2 days ago
Runner guns for sub-9 after hiatus
AGE is nothing but a number for this Comrades runner who, following a drawn-out hiatus from the marathon, is aiming for a time of under nine hours.
The Westville local, a firefighter (Gillitts fire station commander) by day and a dog rescuer in his free time, Rhys Kitching will be running his 14th Comrades this year, with one of his goals being to raise funds for his free time endeavour.
Running this Comrades to raise funds for the dog rescuers of Blue Bundu Brigade, this member of the Chiltern Athletic Club said he always admired runners and was inspired by them from a tender age when his father was part of the Hash House Harriers – an international group of social running clubs.
A life-complicating operation shoved him into a long break, which resulted in his brother-in-law overtaking the number of runs he has partaken in the Comrades.
'And now I'm feeling bad,' he said with a chuckle as he counted that his brother-in-law has now run the Comrades over 20 times.
The Blue Bundu Brigade rescues abandoned dogs and sniffs out new homes for them, and needs funds for pet food, vet bills, deworming, vaccines, toys for the dogs and other related costs.
'If no one can support, they can refer us to people who can,' said Kitching, who referred potential donors to the Blue Bundu Brigade Facebook page: The Blue Bundu Brigade Animal Rescue & Rehoming NPC Reg No 2019/317472/08.
Time trials, he said, were a great help for his preparation in terms of speed as he seeks to make the finish line in under nine hours. His best time when he was younger was just over eight hours.
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'I just want to show that age is not a factor,' said the 52-year-old on the time he has set his sights on.
His tactic will involve holding back when running to conserve his energy by avoiding running too fast.
Despite the long break, it was the first time that Kitching qualified this early for the Comrades, which he did in November.
He cited his first Comrades as his memorable and important one, 'to achieve crossing the finish line', with the support that runners receive throughout the race a critical occurrence that he appreciates.
'But it is not just one specific one, it is the whole experience, it is different and it cannot be compared to other marathons,' said Kitching.
Kitching said he is motivated by the challenge of it all, the preparation to stretch human capabilities and the resulting mental boost.
'Mentally for Comrades, you need to be strong and with every run you get stronger,' said Kitching, who is also mentoring a colleague, Ashley Diedericks.
His advice to first-time runners is that they should get ample rest ahead of the race to reduce the risk of sustaining injuries and fatigue.
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