Emotions run high at the Mandela Marathon

Lebo Masike ran the Mandela Marathon on Sunday. She says it's the most emotional marathon she has ever run...

 

Sunday 25th of August had finally arrived. My alarm went off at 2:30am and without much thought I was wide awake. Usually on a Sunday at that time I am already in Umhlanga prepping for the show to go on air at 3am. 

 

An early start helps ease the nerves ahead of a marathon and it also means breakfast at 3am: crazy but true. 

 

Surprisingly I was calm as I had my meal. All was in order and my friend and I were set to leave for Pietermaritzburg at 4am.

 

At 4am I got a message from my friend, who had just woken up: "set my alarm for 4 and not 3:30, give me 30 minutes."

 

I decided to remain calm and call my dad who was celebrating his 62nd birthday. No luck getting hold of him so I turned to music and had Liquiddeep's Rise Again on repeat...

 

Finally at 4:45am we left for Pietermaritzburg. All that was on my mind was that I was going to be joining many other passionate runners to celebrate the great spirit of Mandela. 

 

The vibe at the start was amazing; music and people in high spirits. At five minutes to the 7am start we sang the national anthem. I just got all emotional.

 

The first thing you encounter just after the start is a hill, so I knew that I was in for an interesting challenge. 

 

I hit panic mode when I realized that the hills were never-ending and the first cut-off point was at 8:10am. I knew then that I did not come this far to get on the bus back to the finish. 

 

The support from the community and fellow runners was amazing. That kept me going when it got a bit much along the route.

 

At the 35km mark my legs started to scream at me. I then told myself that the rest of the way would be run with the mind - which was a good call. 

 

At the 40km mark I screamed "At last!". Running makes me do things totally out of character and I love it:)  

 

Getting to the capture side at the finish and seeing images of Madiba I got all emotional again. 

 

I could not wait to get my medal at the end; it just felt so magical. I had the medal around my neck on the drive back to Durban. 

 

The 42.2km marathon is my small way of saying thank you for the sacrifices and the life I am living now. 

 

I know without a doubt I will be back again in 2014. (I am filled with tears as I write this)

 

- Lebo Masike 

 

* Catch Lebo on-air between 3am and 6am on weekends.