Johannesburg – In the midst of the excitement around Nedbank Running Club’s clean sweep of the men’s podium positions at the Comrades Marathon, a massive achievement by a member of coach Dave Adams’ ‘Happy Bunch’ has sadly gone somewhat unnoticed.
Perhaps rightly so though. For how else could
Johannesburg – In the midst of the commotion surrounding Nedbank Running Club’s clean sweep of the men’s podium spots in the Comrades Marathon, a tremendous accomplishment by a member of coach Dave Adams’ ‘Happy Bunch’ has gone mostly overlooked.
Possibly justifiably so though. How else could anyone be “distracted” from the 1-2-3 finish achieved by dow- run rookie Tete Dijana, 2019 up-run champion Edward Mothibi, and Comrades rookie Dan Moseliswe?
At last week’s 95th running of the Ultimate Human Race, the attentive Comrades Marathon observer would have noticed that the lone female member of Adams’ six-person squad made a record of sorts.
Galaletsang Mekgoe’s fifth-place finish has received little attention because there were “larger” stories concerning those who arrived at Moses Mabhida Stadium before her.
Alexandra Morozova’s victory became even more noteworthy as a result of the fact that she had to secure her place on the starting line through legal means. Adele Broodryk’s third-place result as the first South African to cross the finish line could not be overlooked. And then there was fourth-placed Jenna Challenor, who had to crawl to the finish line because her legs had turned to jelly. That right there is the stuff of Comrades legends.
Thus, Mekgoe became nothing more than a footnote in the narrative of the
The 47th installment of the arduous descent from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
However, this is not how it should be. Not when the 26-year-old rookie’s performance was the best by a black South African woman since women and black people were permitted to compete in the race officially in 1975.
Mekgoe crossed the finish line behind Challenor with a time of 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 53 seconds, becoming only the fourth black South African woman to place in the top ten.
Only Nhlanhla Hlengwa, Sarah Mahlangu, and Fikile Mbuthuma had won gold before her. But Mekgoe had shone the brightest among this trio.
Hlengwa finished ninth in 1993 with a time of 7:21:22; Mahlangu finished seventh in 2002 with a time of 6:53:41; and Mbuthuma finished eighth in 2016 with a time of 6:56:32.
Mekgoe was unaware of this before to our interview at the champions’ breakfast the day after the race, at which point her face lit up.
“Oh my goodness,” Mekgoe exclaimed. “I had no idea. That is commendable.
“I am quite ecstatic, and I still cannot believe I accomplished it. I was not nevertheless surprised. After the type of camp we had, I was confident that I would do well.”
Mekgoe was a member of Adams’s team that spent two weeks in Dullstroom after training together in Rustenburg. The intense training was a shock to the young athlete’s system.
Granted, she had performed admirably in the 50km Nedbank Runified race in Gqeberha earlier in the year, where she placed sixth. However, Mekgoe was unprepared for what she signed up for.
Mekgoe recalls feeling rather alone during long runs when she lagged behind her male teammates.
“It was a little difficult to situate myself in the rear and view them in front of me. However, I created a system that worked for me. During those runs, I began to imagine myself competing with the other women. Prior to learning that Gerda (Steyn) would not be running, I envisioned myself competing against her in the race. I also considered the other women and imagined myself leading the pack,” Mekgoe remarked.
On race day, despite her lack of experience, Mekgoe was unconcerned at the starting line, proving that this strategy was successful.
“I was thrilled to see the leading runners nearby. Because I did not know where I was heading, I was not afraid. I believed in myself. I had traveled a great distance to get to this point and had participated in some insane runs with the “Happy Bunch.”
Those individuals made me believe in myself,” Mekgoe remarked.
And as the race began, she adhered to her race strategy and was scarcely carried away.
“I desired a top 10 finish in this race, so finishing fifth was incredible. Iyoo, when I ran inside the stadium, it was incredible. On television, I am accustomed to seeing that mat and the Comrades decorations. I never imagined that one day I would be able to witness such things so up close and personal.
