Comrades Marathon – XIAMEN DELEGATION AT COMRADES – 67 MINUTES FOR MANDELA DAY – 2014 AIMS WORLD CONGRESS

2013 COMRADES MARATHON
Runners Newsletter – August 2013

"Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be."

                                                                                            – Joyce Carol Oates, author

XIAMEN DELEGATION AT COMRADES

The CMA hosted a delegation from the Chinese port city of Xiamen at Comrades Marathon House on Friday, 26 July 2013. The high powered four member delegation representing various sporting bodies in the south eastern Chinese city met with members of the CMA Board and Staff in a bid to learn more about the world's most iconic ultra-marathon and to cement ties with the CMA on behalf of the Xiamen Marathon.

Leading the delegation was Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Sports Inspector, Yan Zhiwei who was extremely impressed by the CMA's long and illustrious history as well as its high ranking in the global road-running fraternity. Haiyang went on to highlight the parallels between the CMA and the ruling party of China; both of which go back to their origins in the year 1921.

CMA Vice Chairperson, Macdonald Chitja welcomed the visitors, saying ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for the two road-running organisers to collaborate and share valuable knowledge with each other. The CMA has been at the forefront of impeccable race organising and we are always happy and willing to share our long-founded knowledge and experience with international road running organisers.'

The aim of the visitors to our country is to find out more about the world's biggest and oldest ultra-marathon and to create a more cohesive working relationship between the Comrades Marathon and the Xiamen Marathon. A CMA delegation was sent to the Xiamen International Marathon in 2011 upon invitation from the Race Organising Committee there.

Following in those footsteps, another invitation has been extended to the CMA to be a part of the 2014 Xiamen Marathon on 2 January. The plan of the CMA is to identify two up and coming Comrades Marathon runners, in conjunction with KwaZulu-Natal Athletics, who will accompany the CMA team and participate in the 2014 Xiamen International Marathon.  

It is worth noting that the Xiamen International Marathon has been held every year since 2003 and carries the accolade of an International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Gold Label Road Race for five consecutive years. The City of Xiamen also carries the accolade of being China's "most romantic leisure city" as well as being ranked as the country's second "most suitable city for living".

CMA General Manager, Gary Boshoff says, ‘We are proud to host the Xiamen delegation, having done so for the past two years now; thereby creating working partnerships with international races. The Xiamen International Marathon is not only an esteemed Gold Label Race but also a member of the Association of International Marathons (AIMS) and like the Comrades Marathon, is known for its immaculate organising and world class standards.'

67 MINUTES FOR MANDELA DAY

The CMA Staff, together with Chairman, Dave Dixon spent their 67 minutes with the awesome children at the Assist Care Centre for abandoned babies in Pietermaritzburg. The Staff had adopted the care-centre as their corporate social initiative and presented a new fridge to the ‘parents' of these gorgeous little ones, Mark & Rene.

TOYOTA WIN-A-CAR HANDOVER

The delighted winner of the Toyota-Amabeadibeadi Win-A-Car competition, Sheila Sawers of Durban North got to drive off in her brand new Toyota Etios last month. Sheila says, ‘Thank you to Toyota and the CMA – I am elated, elated, elated! It was a wonderful moment that has just continued on and on as the congratulations and reality slowly set in.' Sheila had entered the Toyota lucky draw on Comrades Race Day more than 110 times. On winning the incredible Toyota Etios Sheila says, ‘I have won small competitions before but to drive off in this car makes me feel fabulous, lucky, blessed and very grateful.

My biggest thanks go to Toyota for making such an awesome prize available. Thank you Toyota for your commitment to our future runners and the charitable work of Comrades!' CMA Chairman, Dave Dixon says, ‘Toyota's generosity and goodwill has ensured that the profile of the Comrades-Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive has been elevated in a huge way. We are grateful to Toyota for their unwavering support. Our gratitude also goes out to every person who entered the Amabeadibeadi lucky draw and contributed to the fundraising for our charities via this awesome initiative.'

NEW SPONSORS     

The CMA thanks its new sponsors – RaceFood, TechniBlock and Transact – who added to the success of the 2013 Comrades Marathon.

The CMA has welcomed New Balance as the new footwear and apparel sponsor to ‘The Ultimate Human Race'. With its slogan, ‘Let's make excellent happen', the company is all set to capture a larger segment of South Africa's running community via their new-found association with the Comrades Marathon. As it stands, New Balance ranks among the four top shoe choices for Comrades runners. CMA General Manager, Gary Boshoff says, ‘With its nearly 80 year history in perfecting its top quality running shoes, New Balance has shown a determination in catering to the needs of high performance athletes and claiming its fair share of the sportswear market. We are delighted to welcome New Balance onto the Comrades platform.'

2014 COMRADES MARATHON LAUNCH

The CMA is upbeat about next year's ‘down-run' on 1 June 2014. The official 2014 Comrades Marathon Launch will be held in Johannesburg in August.

2014 AIMS WORLD CONGRESS

The CMA thanks all Sponsors who gracefully accepted our invitation to the Annual Sponsors Dinner at the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban North. Your presence added to the evening's fun and good cheer.

RUNNER'S WORLD-COMRADES PASTA PARTY

OUR 2013 CATHSSETA INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Together with CATHSSETA, the CMA held a 3-month long internship programme involving our Staff and 5 dynamic students from the Durban University of Technology. These fun and feisty young ones proved to be a hard-working and determined group who added a huge sense of dynamism to the team. We look forward to these go-getters putting their 2013 Comrades experience to good use and moving on up in the wide and wonderful world of sport and eventing.

