The triple decker: Potatoes, Scaffolds, and Peace.

The AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018 leg of the 100BEFORE40 has been going well so far. I am glad I chose to call it AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, instead of the more definite 17MarathonsFor2017 that I had last year. I haven’t looked back since my first marathon for 2018. Several friends and family have suggested that the 2018 leg be changed to 20, 25 or 30 marathons for 2018. My answer has been a consistent one; we will see how it goes. My aim was to get into the second half of the year having done more than ten marathons. I easily achieved this. By the end of March, I had already crossed the half way line. I was tempted to take it easy and slow down a bit. I was also tempted to start exploring and pushing the limits to see how it goes.

After successfully completing the Deloittes KwaZulu-Natal Challenge Marathon and the Goldi Standerton Marathon three days apart, I set sights on completing two marathons two days apart at the end of April and beginning of May. This trend would culminate with me running back to back marathons in November. At least that was the plan, until the 27^th of April when I decided to try running three marathons in four days; the Phokwane Marathon, Robor Scaffolding Marathon and the JM Busha Peace Pledge Marathon.

45 - Potato Pride, really? Where is your pride guys? – 1/3: 28 April 2018, Frankfort, South Africa

After initially eying the Potato Pride Marathon, I decided to run the Phokwane Marathon instead. It seemed a brilliant idea. It meant I would run in the Northern Cape for the first time and add to the number of provinces the AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018 has covered. With the 100BEFORE40 challenge, sub challenges keep cropping up. Halfway through the AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, I decided to take the adventure one notch up; run in every province of the country in 2018. That was the primary reason for me dumping the Potato Pride Marathon in the Free State. However, as fate would have it, I travelled all the way to Christiana, about 40km away from Hartswater where the Phokwane Marathon was to take place, only to discover that the race had been cancelled the previous day. Potato Pride Marathon quickly came back into the fold.

Determined to ensure that number 12 happened on the 28^th of April, I arrived in Frankfort just after half past five in the morning. My GPS didn’t take me to the stadium. I took me to some open veld three times and kept telling me that I had reached my destination. Desperate to get to the venue ahead of race start, I looked for Don Rukanda to assist me. He was missing in action, but Shahieda “Makhi’ Thungo came to the rescue. Finally, I got the correct address and made my way to the venue.

The registration process was uneventful, and we had a longish wait for the race to start. The crowd that gathered at the start was slightly smaller than I expected. This was one of the late races, in Comrades qualifiers’ circles. I expected a lot of those trying to qualify for the Comrades Marathon at the last minute to be there, but that was not the case. After a short prayer, the start gun went off and off we went. I was with the ever-bubbly Don and it was fun and games from the start to the finish. We decided to take it easy and targeted a sub 4h20 finish. After two or so kilometers, we hit the off-road part of the race. The first few kilometers flew by. We went through a golf course and before we knew it, we were by the banks of the Wilge River. For the next 17 or so kilometers, we ran on the river bank. The views were breathtaking. The river was calm. I even asked Don if it was a case of “still waters running deep”. I have never been an admirer of canoeing, but at some point, I imagined myself canoeing on this river. I also imagined myself fishing on the banks of the river and enjoying the views and the peace and tranquility for hours.

We talked all things running, politics – both in Zimbabwe and South Africa, gossiped about one or two people, planned the next race we were doing together the following day and talked about a few must do races around the country and overseas. It was easy going until we reached the long climb between the 17^th and 19^th kilometers. The fact that you could see people way ahead of you climbing the hill didn’t help matters. We took the climb in our strides and comfortably climbed all the way to the top. At the top of the hill was a welcome descend to the halfway mark. One gentleman had earlier on tried to explain to us that we would pass the finish before we went for the second lap, but we had not quite understood what he was saying. It only dawned on us that he was telling us about the psychological effect of passing through the finish on your way to the second lap.