“The carpet was so gorgeous that I wondered whether I would run over the exquisite embellishments. But I have to,” stated Mekgoe.
For her, the highlight was receiving the rose awarded to winners.
“No one has ever given me a flower. I’ve always thought that if you want something, you must pursue it, and I’m delighted that the first rose I ever received was one I earned. I got it using my feet,” Mekgoe remarked.
Johannesburg – In the midst of the commotion surrounding Nedbank Running Club’s clean sweep of the men’s podium spots in the Comrades Marathon, a tremendous accomplishment by a member of coach Dave Adams’ ‘Happy Bunch’ has gone mostly overlooked.
Possibly justifiably so though. How else could anyone be “distracted” from the 1-2-3 finish achieved by dow- run rookie Tete Dijana, 2019 up-run champion Edward Mothibi, and Comrades rookie Dan Moseliswe?
At last week’s 95th running of the Ultimate Human Race, the attentive Comrades Marathon observer would have noticed that the lone female member of Adams’ six-person squad made a record of sorts.
Galaletsang Mekgoe’s fifth-place finish has received little attention because there were “larger” stories concerning those who arrived at Moses Mabhida Stadium before her.
Alexandra Morozova’s victory became even more noteworthy as a result of the fact that she had to secure her place on the starting line through legal means. Adele Broodryk’s third-place result as the first South African to cross the finish line could not be overlooked. And then there was fourth-placed Jenna Challenor, who had to crawl to the finish line because her legs had turned to jelly. That right there is the stuff of Comrades legends.
Thus, Mekgoe became nothing more than a footnote in the narrative of the
The 47th installment of the arduous descent from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
However, this is not how it should be. Not when the 26-year-old rookie’s performance was the best by a black South African woman since women and black people were permitted to compete in the race officially in 1975.
Mekgoe crossed the finish line behind Challenor with a time of 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 53 seconds, becoming only the fourth black South African woman to place in the top ten.
Only Nhlanhla Hlengwa, Sarah Mahlangu, and Fikile Mbuthuma had won gold before her. But Mekgoe had shone the brightest among this trio.
Hlengwa finished ninth in 1993 with a time of 7:21:22; Mahlangu finished seventh in 2002 with a time of 6:53:41; and Mbuthuma finished eighth in 2016 with a time of 6:56:32.
Mekgoe was unaware of this before to our interview at the champions’ breakfast the day after the race, at which point her face lit up.
“Oh my goodness,” Mekgoe exclaimed. “I had no idea. That is commendable.
“I am quite ecstatic, and I still cannot believe I accomplished it. I was not nevertheless surprised. After the type of camp we had, I was confident that I would do well.”
Mekgoe was a member of Adams’s team that spent two weeks in Dullstroom after training together in Rustenburg. The intense training was a shock to the young athlete’s system.
Granted, she had performed admirably in the 50km Nedbank Runified race in Gqeberha earlier in the year, where she placed sixth. However, Mekgoe was unprepared for what she signed up for.
Mekgoe recalls feeling rather alone during long runs when she lagged behind her male teammates.
“It was a little difficult to situate myself in the rear and view them in front of me. However, I created a system that worked for me. During those runs, I began to imagine myself competing with the other women. Prior to learning that Gerda (Steyn) would not be running, I envisioned myself competing against her in the race. I also considered the other women and imagined myself leading the pack,” Mekgoe remarked.
On race day, despite her lack of experience, Mekgoe was unconcerned at the starting line, proving that this strategy was successful.
“I was thrilled to see the leading runners nearby. Because I did not know where I was heading, I was not afraid. I believed in myself. I had traveled a great distance to get to this point and had participated in some insane runs with the “Happy Bunch.”
Those individuals made me believe in myself,” Mekgoe remarked.
And as the race began, she adhered to her race strategy and was scarcely carried away.
“I desired a top 10 finish in this race, so finishing fifth was incredible. Iyoo, when I ran inside the stadium, it was incredible. On television, I am accustomed to seeing that mat and the Comrades decorations. I never imagined that one day I would be able to witness such things so up close and personal.