MODERN ATHLETE

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2014 COMRADES MARATHON LAUNCH

The CMA is upbeat about next year's ‘down-run' on 1 June 2014. The official 2014 Comrades Marathon Launch will be held in Johannesburg in August.

2013 UNOGWAJA CHALLENGE – THANK YOU ETANA

In its third year, the 2013 Unogwaja Challenge had set for themselves an "optimistic" charity fundraising target of R250,000; having raised just over R50,000 in 2012 for the Comrades Marathon Association's (CMA) Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive. As Founding Member of the Unogwaja Challenge, John McInroy says, the whole concept of Unogwaja is based on generosity of heart and spirit, and thanks to a sponsorship from Etana Insurance, the continuation of the epic challenge this year was possible. McInroy says, ‘It feels great to have Etana on our side.

Their donation of R120,000 to the Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive on behalf of the 12 Unogwaja team members who crossed the Comrades finish line generated much excitement and enthusiasm which no doubt resulted in people from far and wide contributing towards the charity drive which incredibly passed the half a million rand mark.' The CMA's Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive – consisting of the Community Chest, PinkDrive, Sports Trust, Starfish, Wildlands and World Vision – will enjoy the fruit of this generous financial contribution from Etana and other do-gooders.

McInroy adds, ‘This will not only make a significant difference to each of the 6 Amabeadibeadi charities but it has also served to give us tremendous belief that we can raise more funds in the future as next year we will be putting it out there to raise in excess of R1million!' CMA's General Manager, Gary Boshoff says, ‘Etana via its sponsorship and financial rewarding of the Unogwaja Team for their efforts in promoting charitable fundraising has displayed a real act of goodwill. We at the CMA value that and thank them for their contribution to the success of the 2013 Comrades Marathon.'

PINKDRIVE

It is Durban's turn to host one of the Pick n Pay Women's Walks. It is a 5km fun walk that raises funds for PinkDrive who provide Breast Cancer education and screening to women in underprivileged communities.

Join Pick n Pay and PinkDrive in support of breast cancer awareness at the Sunkist Lawns, Beachfront Promenade, on Saturday 3 August 2013. There are still tickets available for the walk and everyone can be a part of it – men, women and children! The walk starts at 9.00am and the gates open at 7.30am. Entries cost R35 for adults and R20 for children under 18. For convenience, there are several ways you can enter.

You can visit one of these Pick n Pay stores: Pick n Pay Hyper by the Sea, Pick n Pay Umhlanga and Pick n Pay La Lucia Mall, or you can book online (www.pnptickets.co.za). If neither of these works for you, you can simply click on the e-mailer below. More details can be found on the Pick n Pay Facebook page or here

MY COMRADES STORY by Matthew James Low

"A man of inconceivable power…
The chilled and windswept streets of Durban lay grounds to the start of the 1977 'Up' run. On this morning began the legacy of my grandfather, Derek Low, who would eventually lay claim to 11 Comrades Bronze medals, a green number and the passion of his grandson to follow in his footsteps 35 years later. 

Running most of his Comrades marathons on his wedding anniversary, with my grandmother reluctantly seconding him at every opportunity (most women would understand her reluctance with regard to it being a wedding anniversary), he soldiered on through every trial and tribulation one would encounter throughout the race. So, at the young age of 23, I found myself ready to do the same, and run in his memory in the 2012 'down' run. I was pushed to my limits, looking to him for assistance at Inchanga, fields hill and Pinetown, but when it came to the final 5kms I found myself running at a speed that dumbfounded all runners I passed! I was overcome by an inconceivable power that swept me onto the Kingsmead field and across the finish, it was then that I realized he was that power, as he always had been…"

Matthew wins a special Arnica Ice hamper for his Comrades story and you could too…

WIN WITH ARNICA ICE AND MARK II

Send us your Comrades story in 200 words max and stand a chance to win one of 10 hampers. Each hamper is valued at R350 and is made up of:

• 1 x Mark II Pre-Race Rub
• 1 x Mark II Revive Sport Mist®
• 1 x Mark II GoZo^TM
• 1 x Arnica Ice
• 2 x Flexus Bandages

The other winning stories as selected by the CMA Editorial Team will be published in the coming issue of our Runners Newsletter. Please email your story to: delaine@comrades.com

COMMUNITY CHEST – FOR THE SISTERS

Support the Community Chest of Pietermaritzburg as this official Amabeadibeadi charity honours the precious women in our lives at a special Woman's Breakfast on Thursday, 8 August 2013 – R150 pp. Please email: chestpro@communitychest.org.za

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

The CMA extends a huge Thank You to all Sponsors for their valuable contribution to the Comrades Marathon. Please give us your feedback and stay in touch.

Tel: 033 897 8650
Fax: 033 897 8660
Email: info@comrades.com
Website: www.comrades.com
Post: P.O.Box 100621, Scottsville 3209, KwaZulu-Natal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ComradesMarathon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@ComradesRace

2013 has once again been a good year for our six Amabeadibeadi Charities.

The Race4Charity drive has raised well over 800-thousand rand.  A huge thank you goes out to every runner who signed up and raised funds; and to all the supporters who contributed to its success. 

We are still tallying up the final figures from the Expo and Charities' individual campaigns which will soon be publicised.

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