Durban -It was a close race for best friends S’thembiso Gcaba and Calvin Siyanda Ntenga with one just making the cut-off at halfway and the other just missing it.
Gcaba just made the cut-off, while Ntenga missed it. “I’m still happy,” said Ntenga, “Today wasn’t about me, it was about my friend. I have two Comrades under my belt. This one was S’thembiso’s first race. So I slowed down and pushed him to get in.”
Gcaba expressed gratitude for Ntenga encouraging him through the race. “He pushed me all the way. And now I will finish this race for him,” he said before dashing off to continue the race.
Meanwhile, for Limpopo’s Mbhazima Bible Mafumo - who also missed the cut-off at the halfway point in Drummond - this year’s race was still a personal win for him.
“I’ve done the Comrades six times now and I’ve completed all the rest. This is the first time that I missed the cut-off at halfway,” said Mafumo.
“For every other race I had always passed the halfway line at least an hour before cut-off. This year I just missed it. But I’m still happy to have made it to halfway,” he said.
Mafumo believed that a recent bout of flu had taken a toll on his body as he could feel himself “surrendering” along the route.