Durban - Schoolteacher Ahmed Meer was one of many participants who completed their first Comrades Marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on Sunday.
Westville resident Meer, 32, teaches maths and English at Hillgrove Primary School in Newlands West, Durban.
Meer received a resounding send-off on Friday when the school held a special assembly.
He said he carried that motivation, support and well wishes throughout the gruelling 89.5km race. He completed the race in 10 hours 37 minutes.
Meer said he was inspired and motivated to take up road running by a colleague who happened to be a seasoned runner. Meer began training in 2019 when he joined the Westville Athletics Club. He participated in other races of various distances as per protocol to qualify for the Comrades Marathon.
“When Covid-19 restricted people’s movements and gatherings, I had to do virtual runs. I am a soccer player and running was a challenge to me. One needs to be disciplined when training and the first step is to get yourself on the road to train. I have biokineticists in my family so they spurred me on,” Meer said.
Mentally, Meer broke down the race into 10km segments, started off at a slow pace and gradually latched on to the momentum from other runners alongside him, including motivation from friends, bystanders and family along the route. Meer said the Inchanga and Drummond portion of the race was his biggest challenge.
“There is immense support on the route. The bystanders read your name on your shirt below your race number and even though they do not know you personally, they motivate you to keep going,” Meer said.
He returned to school on Monday and hopes his run will inspire the school pupils to reach for their goals and dreams.
The Comrades Marathon had more than 15 000 runners who entered the race from all over the world. The Comrades Marathon is run annually in KwaZulu-Natal between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direction of the race alternates each year between the “up” run (87km) starting from Durban and the “down” run (now 90.184km) starting from Pietermaritzburg.
Daily News