Meet 60-year-old who hasn't missed a Comrades race since 1990

The Herald

21 hours ago

'I also thought I'll never go back after my first one because of the way I felt. My body was in so much pain. How I find myself going back for the second race, I don't know. Maybe it's the pain that motivates me to come back time and again,' he said.
The father of two ran his first Comrades when his eldest daughter was just a week old. He ran an impressive time of 8 hrs 16 mins. 'My family has long accepted my love for the sport. They tell me if my body is still willing, I must keep going because they can see this is where my happiness starts.'
Over the years, Poli has achieved four silver medals, nine Bill Rowan medals, 18 Bronze medals, three Vic Clapham medals, with a best time of 7 hours, 18 minutes.
His 34 Comrades races put him in an elite class of only a handful of runners who have achieved triple green number status. Less than 100 runners have completed more than 30 Comrades Marathon. This is a remarkable achievement considering that more than 20,000 runners enter the race every year. Traditionally, runners keep the same race number each year. After completing 10 Comrades, earning three wins, or achieving five gold medals, a runner is awarded a Green Number, which is permanently reserved for them.
'I have been fortunate that nothing has kept me from going to participate, no serious injury, no flu, and not even a funeral in my family or a close friend. No-one dies in June in my family. It's as if they probably think I will not attend their funeral and so they all 'choose' other months to die. It's been God's grace,' he said.
Polis said running has helped him to be disciplined. Growing up in Sebokeng, it could have been easy to go astray, but thanks to running, it gave him purpose and direction in life. He has had only two bad experiences while running, one being bumped by a drunken motorist while participating in the Soweto Marathon and a terrible fall at the Comrades Marathon.
' I once fell while running down Drummond Hill during Comrades. I was running with the leading lady, I tripped over the cat-eyes [road reflector] and went tumbling down. I had to recover for about 30 minutes, and I carried on to finish,' he said.
Polis, a professional chef, has ran all his Comrades in the colours of his former employer the correctional services department. 'Comrades is an endurance race, it needs discipline, patience and mental strength. Start slow and save energy, you have a long day ahead of you. At some point exhaustion will set in and your legs will want to stop, and your mind starts looking for excuses. It is your reasons why you started the race that will take you to the finish,' he advises.
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