The second lap was the reverse of the first lap. Although we passed the same route, the second half was somehow better than the first half. We had the road to ourselves for most of the second half of the race. I got to really appreciate the serenity of the route. Every now and them we would pass other runners or marshals. Oh, we also passed many cows that did not seem bothered by our presence at all. I, however, managed to get the attention of one of them that posed for a “cowfie” with me. Around the 30-kilometer mark we realized that we were about seven minutes behind our target. We had been so absorbed in gossip that we forgot to keep an eye on the clock. Don will probably blame my video around 22.5 kilometers as the cause for the seven-minute delay. There would be some element of truth to it as we had taken more than nine minutes to cover the 23^rd kilometer. The good thing with discovering, and accepting, your mistake is that you can make amends. That is exactly what we did. We stepped on the gas a bit and hit close to less than five minutes per kilometer on two occasions. Then “out of the blue”, a long climb popped out during the 39^th kilometer. Had we been paying attention during the first lap, we would have realized that we were going downhill during the fourth kilometer and prepared ourselves for the climb. Sadly, we were so caught up in the excitement and did not pay attention to the elevation. 

For the first time during the race, I was reminded that we were running a marathon. The thing with a marathon is that no matter how many times you have done a marathon before, each has a way of reminding you that running one is not child’s play. I asked Don if we could have scheduled walk breaks up this hill and he agreed. When we got to the top, we were greeted by a long stretch of downhill. Just when we thought we had conquered them all, another uphill “popped out” during the 41^st kilometer. It was short, but brutal. As we went up this hill, I started doubting that we would beat the 4h20 target. As soon as we got to the top, we gave it our all. Ok, I gave it my all, but Don seemed good and could have even sprinted to the finish. He, however, waited for me when I took one last walk with about 500 meters to go and three minutes to cover the distance. We got to the grass patch (home stretch) with about two minutes to go. Suddenly we went mute and focused on the distance. We eventually crossed the finish line at 4h19min47sec. That was it. The Potato Pride marathon had fallen, and our pride was still intact.

As you, or should, know now, if it is not on Facebook – it did not happen. I documented the race on Facebook as follows:
#100BEFORE40 Marathon 12 of AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, Potato Pride Marathon, fully loaded. Number 12 almost didn’t happen today. I will tell the long story on the 100BEFORE40 blog one day. Back to Potato Pride Marathon; very picturesque course. Long stretches along the river on the gravel road. Very few spectators who seemed not bothered at all. We nevertheless appreciate their support. Great and well stocked water points. I did not have conversations with myself today. Don Rukanda kept the stories flowing. 4:19 finish. Not too shabby at all. The 100BEFORE40🚂 keeps moving.

46 - Robor Scaffolding Marathon – 2/3: 29 April 2018, Benoni, South Africa.

After the Potato Pride Marathon, with my pride still intact, my next port of call was the Robor Scaffolding Marathon. It was the marathon I have impulsively decided to add to the list on the 27^th of April during a WhatsApp chat with Girland and Tapiwa. I did not really know what to expect at this race. It was my first back to back marathon, one day apart. I knew I could run and complete it, but I was not certain how difficult it would be. I had never done this back to back thing and was a bit anxious about what lay ahead. My plan was to take it easy, just like I did at the Potato Pride Marathon. It was number two out of three marathons in a space of four days. There was no point in going all out in the first two and missing the third one due to injury or exhaustion.

I arrived at the start line with a 4h40 finish in mind. After meeting up with Don, I tried to persuade him to push for a 4h40 finish. He told me that he would stick to a 5-hour finish as he had to assist someone finish under five hours. I immediately decided to join Don on this mission. The two generals, Thabo Molefe and Taka Midzi Jani, flanked him. It promised to be a very good run, and for a cause. We caught up with the lady very early in the race and stuck together. The first half of the race was quite good. The kilometers kept flying, even though we were running slowly. The idea of assisting the lady proved to be a great one. I didn’t feel good for the first 15 or so kilometers. It normally takes me about ten kilometers to settle down and get the real business of the day going. However, I just could not settle down at this race. After I eventually found my stride, the run became comfortable. As usual, we chatted about all sorts of things. Don and I reminisced about the Potato Pride Marathon and persuaded the others to run the race next year. Then I vowed not to go back for the race when I remembered what looked like the Apartheid flag that was proudly displayed at one of the water stations. I can’t remember exactly what my final verdict on this issue was.

