Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 97, August 2017 | Page 14

Ma Feature
The
Danger
Zone
I
n the past two months alone, three well-known
runners were killed in hit-and-run incidents, once
again shaking the running community to its core.
On the 6 th of June, 42-year-old Nezaam Isaacs of
the Lion of Africa Itheko Running Club was killed
in a hit-and-run in Claremont, Cape Town. He had
weighed 110kg when he took up running a decade
earlier to improve his health, and had inspired many
with his incredible transformation into a veteran of 17
ultra-marathons. Due to the Muslim Fast of Ramadan,
he had taken to training earlier than normal to allow
himself time to have breakfast before sunrise. His
GPS device showed that he had covered 2.2km in 14
minutes and 18 seconds when he was struck down.
Each year when the school holidays start,
the South African news services provide a
daily update on the number of deaths on our
roads. Most of these deaths are a result of
tired or drunk drivers losing control of their
vehicles, or speeding and reckless driving,
as well as pedestrians run over by vehicles.
The rest of the year, that daily counter
does not feature in the news, and ‘only’ the
particularly gruesome or unusual accidents
make the headlines. Unfortunately, when a
runner is killed by a car, it makes the news,
and tragically, there have been too many such
headlines of late. – BY SEAN FALCONER
a week before his death, he had run a brilliant 8:38 in
the 2017 Comrades, guided successfully by first time
‘pilot,’ Andrew Hall of Celtic Harriers in Cape Town.
Richard was a veteran of 13 Comrades runs, and was
a former recipient of the Spirit of Comrades Award for
his incredible courage and attitude towards running
the race.
Just four days later, blind runner Malose Richard
Monisi (48) died in a hit-and-run accident in
Johannesburg. He was walking to the shops, not
out running, but his death at the hands of a driver
nevertheless rocked the running world, given how
famous he had become for his exploits at the
Comrades Marathon and other big races, often
completing races alone, using his white stick as guide,
when running guides could not keep up with him. Just
14
As if that were not enough, on 4 July news broke
that Midrand Striders Men’s Club Captain Leon
Baker was struck by a taxi during his morning run in
Johannesburg, in yet another hit-and-run incident. He
was a talented runner, capable of regularly earning
Comrades silver medals and posting sub-40-minute
times for 10km, but was better known for the selfless
way he would go out of his way to help fellow runners.
He had also inspired many with the story of how he
took up running in 2004 when his broker told him he
would have to pay more for insurance due to being
30kg overweight.
ISSUE 97 AUGUST 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za
In February 2013, 60-year-old Neil Robinson was
literally cut in half by a speeding driver that lost
control of his vehicle in Pietermaritzburg, and worse,
Rising Death Toll
A quick online search for reports about runners killed
on SA roads shows that these recent deaths were by
no means isolated incidents. What remains one of the
most shocking accidents occurred in October 2011 in
Midrand, north of Johannesburg, when six runners
training for the Soweto Marathon were mowed down
by a drunk driver. Geo Tlale, Moroese Mokoatsi,
Reneilwe Lesenyeho, Given Mills and Nomvula
Dumako were all killed, while Khanyisa Stengile
was seriously injured. The runners were members of
the Vodacom Striders, Midrand Striders and Goldfields
Athletics Clubs. The Midrand Striders still hold an
annual memorial run to the site of the accident to
commemorate their fallen comrades, which is also
attended by Khanyisa, who only returned to running
after a lengthy recovery period for both physical and
emotional injuries.