96-683: Vic Clapham (16 November 1886 – 1962) was the founder of the Comrades Marathon , the world's largest ultra-marathon, of approximately 90 km held annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in South Africa . As a World War I veteran, Clapham conceived the race to commemorate the South African soldiers killed during the war. It was run for the first time on 24 May 1921 and has been run more than 80 times since then, now with an average field of 20,000 runners. Vic Clapham
192-569: A Sotho -speaking person would say " ke motho ", which means "he/she is a human". The aspect of this that would be exemplified by a tale told (often, in private quarters) in Nguni " kushone abantu ababili ne Shangaan ", in Sepedi " go tlhokofetje batho ba babedi le leShangane ", in English (two people died and one Shangaan ). In each of these examples, humanity comes from conforming to or being part of
288-670: A Comrades first, 11th-place finisher Simon Williamson was months later promoted to tenth place and awarded the last gold medal by the then South African president FW de Klerk . Williamson had passed another runner, Ephraim Sekothlong, in the last 100 metres to claim 11th spot and, unknowingly, a gold medal. In 1999, the Motsoeneng brothers from Bethlehem, Free State , who strongly resembled one another, performed an act of cheating during another down run. By exchanging places with his brother at toilet stops and aided by car lifts at various stages, Sergio Motsoeneng finished ninth, which came as
384-591: A catalyst, with our Foreign Service Officers launching new projects in tandem with those NGOs, philanthropies, and corporations at the front lines of foreign affairs to discover untapped potential, inspire fresh ideas, and create new solutions. And we will act as a collaborator, leading interagency coordination here in Washington and cross-sector collaboration in the field, with our Ambassadors working closely with our non-governmental partners to plan and implement projects for maximum impact and sustainability. It takes
480-441: A combined ten Comrades titles from 2003 to 2013. Stephen Muzhingi also became the first athlete to win three races in a row (2009, 2010 and 2011) since Bruce Fordyce won three in a row in the eighties (1981, 1982 and 1983). South African supremacy over the men's race was restored when Ludwick Mamabolo won the down run in 2012. David Gatebe shattered the men's down record in 2016, while Bongmusa Mthembu has won three titles. Among
576-406: A community population with which individuals empathise and concomitantly, have a vested interest in its collective prosperity. Urbanisation and the aggregation of people into an abstract and bureaucratic state undermines this empathy. African intellectual historians like Michael Onyebuchi Eze have argued, however, that this idea of "collective responsibility" must not be understood as absolute in which
672-566: A community)." The philosophy of uMunthu has been passed on through proverbs such as Mwana wa mnzako ngwako yemwe, ukachenjera manja udya naye (your neighbor's child is your own, his/her success is your success too). Some notable Malawian uMunthu philosophers and intellectuals who have written about this worldview are Augustine Musopole , Gerard Chigona , Chiwoza Bandawe , Richard Tambulasi , Harvey Kwiyani and Happy Kayuni . This includes Malawian philosopher and theologist Harvey Sindima ’s treatment of uMunthu as an important African philosophy
768-447: A cycling accident in her native Northern Ireland at the age of 24. - Also in 2019, the titanium Robert Mtshali medal was introduced for a time between 9hrs 00min and sub 10hrs 00min. Robert Mtshali was the first unofficial black runner in the 1935 Comrades Marathon, finishing his race in a time of 9 hours and 30 minutes. His efforts were not officially recorded as government and race rules of the time stipulated that, in order to compete in
864-454: A full person, a real self or a genuine human being". Ukama , i.e. relationships are important. Among the Shona people, for example, when a person dies, his or her property is shared amongst relatives and there are culturally approved ways of doing this. The practice is called kugova . Samkange (1980)'s maxim on morality says "If and when one is faced with a decisive choice between wealth and
960-414: A green number, permanently allocated to the runner for all future races. Runners running their 20th, 30th and 40th races are also indicated by yellow numbers – differently formatted on different years. Medals are awarded to all runners completing the course in under 12 hours. Medals are currently awarded as follows: - Prior to 2000, only gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded. - The Bill Rowan medal
1056-501: A harmonious relationship. Second, a broken relationship can be as ethically desirable as a harmonious one. For instance, freedom follows from a break from oppression. Finally, harmonious relations can be as oppressive and false as disharmonious ones. For instance, the cowboy and his horse are in a harmonious relationship." Ubuntu is often presented in short statements called maxims by Samkange (1980). Some of these are: Ubuntu has been in existence in orature (oral literature) and in