By the time the first lap of the race was over, everyone was in good spirits. The lady seemed to be enjoying it. More importantly, she appeared to have faith that the “sub-5 was going to fall.” However, around the 26^th or 27^th kilometer she said she was “done for the day.” This was a blow to all of us. We did not believe she was done. In fact, we did not want to accept that she was done. We encouraged her to keep going and devised a run-walk strategy. This strategy helped a lot. When we got to the 34^th kilometer, we had about 56 minutes to cover the remaining distance. We were all convinced that we would easily cover the next eight kilometers in that time. If we had champagne on the road, I have no doubt we would have popped it at that moment to celebrate a mission accomplished. But the thing with marathons is they just have a way of humbling you. Once you hit the wall, it is very difficult to recover. Suddenly we started going slower and slower.  The sub-5 finish started slipping out of our hands, or should I say legs. Every kilometer that passed brought a sense of failure and disappointment. We kept pushing, but that effort was driven by a huge sense of denial. Finally, around the 38^th kilometer, I gave up. During the next kilometer, the lady said something that melted my heart – I am sure the hearts of the rest of the guys melted too. She said we had failed to beat the 5-hour target, but she really appreciated our efforts and she had never felt so good and had a sense of belief like she had during this marathon.

Finally, Don, Thabo and Taka bade farewell as we approached the stadium. They still had eight more kilometers, the lady and I had about 400 meters, to finish the race. We ran the home stretch heads high, despite missing the sub-5 finish by 10 minutes. As we crossed the finish line, the lady gave me a huge hug. It must have been for all of us (Don, Thabo, Taka and I). She was grateful despite not achieving her target. Her gratitude reminded me of the small things that we take for granted at times, as runners and in life in general. Although I am not, and will never be, the fastest runner on any given day, I would not have believed how anyone could struggle to finish that marathon in five hours. I always walk out of the house with the attitude that I will finish the race without a doubt and, no matter how difficult it may be, I will comfortably finish within five hours. Well, running this race side by side with this lady made me realize, or reminded me, that every race, each runner has their own battle. When anyone runs past me, I should not be envious, but be happy for them. Equally, when I run past anyone, I should appreciate the effort they put into getting to that point.

Don, Thabo and Taka later joined me at the finish about an hour after we parted ways. By then I was with Tapiwa who had destroyed the 50-kilometer race, with a finish time of 4h49. After a few congratulatory messages and pats on the back, we parted ways. All happy about finishing the race, but a bit dejected about missing the sub-5 finish. And that was it; the Robor Scaffolding Marathon 2018 had come and gone. My first back to back mission had been a relative success. Two marathons had fallen. There was only one left, the JM Busha Peace Marathon.

As you, or should, know now, if it is not on Facebook – it did not happen. I documented the race on Facebook as follows:

#100BEFORE40 Marathon 13 of AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, Robor Scaffolding Marathon, fully loaded. Personally happy with the back to back marathons, but quite disappointed that the lady we were helping to do a sub 5 hour, Comrades qualifying, time did not make it. It’s now a dream deferred for her. Biggest lesson of the day, hats off to all the bus drivers. Keeping fellow runners motivated for that long is not easy. Anyway, 5:10 finish and another one is done and dusted. The 100BEFORE40 🚂 keeps moving. Don’t expect it on the road tomorrow though🤣🤣🤣

47 - JM Busha Peace Marathon – 3/3: 1 May 2018, Randfontein, South Africa.

With more than half of the “work” done at the Potato Pride Marathon and Robor Scaffolding Marathon, my confidence was a bit high as I rested for a day, waiting for the JM Busha Peace Pledge Marathon. I had a nagging blister on the big toe on my right foot, I wasn’t going to let it spoil an almost perfect weekend of back to back marathons. I had not noticed the pain throughout the Robor Scaffolding Marathon. I was a man on a mission. I was so fixated on the sub-5 finish and didn’t pay attention to the blister. It was only after crossing the finish line that I really felt the pain. I quickly arranged with Agatha to get her magic ointment for me. I had used it before and it had worked magic. As usual, Agatha did not disappoint. She had it and other useful stuff ready by the time I got home. One of them was a numbing cream. I had to run the third marathon by hook or crook, even if it meant numbing the toe for a few hours. That is exactly what I did.

