Its the Comrades day today and for the last two years, on this
day, at the end of the day I have had a tired and a sore body, a mouth with
that coke-ish feeling (that’s what you get if you survive close to 12 hours on
coke and water), a strong spirit and a medal (actually two in 2015). This year I
watched the race from the sidelines. The race for those who don’t know, is a
89km ultra marathon in SA. The route alternates between - Durban to
Pietermaritzburg called the Up Run in one year and Pietermaritzburg to Durban called
the Down Run, the next year. And its called the Ultimate Human Race.
Now it’s not the most difficult ultra marathon in the world. There are longer, tougher ultras than can take the mickey out of anyone. There are the likes of – Badwater run in the Death Valley, US, Western States Endurance run, North Face Ultramarathon Mont Blanc, Leadville 100, Marathon des Sables. Run over tough trails, in horribly difficult weathers, these are the test of human stamina and endurance. So what is it about Comrades, that makes it the Ultimate Human Race. It is because the participants here are ordinary mortals like you and me. The others are usually invitational events with limited number of participants and the participants are ultra marathoners who live breathe dream sleep only ultras all though the year. Now that takes a special kind of person with huge levels of discipline, determination and dedication to this sport for being able to make it to the start line of these races.
Now it’s not the most difficult ultra marathon in the world. There are longer, tougher ultras than can take the mickey out of anyone. There are the likes of – Badwater run in the Death Valley, US, Western States Endurance run, North Face Ultramarathon Mont Blanc, Leadville 100, Marathon des Sables. Run over tough trails, in horribly difficult weathers, these are the test of human stamina and endurance. So what is it about Comrades, that makes it the Ultimate Human Race. It is because the participants here are ordinary mortals like you and me. The others are usually invitational events with limited number of participants and the participants are ultra marathoners who live breathe dream sleep only ultras all though the year. Now that takes a special kind of person with huge levels of discipline, determination and dedication to this sport for being able to make it to the start line of these races.
And so without taking away the glory from these persons, let me put the spotlight on the runners who form the approx. 14000 crowd at the start of the Comrades every year. These are people who for those 3-4 training months give up their daily routine to adopt a lifestyle alien to them. They realign their priorities, they adjust their schedules, adjust their diets, sacrifice the late night parties, outings, the commitments change and for those 3-4 months they are on a mission – a mission to complete the 89km distance in 12 hourse else they won’t get a medal. There is no invitation, but a qualifying criteria of having finished a marathon under 5 hours. These are no hard core ultra marathoners – and every year there is a big crowd of novices – runners cutting their teeth into the big bad world of ultra running.
Unlike the other ultra marathons, each of those who choose to run this race, for those 12 hours are on their own – there is no crew to support them. Each of them knows that the only person they can depend on is the runner next to them. And so the camaraderie one sees on those roads is un-imaginable, not to be seen anywhere else. Each of those 14000 people who cross the finish line do not make any headlines but each of them is a winner without racing against anyone. They help others to cross the finish line without worrying about their own times – I guess in such a race as long as one gets to the finish line, there is no worry about the timing. When they cross the finish line, they can sense a change - those 12 hours on the road are a teacher, a lesson in life they wont forget soon. And while in those 12 hours they have been tested for their endurance, their stamina, they more importantly are tested for their spirit - spirit of not giving up, spirit of camaraderie, spirit of humanity. And so for me that's the reason this race is the Ultimate Race - ultimate test of human spirit to overcome all odds. There are some who do not finish, do not make the cut offs – they come back – stronger, better trained - for their moment of glory next year.
But whether one makes the cut off and gets a medal or no –the day after the race, each of them, are back being a recreational, an amateur runner. Back to their daily routines till the registrations open again and the training begins all over again.
I have run both the Up and the Down run and they have been life changing experiences for me. I missed being on the road today and so an outing to SA is a possibility, maybe :)
Read my race report for 2014 run here :
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