Mike Cowling

Community Chest Durban & Pietermaritzburg

Personal Message:

In 2019 I completed my 42nd Comrades Marathon with every intention of continuing for as long as the body and mind permitted. A positive development was that the training in early 2020 went exceedingly well. During February and March I ran 3 marathons and 3 half marathons in alternate weeks over a 6 week period and felt reasonably strong at the end. This was the bulk of the Comrades training and I was looking forward to doing an ultra marathon (52kms) and a route tester (55kms) and then it would all be over- besides running the actual race. And then the plan came crashing down with the advent of the Covid pandemic and the hard lockdown (which prohibited any outdoor running) followed by various other lockdowns and restrictions which prevented any proper training. Needless to say Comrades was caught up in all of this. There was talk of postponements to a later date in the year and, finally, cancellation. In the interim I had 2 serious falls – both requiring surgery. The first resulted in a ruptured quadriceps tendon with no running for 3 months (which was a totally new experience for me) whereas the second fall resulted in a torn rotator cuff in the shoulder and no training for 6 weeks. As a result I didn’t have much appetite for taking on the Comrades in 2022 – especially since it was going to be run in August. So for the first time in almost 50 years I watched the Race on television! But I was determined to make a comeback so started training seriously again in Jan 2023. The result was that, after an extremely nervous and cautious start, I managed to finish the Race for the 43rd time. And so 2024 has arrived along with the challenge to complete my 44th Comrades. So far the training is on schedule. I managed to qualify on the Hillcrest marathon which means that it is now all systems go. Once again I will be running for Community Chest with the focus being on early childhood development which is such an essential aspect of any child’s education and development. The Community Chest is extensively involved in this process and runs a number of support programmes. Since this will be my 44th Comrades I am hoping to raise R44 000 so any contributions will be a big help towards reaching this goal.