The Soutpansberg Athletics Club (Skillies) held their annual AGM and Comrades Marathon send-off at their clubhouse in Louis Trichardt on Saturday, 31 May. Everyone in attendance was looking forward to the "big" day ahead – Comrades 2025 – taking place on Sunday, 8 June, with a "down run" over 89.98km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
As part of the AGM, some of the club's athletes were rewarded for outstanding performances during the past season. Moses Modau received the trophy for Best Male Athlete, and Anel Roets the trophy for Best Female Athlete, while Karla van Zyl received the award for Most Improved Athlete, and Tshepo Dhlamini the award for Most Outstanding Achievement.
The Skillies have some "heavyweights" taking part in the 2025 Comrades down run. Manie Pretorius will be lining up to complete his 10th Comrades, with Moses Modau aiming to complete his 12th. Most impressively, Kanakana Manwadu will be lacing up his running shoes to complete his 21st Comrades Marathon – 23 years after starting his journey in 2002. The club also has three first-timers setting out to complete "The Ultimate Human Race", namely Victor Matodzi, Xongole Nghatsane and Mpumi Masilela.
Club members and Comrades athletes were once again treated to a motivational speech and some words of wisdom from Graig Whitcomb. During his speech, Whitcomb stated that the most important thing was to never give up and to enjoy every second of the journey. Comrades athletes also received goodie bags filled with essential running items, such as sunscreen, rehydration drinks, lip balm, and most importantly, food – and gloves to keep warm.
Regarding the goodie bags, the club thanked all the sponsors who had made them possible, including NHC (Nel Havinga and Corbett), Anhetico Properties, NTK, Spar, Sewing Centre & School Zone, The Stamp Shop, Macridge, Vitality, and Hettie Roets.
Seasoned veteran and club chairperson Ferreira Nel will be putting on his running shoes for the 11th time. With this in mind, Nel gave some tips and tricks to ensure everyone crosses the finish line in time. "The race is as much mental as it is physical – if not more so," said Nel, urging athletes to prepare for mental mind games. He added: "You can either view pain as a weakness leaving the body – very, very slowly and dramatically during the race – or say to yourself, 'I'm sure they're serving beer at the finish.'"
Having a solid support base is also a big plus, and for Nel, that support is his family. He said he could not imagine doing the Comrades without them. The camaraderie along the way is also something to behold as fellow runners are not "competitors" but ordinary people from all walks of life. Being treated like a celebrity for about 12 hours – and the ultimate bragging rights of "I did the Comrades Marathon" – never gets old and remains a powerful motivator.