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#17327931915571152-464: A lead of two minutes over Kuhn. He entered the stadium in the lead with only 80 metres left to go. Suddenly Kuhn appeared only 15 metres behind and closed in quickly. Malone put in a burst for the line, but with only 15 metres left he fell to the ground with cramps. He attempted to get up again, but with the line within reach Kuhn flew past to grab victory. The mayoral message was forgotten as both runners embraced. The Comrades had over 1,000 starters for
1248-667: A living memorial to the spirit of the soldiers of the Great War. Permission was at first refused but was eventually granted. The first Comrades Marathon took place on 24 May 1921, Empire Day , starting outside the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg with 34 runners. The race has been run every year since then, except for the years 1941–1945 during the Second World War and during COVID restrictions. The constitution of
1344-434: A lower incidence of pain and fatigue than the average runner. In 1993, Herman Matthee, a runner from Bellville athletics club, finished in 7th place and was one of the top ten gold medal winners, but he was later stripped of his gold medal and disqualified when video evidence and eyewitness testimony indicated that he entered the race at Kloof and completed less than 30 km of the 89 km down run. Consequently, in
1440-407: A moral duty – a sort of categorical imperative – that Africans must simply uphold. Mboti cautions against relying on intuitions in attempts to say what Ubuntu is or is not. He concludes that the phrase umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu references a messier, undisciplined relationship between persons, stating that: "First, there is value in regarding a broken relationship as being authentically human as much as
1536-450: A number of runners in the middle to back half of the field may be taking shortcuts. Up – Men Ubuntu (philosophy) Ubuntu ( Zulu pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼù] ) (meaning humanity in some Bantu languages , such as Zulu ) describes a set of closely related Bantu African-origin value systems that emphasize the interconnectedness of individuals with their surrounding societal and physical worlds. "Ubuntu"
1632-696: A proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. Tutu further explained Ubuntu in 2008:. One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects
1728-547: A shade over 10 hours. 1976 saw the emergence of Alan Robb, who won the first of his four Comrades titles. Robb repeated his win in 1977, 1978 and 1980, including breaking the tape in Durban in 1978 in a record 5:29:14, almost 20 minutes and four kilometres ahead of runner-up Dave Wright . During the 1980s the Comrades began with a field of 4,207 in 1980 and topped 5,000 for the first time in 1983. In 1980, Olive Anthony became
1824-532: A shared, global response to meet the shared, global challenges we face. This is the truth taught to us in an old South African principle, ubuntu, or 'A person is a person through other persons.' As Archbishop Desmond Tutu describes this perspective, ubuntu 'is not, "I think therefore I am." It says rather: "I am a human because I belong. I participate. I share. " ' In essence, I am because you are. We are truly all in this together, and we will only succeed by building mutually beneficial partnerships among civil society,
1920-449: A social safety net to vulnerable members of society. Common elements include collectivity. The approach helps to "validate worldview and traditions suppressed by Western Eurocentric cultural hegemony". It is against materialism and individualism. It looks at an individual person as holistically. The social interventions done by social workers, welfare workers and development workers should strengthen, not weaken families, communities, society,
2016-455: A surprise to Nick Bester and other athletes behind him, who could not recall being overtaken. They were exposed when television footage revealed them to be wearing watches on different arms, and a time pad reading that confirmed that one of the brothers was still trailing Bester at Botha's Hill. The brothers performed well in later years, though Sergio tested positive for a banned substance after finishing third in 2010. Use of banned substances
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#17327931915572112-495: Is unhu or hunhu . In Ndebele, it is known as ubuntu. The concept of ubuntu is viewed the same in Zimbabwe as in other African cultures. The Shona phrase munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu means a person is human through others while ndiri nekuti tiri means I am because we are. Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange (1980) highlights the three maxims of Hunhuism or Ubuntuism that shape this philosophy: The first maxim asserts that 'To be human
2208-510: Is a need for understanding but not for vengeance, a need for reparation but not for retaliation, a need for ubuntu but not for victimisation". In South Africa, it has come to be used as a contested term for a kind of humanist philosophy, ethic, or ideology, also known as Ubuntuism propagated in the Africanisation (transition to majority rule) process of these countries during the 1980s and 1990s. New research has begun to question
2304-411: Is a philosophy that is applicable in clinical social work in mental health. Ubuntu can guide research objectives, ethics and methodology. Using ubuntu research approach provides researchers with an African oriented tool that decolonises research agenda and methodology. The objectives of ubuntu research are to empower families, communities and society at large. In doing ubuntu research, the position of
