Chitungwiza comrades ready to rumble

Sport
BY BRIAN NKIWANE A band of Chitungwiza athletes who train with reigning Comrades Marathon champion Stephen Muzhingi will grapple for the elite title run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg next Sunday. 

The Unit N-based Muzhingi is set to be joined in the marathon by his close buddies and training mates, Paul Mhizha, Collen Makaza, Moses Njobvu and Kingston Maringe.Mhizha has secured sponsorship from Bluff Meats, the same company that supports Muzhingi. The pair has been regular participants in the Comrades Marathon race for the past five years with Muzhingi winning the race in 2009 and 2010.

Speaking to Standardsport from his base in Durban, Mhizha paid tribute to his fellow countryman Muzhingi for all the success that he is riding on as of now.“I have participated in a number of ultra-marathon events as preparations to the Comrades Marathon. Recently I took part in the Chatsworth’s Ultra-marathon where I came fourth on April 10. This actually won me a sponsor,” Mhizha said.

“This time around, the Comrades Marathon race will be an up-run which a number of us (Zimbabweans) favour ahead of the down-run. We have been preparing hard in hilly areas like Greystone Park and the Kopje specifically for the event,” Mhizha said.

The Chitungwiza runners, despite their humble beginnings, are part of the 19 617 runners who will take to the tarmac for the 2011 Comrades Marathon. Made up of 78% male and 22% female runners, the 86th Ultimate Human Race is set to be one of the best “up-runs” ever.

There has been an increase in the number of foreign runners to this year’s race. The largest participating countries include; United Kingdom with 253 runners, the United States of America with 179 runners, Australia with 152 runners and Brazil with 115 runners. The “up-run”  has also attracted 4 882 novices whose endurance will be tested in the Comrades Marathon.

For the first time in the history of the Comrades Marathon, an elite team of Ethiopian runners have entered and will pose a formidable threat to both local runners and defending champion,  Muzhingi.

The top 10 finishers in both the men’s and women’s competitions in the 2010 Comrades Marathon will line up again this year.The women’s race will once again see the dominant Nurgalieva twins Elena and Olesya battle it out for top position. They will be joined by Marina Myshlyanova, Kami Semick, Farwa Mentoor, Lizzy Hawker, Tatyana Zhirkova, Lindsay van Aswegen and Adinda Kurger, to name but a few of the top female competitors. In the 2006 “up-run”, Elena Nurgalieva broke the record with a brilliant 6:09:24  finish.

The Comrades Marathon will start at 05:30 on Sunday and will be screened live on SABC 2.