“The carpet was so gorgeous that I wondered whether I would run over the exquisite embellishments. But I have to,” stated Mekgoe.
For her, the highlight was receiving the rose awarded to winners.
“No one has ever given me a flower. I’ve always thought that if you want something, you must pursue it, and I’m delighted that the first rose I ever received was one I earned. I got it using my feet,” Mekgoe remarked.
anyone be “side-tracked” from the one-two-three feat accomplished by dow- run debutant Tete Dijana, 2019 up-run champion Edward Mothibi and Comrades novice Dan Moselakwe?
The discerning Comrades Marathon follower would, however, have taken note that the sole woman in Adams’ six-member team set a record of sorts at last week’s 95th running of the Ultimate Human Race.
That not much noise has been made about Galaletsang Mekgoe’s fifth-place finish is because there were “bigger” tales about those who got to Moses Mabhida Stadium ahead of her.
Alexandra Morozova having had to earn her spot on the starting line via the legal route meant her victory became even more newsworthy. Adele Broodryk’s third-place finish to become the first South African home could not be ignored. And then there was fourth-placed Jenna Challenor who crawled to the finish line after her legs went all jelly on her. That’s the stuff of Comrades tales right there.
And so it was that Mekgoe became nothing more than a footnote to the story of the
47th edition of the gruelling trek down from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
Yet that’s not how it should be. Not when the 26-year-old novice’s feat was the best by a black South African woman since women and black people were officially allowed to participate in the race in 1975.
Mekgoe crossed the line behind Challenor, clocking in at 6hr 42min 53sec and thus becoming only the fourth black SA woman to finish in the top 10.
Before her, only Nhlanhla Hlengwa, Sarah Mahlangu and Fikile Mbuthuma had attained gold. But none of this trio had shone as bright as Mekgoe did.
Hlengwa finished ninth in 1993 with a time of 7:21:22; Mahlangu clocked 6:53:41to finish seventh in 2002 and Mbuthuma ran a 6:56:32 for eighth spot in 2016.
Mekgoe was not aware of this, but her face beamed upon being made aware of it during our interview the day after the race during the champions’ breakfast.
“Oh wow, really,” Mekgoe said. “I did not know. That’s nice.
“I am very excited, I still can’t believe I did it. But I was not surprised. After the kind of camp we had, I knew I was going to do well.”
Mekgoe was part of Adams’ team that spent two weeks in Dullstroom, having also spent time together training in Rustenburg. The rigorous training was a shock to the system for the young athlete.
Granted she had done well in the 50km Nedbank Runified race in Gqeberha earlier in the year, where she finished in seventh place. But Mekgoe was not ready for what she had signed up for.
Mekgoe remembers how she would sometimes feel a bit isolated when she trailed her male teammates during long runs.
“It was a bit hard to find myself at the back and seeing them in front of me. But I developed a system that worked for me. During those runs I started to imagine myself running against the other ladies. Before we knew that Gerda (Steyn) would not be running, I envisioned myself running with her and taking her on in the race. I thought of the other women too and thought of myself leading them in the race,” Mekgoe said.
It’s a ploy that worked because on race day, Mekgoe found herself hardly intimated at the start line – her lack of experience notwithstanding.
“I was very happy to have the top runners near me. I was not scared … because I did not know where I was going. I trusted myself. I’d come a long way to get to this and had run some crazy runs with the ‘Happy Bunch’.
Those guys made me believe in myself,” Mekgoe said.
And when the race started, she stuck to her race plan and hardly got carried away.
“I wanted a top 10 from this race and to finish number five was amazing. Iyoo, when I was running into the stadium it was unbelievable. I am used to seeing that mat and the Comrades decorations on TV. I could not imagine that one day I would see those things so close, so live.
“It was such a beautiful carpet and I was wondering, am I going to run over those beautiful decorations? But I had to,” Mekgoe said.
What stood out for her was getting the rose given to the finishers.
“No one has ever given me a flower. I have always believed that when you want something, you must go for it and I am glad that the first rose I ever got, I earned it. I got it using my feet,” Mekgoe said.