2400-491: Is a word in South Africa – Ubuntu – a word that captures Mandela's greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us. We can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell. But we remember
2496-584: Is claimed to be endemic among top Comrades athletes, but only a small number have been disqualified. Runners who have tested positive include Sergio Motsoeneng, Rasta Mohloli, Viktor Zhdanov, Lephetesang Adoro and Ludwick Mamabolo. Mamabolo was found not guilty due to "technical irregularities". Erythropoietin (EPO), norandrosterone (a metabolite or precursor of nandrolone), methylhexaneamine and testosterone have been mentioned in connection with Comrades athletes. In 2014, an analysis of negative splits by runner and statistician Mark Dowdeswell, suggested that
2592-450: Is highlighted in his 1995 book Africa’s Agenda: The legacy of liberalism and colonialism in the crisis of African values . In film, the English translation of the proverb lent its hand to forming the title of Madonna 's 2008 documentary, I Am Because We Are , about Malawian orphans. In June 2009, in her swearing-in remarks as US Department of State Special Representative for Global Partnerships, Global Partnership Initiative, Office of
2688-527: Is not embedded in my person solely as an individual; my humanity is co-substantively bestowed upon the other and me. Humanity is a quality we owe to each other. We create each other and need to sustain this otherness creation. And if we belong to each other, we participate in our creations: we are because you are, and since you are, definitely I am . The "I am" is not a rigid subject, but a dynamic self-constitution dependent on this otherness creation of relation and distance. An "extroverted communities" aspect
2784-421: Is not the sine qua non of community formation but guards against instrumentalist relationships. Unfortunately, sincere warmth may leave one vulnerable to those with ulterior motives. "Ubuntu" as political philosophy encourages community equality, propagating the distribution of wealth. This socialisation is a vestige of agrarian peoples as a hedge against the crop failures of individuals. Socialisation presupposes
2880-430: Is sometimes translated as "I am because we are" (also "I am because you are"), or "humanity towards others" ( Zulu umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu ). In Xhosa , the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity". Although the most popular term referring to the philosophy today is "ubuntu" ( Zulu language , South Africa),
2976-402: Is the most visible part of this ideology. There is sincere warmth with which people treat both strangers and members of the community. This overt display of warmth is not merely aesthetic but enables the formation of spontaneous communities. The resultant collaborative work within these spontaneous communities transcends the aesthetic and gives functional significance to the value of warmth. Warmth
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3072-444: Is to affirm one's humanity by recognizing the humanity of others and, on that basis, establish respectful human relations with them.' And 'the second maxim means that if and when one is faced with a decisive choice between wealth and the preservation of the life of another human being, then one should opt for the preservation of life'. The third 'maxim' as a 'principle deeply embedded in traditional African political philosophy' says 'that
3168-532: The 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where he finished tenth in the marathon . Hayward retired from the Comrades after establishing new records for both the up and down runs and equalling the five wins of Newton and Ballington. In 1958, the race was won for the first time by Jackie Mekler , who went on to win the race five times, finishing second twice and third twice. In the 1960s, Comrades grew considerably, from 104 starters in 1960 to 703 starters in 1969. Due to
3264-734: The Nelson Mandela presidency in 1994 , the term has become more widely known outside of Southern Africa, notably popularised to English-language readers through the ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu . Tutu was the chairman of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and many have argued that ubuntu was a formative influence on the TRC. In the Shona language , the majority spoken language in Zimbabwe , ubuntu
3360-633: The Shona equivalent of Nguni ubuntu ) by Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange . Hunhuism or Ubuntuism is presented as political ideology for the new Zimbabwe, as Southern Rhodesia attained independence from the United Kingdom. The concept was used in South Africa in the 1990s as a guiding ideal for the transition from apartheid to majority rule . The term appears in the Epilogue of the Interim Constitution of South Africa (1993): "there
3456-412: The 1920s. When he completed the down run in 06:56 in 1923, there were only a handful of spectators on hand to witness the finish because so few thought it possible that the race could be run so quickly. The first woman to run the race was Frances Hayward in 1923, but her entry was refused, so she was an unofficial entrant. She completed the event in 11:35 and although she was not awarded a Comrades medal,
