Disabled athlethes gear up for Sundays Hillcrest Marathon

When the 1 637 runners line up at the starting line of the annual Hillcrest Marathon this Sunday, in front of them, leaving 15 minutes before the main gun goes off, will be eight physically disabled athletes who will compete in the 42km event in hand-cycles.

This will be only the second year that disabled athletes will participate in the Hillcrest marathon, which is used by runners as one of the main qualifiers for the Comrades Marathon.

Last year, just one disabled athlete completed the race, but this year’s eight-fold increase has excited organisers who say they are pleased the Hillcrest Marathon is gaining popularity among disabled athletes who struggle to find events to compete in.

One of the those disabled athletes is Braam Mouton, chairman of the SA chapter of Achilles International, a club that caters mainly for disabled athletes.

Mouton, who was a keen athlete in his youth and who completed two Comrades Marathons as an able-bodied athlete, took up hand-cycling three years ago after a knee replacement. “I could no longer run but still wanted to be part of the sport. Hand-cycling was the obvious choice.”

Mouton has been involved in disabled athletics for many years and has, since 1997, been the principal of the Ethembeni School for physically disabled children near Hillcrest.

In 1999, American disabled runner Dick Traum was a special guest of the Comrades Marathon and his VIP vehicle drove past the Ethembeni school, which is on the Comrades route. He was greeted by the pupils who line the route each year on wheelchairs and spur on the runners.

“He was moved by what he saw and the next day arranged to meet me. Dick Traum was the first amputee to run the New York Marathon and started Achilles International for disabled athletes.

“He wanted me to start a chapter here in South Africa and that is how it all began.”

Over the years, with the help of Achilles International and local fund-raising, Mouton has been able to send at least two pupils from the school to compete in the New York Marathon every year.

Mouton’s goal is to promote disabled athletics through the Achilles club and develop a calendar of events for the disabled community.

He said there were very few races in SA in which disabled athletes could compete and he hoped the Hillcrest Marathon would become the premier race for disabled athletes.

“If this race is successful, we would like to turn it into the Race of Hope and Possibilities in South Africa and create an awareness of Achilles.”

Sister Maseko, one of KwaZulu-Natal’s top long-distance runners in the ’90s who was paralysed in a car crash in 2001, is also set to compete.

“I have never lost the desire to compete.

“I have been competing in hand-cycles for a number of years now and I have been training very hard for this race,” he said.

Patsy Clemmans, one of the organisers, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for athletics to grow in the disabled community. Hopefully one day they can get their own race.”