wildlands Conservation Trust and World Vision South Africa.
CSI NEWS UPDATE
Support any of our six official Comrades Charities and make a world of difference. Meanwhile, here is an update from one of the six charities.
COMMUNITY CHEST THANKS MIKE COWLING
The Community Chest together with the children of Selby Msimang Pre-School would like to congratulate Mike Cowling on his achievement of running his 40 th Comrades Marathon and raising R50,000 for charity in the process. The funds he raised will go towards building more classrooms and upgrading the school. The school sent a message to Mike after his run:“ Thank you, Mike, your passion and desire to help the less fortunate is truly admired and acknowledged with a deep sense of gratitude.”
The ICE ID Bracelet is a professional, all-weather medical accessory with the runner’ s wellbeing in mind: Lightweight, durable, comfortable to wear, and most importantly, the tag has space for six lines of laser engraving for all the runner’ s ICE( In Case of Emergency) information.
For order and delivery details or further information, please email info @ iceid. co. za.
MY COMRADES STORY By Nonhlanhla Patience Motha
It was March 2015 when I met with my running partner, friend, coach and mentor, Paina John Mosito, and decided that I’ m going to join this beautiful journey with him. I started training with him and ran my first Comrades in 2016, the Down Run, which I finished in 9 hours 44 minutes. It was really tough, but an unforgettable experience. The start really amazed me, with the high spirits of the runners from all over our country and the world. This really put me in a positive frame of mind that I was going to conquer this race. What made me so confident that I will finish the race? The answer was simply that I was physically and mentally fit, and above all, my coach believed in me and told me I’ m strong and in a good shape. Those words really motivated me.
This year I did my Back2Back and once again found myself in the start seeding pen with him. I was very nervous, but it was once again amazing. He gave me the strength to carry on, and pushed me in those tough hills, and held my hand when I doubted myself. He would whisper in my ear,“ Remember, everyone is tired, you can do this.” He settled my nerves and brought tremendous pride to my heart.
The support from spectators makes the race, but running the race with him through halfway made the distance bearable. All the months of preparation, the early mornings and the long runs, came down to that moment when you are a few kilometres from the stadium and can finally push for home. As for the finish, there are no words to describe the feeling of achievement and joy.
With two medals around my neck, I stumbled through the crowd looking for him. I couldn’ t wait to see the smile on his face and give him a hug and thank him for all his effort to keep me in shape and believing in myself, and to make my race a memorable one. I’ m very grateful to have met such a wonderful soul in my life. The race cannot be better described than the 2017 motto, ZINIKELE. This race really does take all of you.
SHARE YOUR COMRADES MARATHON STORY
The 2017 Comrades has come and gone, but the memories will last forever. We are calling on you, the passionate Comrades runner, to inspire the nation with your Comrades story. Please send your write-up in 300 words or less, plus a photo of yourself, to delaine @ comrades. com.
COMRADES MARATHON ONLINE
www. twitter. com /@ ComradesRace www. facebook. com / ComradesMarathon www. comrades. com
Images: Jetline Action Photo & Courtesy CMA
48 ISSUE 96 JULY 2017 / www. modernathlete. co. za