3552-462: The 1981 event when organisers announced that they would associate it with the 20th anniversary of the Republic of South Africa . Fordyce ultimately competed wearing a black armband to signal his protest. He repeated his victories in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (a record 5:24:07 down run), 1987, 1988 (a record 5:27:42 for the up run), and 1990. In 1989, Sam Tshabalala became the first black winner of
3648-475: The 3rd American and first in 20 years to win. The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic , with foreign registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022. Similarly, the 2021 in-person edition of the race was also cancelled due to the pandemic. The 2022 Comrades down run was the first in-person event following the Covid-19 pandemic. It
3744-540: The 7 1 ⁄ 2 -hour barrier and win the Comrades Marathon in 7:18:00; well under the silver-medal cut-off of 7:30:00, and in the process shattering the women's record by more than an hour. Earlier that year she also became only the third women in Africa to complete a marathon in under three hours. She went on to win the 1981 Comrades up run in a time of 6:44:35 the following year. Three years later she died in
3840-424: The Comrades Marathon, you had to be a white male. Friday, 24 May 1935, saw Mtshali participating in the 15th Comrades Marathon, a down run, joining the 48 official entrants on the starting line. He ran unofficially, but was warmly welcomed into the Durban finish venue on the then Old Fort Road track grounds (now KE Masinga Road) by the crowds of supporters and spectators. The maverick runner clocked his time of 9:30 and
3936-406: The Comrades. Schoolteacher Frith van der Merwe won the woman's race in 1988 in a time of 6:32:56. In 1989, Van der Merwe ran 5:54:43, obliterating the women's record and finishing fifteenth overall. In the same year Wally Hayward entered the race at the age of 79 and finished in 9:44:15. He repeated the feat in the 1989 Comrades, where he completed the race with only two minutes to spare and at
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4032-489: The Secretary of State, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley discussed ubuntu in the context of American foreign policy , stating: "In understanding the responsibilities that come with our interconnectedness, we realize that we must rely on each other to lift our World from where it is now to where we want it to be in our lifetime, while casting aside our worn out preconceptions, and our outdated modes of statecraft." She then introduced
4128-402: The South African soldiers killed during the war. Clapham, who had endured a 2,700-kilometre route march through sweltering German East Africa , wanted the memorial to be a unique test of the physical endurance of the entrants. The constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to "celebrate mankind's spirit over adversity". Vic Clapham's great-grandson, Antony Clapham, finished
4224-487: The abstract noun humanity . The concept was popularised in terms of a " philosophy " or " world view " (as opposed to a quality attributed to an individual) beginning in the 1950s, notably in the writings of Jordan Kush Ngubane published in the African Drum magazine. From the 1970s, the ubuntu began to be described as a specific kind of "African humanism". Based on the context of Africanisation propagated by
4320-472: The acknowledgment of one's responsibility to their fellow humans and the world around them. It is a philosophy that supports collectivism over individualism . Ubuntu asserts that society gives human beings their humanity. An example is a Zulu -speaking person who when commanding to speak in Zulu would say " khuluma isintu ", which means "speak the language of people". When someone behaves according to custom,
4416-472: The age of 80 became the oldest man to complete the Comrades. During the 1990s the size of the starting fields was in the region of 12,000 to 14,000 runners. In 1995 prize money was introduced, attracting more foreign competitors. The traditional race day of 31 May, formerly Republic Day, was changed to 16 June, the anniversary of the Soweto uprising . In 1992 Charl Mattheus , crossed the finish line first, but
4512-459: The average age of finishers have increased substantially. The race was not held from 1941 to 1945 due to World War II , and the in-person edition of the race was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic . It was resumed in 2022 with a field of 15,000 entrants. Since 2019 runners over the age of 20 qualify when they are able to complete an officially recognised marathon (42.2 km) in under 4:50 (5 hours before 2019). During
4608-551: The award was never intended to be retrospective, owing to administrative restrictions. However, in response to popular demand, the back-to-back medal is available for purchase to runners who have previously fulfilled the criteria of completing both an 'up' and a 'down' Comrades Marathon. - For 2019 the Isavel Roche-Kelly medal (the same design as the Wally Hayward medal) was introduced for women finishing outside
4704-431: The bigger fields, cut-off points were introduced at Drummond and Cato Ridge . Mekler became the first man to break the six-hour barrier in 1960, finishing in 5:56:32. The 1961 winner was George Claassen, a school principal and father of well-known Wynand Claassen , Springbok rugby captain during 1981–83. Claassen junior also finished the Comrades ten times in later years. In 1962, the race attracted foreign entries for
