Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Adam Navis.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
“As I walk toward the mountain, I try to find out what has gone wrong. This does not help. I am in good shape. I have not run too fast. I ate and drank fluids. Normally, I am great at knowing what my body can do. But today I have lost all desire. I do not have foot blisters, legs cramps, painful knees, or any usual running problems. But my brain has gone away. It will not tell my legs to get going. I can not explain this. I am only reporting.”
Voice 1
These words are written by Amby Burfoot as he tries to complete the Comrades Marathon. Many people consider this race to be the greatest running race in the world. It is a race with a rich history. It has special and fun traditions. But the Comrades Marathon is not only about professional runners. The Comrades Marathon celebrates normal people doing something amazing.
Voice 2
Vic Clapham saw pain, death, and struggle during World War One. From 1914 to 1918 he served in the South African Infantry. Many people think World War I happened only in Europe. But there was fighting in places like South Africa as well.
Voice 1
Clapham saw a lot of suffering, but he also saw men come together and support each other. He was amazed by how the soldiers dealt with such difficult conditions. When the war ended, Clapham wanted to honor all the men who died. But he did not want to build a statue. He wanted something where people could test themselves - something to test their courage.
Voice 2
He decided to hold a race. It would be a 56 mile run from the city of Pietermaritzburg to the city of Durban. He would be honouring the men he fought with. So, he called it the Comrades Marathon.
Voice 1
At first he had trouble. His supporters thought that the distance was too long and too difficult. Clapham disagreed. His comrades had been normal people. They had carried heavy equipment and marched all over Africa. Because of this experience, he believed that trained athletes could run 56 miles. So the first Comrades Marathon was held on May 24, 1921. There were only 34 runners.
Voice 2
The Comrades has been run every year since then, except during World War II. Over time it has become more and more popular. Today, the Comrades usually limit the number of entries. For the 2010 Comrades the field of runners had to be limited to 15,000.
Voice 1
Part of its popularity is the traditions that set Comrades above other races. First there is the distance. 56 miles is longer than two marathons! Running a marathon is amazing. Running two together? That’s something special.
Voice 2
Most races run the same direction every year, but not Comrades. One year it goes from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Then the next year it goes the other way, from Durban back to Pietermaritzburg. This almost makes it two races in one. You can run Comrades twice and have a different experience each time.
Voice 1
Also, there are different coloured race numbers, or bibs. If you finish nine Comrades you get a special yellow bib. If you finish more than ten, then you get a green bib. The number on this bib becomes yours forever. No one else will ever get that number. You have earned it.
Voice 2
Finally, there is the twelve hour ending. When the clock gets close to twelve hours, the race director walks to the finish line. He stands with his back to the runners and watches the clock. As the time gets closer, the crowd goes wild. They cheer people to run faster. Runners who are close must push themselves to finish in time. There are no excuses. Twelve hours after the race began the race director fires a gun into the air. The Comrades is over. Those who finish in twelve hours and one second will get nothing. No medal. No recognition. No record of their effort. However, writer Amby Burfoot writes:
Voice 3
“There is some thing for the first non-finisher. He or she becomes an immediate hero. She is on television and on the front of every newspaper. To many South Africans, the Comrades runner who goes all that distance, for nothing, is more of a symbol, than the winner. That is another great tradition. It is one I think we all can accept, even if we are not sure what it means.”
Voice 1
South Africa used to be governed by the laws of Apartheid. Apartheid laws segregated, or separated, the people with black skin from people with white skin. It was illegal for a person to marry someone with another skin color. Apartheid laws favored the white race. Life for non-white South Africans was very difficult under Apartheid.
Voice 2
In these conditions, the director of the Comrades Marathon wanted to make the race an international event. So in 1975 the Comrades Marathon changed its rules. Women could run with men. Black people could run with white people. Young people could run with old people. In a few years, many more black and female runners were running the Comrades Marathon. This was twenty years BEFORE the end of the Apartheid laws.
Voice 1
Is the Comrades Marathon the greatest foot race in the world? There are strong reasons to think so. The strongest reason is that Comrades is about something more than running - especially for South Africans. Writer Jacob Dlamini explains:
Voice 4
“The Comrades is a way to tell the history of modern South Africa. Comrades tells us a lot about who we are and what we are able to do. It is a race started as a celebration of human ability. But it limited that celebration to only a few until the 1970s. Now it is a race that shows the best of what South Africa has to offer. By doing that, it permits South Africans to compete against the very best in the world. More importantly, the Comrades puts such mental and physical demands on its runners that differences of race, ethnicity, gender and class are meaningless. The hills of Comrades do not care how much money you have, what kind of hair you have, or what language you speak.”
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