I travelled with the “Boss of the Road”, Girland. We arrived at the start very early. Don joined us, and we were a full team, so I thought. As soon as the gun went off, Don spotted the 700+ Marathon Man, Julian. We cheerfully greeted him and his bunch. Girland and Don sped off and I stuck with Julian. We chatted all things running as usual. Julian is a rich source of information and knowledge on this subject. I fell behind after taking a billable hours’ phone call. I only managed to catch up with Julian about two kilometers later. At the 18^th or so kilometer mark, we caught up with Girland and Don. Before you give Julian and I credit, Girland and Don had waited for us. The big topic at that point was the lack of water on the route. We were informed that the water stations had run out of water from as early as the first water point. We, obviously, did not buy this story. Clearly, there had not been enough water at the race. The organizers must have placed a handful sachets at each water point to create a façade that there had been water at the water points. We, however, did not let this dampen our spirits. We enjoyed the route that was well balanced. It was mainly flat but had a few gentle downhills and climbs. Julian oversaw the pacing and we ran most of the race at a 4h30 finish pace. I had targeted a 4h20 finish, but I was not going to let a few minutes rob me of the great camaraderie in our four-men bus, Julian, Don, Graham (a Comrades Marathon veteran with 33 Comrades Marathon finishes to his name) and I. I stayed with the team and I am glad I did.

Julian and Graham told us of all sorts of races around the country that we must do. Don and I were easy customers. We agreed to do most of the races on the KZN North Coast that they mentioned. The three marathons in 24 hours challenge came up too. Julian did a very good job selling this to us. I tentatively agreed to do it. Don on the other hand jumped into it head first. He had previously mentioned this challenge, but this time he confirmed that he would do it with conviction. This challenge involves running three marathons within 24 hours. You run the Akasia Marathon in Pretoria West, drive to Klerksdorp and run the Ottosdal Nite Marathon on Saturday evening and drive back to Johannesburg to run the Johnson Crane Marathon on the Sunday morning. Julian has done this repeatedly and made it sound like kids’ play. I will have to see how the AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018 challenge goes before committing to the three marathons in 24 hours challenge.

Without much of a struggle, the countdown hit the single digits. By this time, water was now available at the water stations. This was a welcome relief for me, and I am sure for many too. The sun had been settling down slowly. It was getting warm by the minute and water kept becoming an absolute necessity by the minute. The cold coca cola at the water stations and cool breeze every now and then saved the day. Around the 40^th kilometer, I left Don and Julian to head off as I waited for Graham who had fallen behind a bit. I stayed with him until we crossed the finish line with 4h27 and some seconds on the clock. The Boss of the Road followed us about ten minutes later. The job was done. Another marathon had fallen. Three marathons had fully loaded within four days.

We regrouped and reminisced about the race having a few snacks by the car. More than two hours after we had finished, we spotted a lady and a gentleman arriving. They must have been the last people on the course. The time was 12h39, more than six hours after the race had started. These two had stuck it out. They had not given up. That sort of determination is remarkable. They must have known, as they pounded the pavement, that the cut-off time had come and gone, but chose to finish the race rather than hop on a rescue bus or car. As they were heading towards the finish, I decided that they deserved the medals more than me. I had made easy work of the race. I barely struggled at all. In fact, I had fun with the guys. I have arrived home from my many races only to be asked by my daughters if I finished the race and got a medal. That lady looked like a mother to me. How would she explain to her kids that she had finished the race, without a medal to show for it? I decided to give the medal that I had been given to her. She deserved it more than me.

As you, or should, know by now; if its not on Facebook, it did not happen. I recorded the JM Busha Peace Pledge Marathon on Facebook as follows:

#100BEFORE40 Marathon 14 of AtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, JM Busha Marathon, fully loaded. Great weather, great route and great vibe with the Cabal. Got to run with the Legend Julian “700+ Marathon Man” Kapp again. There was no water (for us back runners) during the first half. I would have traded the Coca Cola for water. I hope next year there will be more water than Coca Cola. Happy with the 4:27 finish for Marathon number 3 in 4 days. Many thanks to The Don Rukanda for the great pacing since Saturday.