From hospital bed to running the Comrades

Sthembiso Mkhize is so scared of running his first Comrades Marathon today that he has had nightmares of being left behind at the finish line by his team-mates.

The Oyster Box hotel finance administrator’s dream of running his first ultra-marathon was almost shattered by a car accident in March. He suffered severe lacerations, lower back injuries and upper-body internal trauma that kept him in hospital for a week and unable to train for more than a month.

Mkhize, 42, says the “pressure” of making his ancestors proud — he is the first one in his family to take up long-distance running — and support from Gijima.com, an athletics community, pushed him to run the 85.77km alongside 22,000 entrants from Durban to Pietermaritzburg this year.

“I won’t lie, I am scared. But I will be there when the gun goes off, and I will do my best to finish the race,” he said.

He and seven other team-mates were en route to a marathon on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast in March when a tyre burst.

“I saw my life flash before me. I was the only one seriously injured and had to have physio to learn to walk again. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but with God’s grace and support from my running community and family, I was able to get back on my feet and onto the road to complete my dream of running the Comrades,” he said.

Mkhize, from KwaMaphumulo, said his love for running was sparked by his mother, who encouraged her children to watch the Comrades and other sports on television.

“I remember watching Bruce Fordyce as a child, and there was one time when he was sick and he didn’t think he could go on, but he did and went on to win the race. That’s inspirational, and although I am scared, I want to do my best,” Mkhize said.

“I am the first one in my family to take up running, and while my mother said to me that if I don’t feel well I mustn’t push myself, I feel I owe it to my community, family and even my ancestors … no pressure!”

His fiancée, two sons and daughter will be cheering him on, alongside his running mates, while his mother will look for him on television.

“It will be an emotional race for me thinking about the accident and what could have been, but when I think about the top runners like Tete Dijana and their backgrounds and the challenges they overcame, I feel motivated to do my best,” he said.

His Gijima.com coach, Don Masinga, who will be vying for his 16th Comrades medal, said their running community’s ethos of respect, hard work and consistency were vital drivers for members.

“Sthembiso subscribes to the values of our community, and we believe it is a lifestyle that is sustainable to help us reach our goals, both personally and professionally,” Masinga said.

He said Mkhize’s brothers and sisters in the running community and the spirit of Comrades camaraderie would help him achieve his goal.

Another Comrade first-timer is elite athlete Sibusiso Kubheka, 29, who last year smashed a world record when he ran 100km in under six hours in Italy.

His time of 5hr 59min 20sec trumped previous holder Aleksandr Sorokin by six minutes in a global Adidas top runners event. Sorokin, a Lithuanian, is also a firm favourite in this year’s ultra-marathon.

While the achievement did not count towards his Comrades qualification, Kubheka, who is from Estcourt, says he is looking forward to running what is regarded as the ultimate human race.

“I am feeling good about the race and the chance to run with Comrades winners and the world’s best runners. I want to finish the race, and I am looking forward to the experience ... I will learn from them,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe I had won the 100km race in Italy. I was just running to make a name for myself and my family. I don’t know how I did it.”

He said his goal was to win the Comrades within five years.

His Excel running club coach, Mandla Mngomezulu, said while Kubheka had to pull out of running the recent Two Oceans Marathon because of an injury, he is a “special runner who is in a different class”.

Mngomezulu said Kubheka will live up to the club’s motto of “doing your best” and has been known to deliver when it is needed.

The 99th edition of the ultra-marathon carries a combined prize purse of more than R8.2m, with R925,000 each for the first man and woman over the line, while runners-up will receive R464,000 and third-place finishers R334,000.