4800-472: The cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg . It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direction of the race alternates each year between the "up" run (87.6km) starting from Durban (elevation: 101 metres (331 ft)) and the "down" run (87.7km) starting from Pietermaritzburg (elevation: 921 metres (3,022 ft)). The 2019 field was capped at 25,000 runners, and the entry process closed after one week. South African runners constitute
4896-489: The community around you to be able to improve? Tim Jackson refers to Ubuntu as a philosophy that supports the changes he says are necessary to create a future that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Judge Colin Lamont expanded on the definition during his ruling on the hate speech trial of Julius Malema . At Nelson Mandela's memorial, United States President Barack Obama spoke about Ubuntu, saying, There
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#17327931915574992-739: The community's good is prior to the individual's good. On this view, ubuntu it is argued, is a communitarian philosophy that is widely differentiated from the Western notion of communitarian socialism. In fact, ubuntu induces an ideal of shared human subjectivity that promotes a community's good through an unconditional recognition and appreciation of individual uniqueness and difference. Audrey Tang has suggested that Ubuntu "implies that everyone has different skills and strengths; people are not isolated, and through mutual support they can help each other to complete themselves." "Redemption" relates to how people deal with errant, deviant, and dissident members of
5088-667: The community. The belief is that man is born formless like a lump of clay. It is up to the community, as a whole, to use the fire of experience and the wheel of social control to mould him into a pot that may contribute to society. Any imperfections should be borne by the community and the community should always seek to redeem man. An example of this is the statement by the African National Congress (in South Africa) that it does not throw out its own but rather redeems. Other scholars such as Mboti (2015) argue that
5184-454: The course, extended from 11 hours in 2003 (including a special 12 hour allowance in the year 2000). The original Comrades cut-off time from 1921 to 1927 was also 12 hours, reduced to 11 hours in 1928. There are a number of cut-off points along the routes which runners must reach by a prescribed time or be forced to retire from the race. A runner who successfully completed nine marathons wears a yellow number, while those who completed ten races wear
5280-422: The culture of Bantu peoples. It appeared in South African written sources from as early as the mid-19th century. Reported translations covered the semantic field of "human nature, humanness, humanity; virtue, goodness, kindness". Grammatically, the word combines the root -ntʊ̀ "person, human being" with the class 14 ubu- prefix forming abstract nouns , so that the term is exactly parallel in formation to
5376-485: The environment and peoples's spirituality. These are the five pillars of ubuntu intervention: family, community, society, environment and spirituality. Ubuntu is the current theme for the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development and represents the highest level of global messaging within social work profession for the years 2020–2030. Utilising the biopsychosocial and ecological system approaches, ubuntu
5472-488: The event an athlete must also reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race. The spirit of the Comrades Marathon is said to be embodied by attributes of camaraderie, selflessness, dedication, perseverance, and ubuntu . The race is run on the roads of KwaZulu-Natal province, marked by "The Big Five" set of hills. On the up run they appear in the following order: Cowies Hill , Fields Hill, Botha's Hill , Inchanga , and Polly Shortts . The highest point of
5568-421: The exclusive "humanism" framing, and thus to suggest that ubuntu can have a "militaristic" angle – an ubuntu for warriors. In Uganda the term is used in people's everyday language as a way to relate to one another and call for community. The term can also be used to criticize another's actions if one states that they have lost "Obuuntu" (their humanity). Since the transition to democracy in South Africa with
5664-609: The family, community, society, environment and spirituality as sources of knowledge but also as teaching and learning media. The essence of education is family, community, societal and environmental well-being. Ubuntu education is about learners becoming critical about their social conditions. Interaction, participation, recognition, respect and inclusion are important aspects of ubuntu education. Methods of teaching and learning include groups and community approaches. The objectives, content, methodology and outcomes of education are shaped by Ubuntu. This refers to Afrocentric ways of providing
5760-474: The first black woman finisher of the race in 9:10. She ran the race 22 times, including in 1983 while she was three months pregnant and also in 2010 with her husband and two daughters. In 1981, University of the Witwatersrand student Bruce Fordyce won the first of his eventual nine Comrades titles. An outspoken critic of apartheid , Fordyce and a number of other athletes initially decided to boycott
5856-561: The first time as the Road Runners Club of England sent over four of the best long-distance runners in Britain. English runner John Smith won the race, an up run, in under six hours, missing out on the course record by 33 seconds. Watching the stragglers come in hours later, Smith commented to former winner Bill Cochrane that the other people completing the race were getting as much applause as he had received. "You are now witnessing
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#17327931915575952-481: The first time in 1971, with over 3,000 in 1979. The race was widely broadcast on both radio and television. The race was opened to all athletes for the first time in 1975, allowing blacks and women to take part officially. In 1975, the Golden Jubilee of the Comrades, Vincent Rakabele finished 20th to become the first black runner to officially win a medal. Elizabeth Cavanaugh became the first women's winner in
6048-407: The gestures, large and small – introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS – that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding. He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves. In Malawi , the same philosophy is called "uMunthu" in
6144-527: The gold medals, but under 7hrs 30min, effectively eliminating the silver medal for women. In 2024 the cutoff time was reduced to 7hrs 00min, making a silver medal a possibility again for women runners. Twenty-year old Isavel Roche-Kelly was named the UCT Sportsperson of the Year for 1980. An unknown on the athletics scene, Roche-Kelly set the roads alight that year when she became the first woman to break
6240-524: The greater part of the field, but many entrants hail from the India , United Kingdom , Zimbabwe , India , the United States , Brazil , Australia , Botswana , Russia , Eswatini and Japan . In all but three runnings since 1988, over 10,000 runners have reached the finish within the allowed 11 or 12 hours. With increased participation since the 1980s, the average finish times for both sexes, and
6336-403: The greatest legends of the Comrades Marathon, winning a further four times in the fifties, and becoming the oldest man to complete the race in 1989. In 1932 Geraldine Watson, an unofficial entrant, became the first woman to complete both the up run and the down run. After Ballington's domination of the 1930s, Comrades was stopped during the war years from 1941 to 1945. In 1948 a Comrades tradition
6432-474: The history of the Comrades, there have been 8 deaths up to the 2022 event. In a survey among a sample of 2005 participants, 25% reported cramps, 18% nausea, 8% vomiting, 13% dizziness, 3% diarrhoea, 23% pain, excluding the expected sore legs, and 14% reported fatigue of such a nature that they believed themselves to be incapable of continuing the race. Among silver medalists there was a higher incidence of cramps (42.9%), nausea (21.4%) and diarrhoea (7.1%), though
6528-447: The king owed his status, including all the powers associated with it, to the will of the people under him'. Ubuntu: "I am what I am because of who we all are." (From a definition offered by Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee .) Archbishop Desmond Tutu offered a definition in a 1999 book: A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from
6624-528: The local Chewa language . According to the Catholic Diocese of Zomba bishop Rt. Rev. Fr. Thomas Msusa , "The African worldview is about living as one family, belonging to God". Msusa noted that in Africa "We say 'I am because we are', or in Chichewa kali kokha nkanyama, tili awiri ntiwanthu (when you are on your own you are as good as an animal of the wild; when there are two of you, you form
6720-446: The normative definition of Ubuntu, notwithstanding its intuitive appeal, is still open to doubt. The definition of Ubuntu, contends Mboti, has remained consistently and purposely fuzzy, inadequate and inconsistent. Mboti rejects the interpretation that Africans are "naturally" interdependent and harmony-seeking, and that humanity is given to a person by and through other persons. He sees a philosophical trap in attempts to elevate harmony to
6816-481: The notion of "Ubuntu Diplomacy" with the following words: In 21st-century diplomacy, the Department of State will be a convener, bringing people together from across regions and sectors to work together on issues of common interest. Our work no longer depends on the least common denominator; but rather, we will seek the highest possible multiplier effect for the results we can achieve together. We will also act as
6912-437: The nuances of these values and practices vary across different ethnic groups, they all point to one thing – an authentic individual human being is part of a larger and more significant relational, communal, societal, environmental and spiritual world There are many different (and not always compatible) definitions of what Ubuntu is. Even with the various definitions, Ubuntu encompasses the interdependence of humans on another and
7008-419: The other runners and spectators presented her with a silver tea service and a rose bowl. In 1924 the Comrades had its fewest starters ever, just 24. Four years later, in 1928, the time limit for the race was reduced by an hour to 11 hours. In the 1930s, Hardy Ballington emerged as the dominant runner, recording four victories in 1933, 1934, 1936 and 1938. The winner of the 1930 race, Wally Hayward, became one of
7104-581: The philosophy is believed to stretch back to the beginning of proto-Bantu language and has many other names in other Bantu languages . It is also found in other Bantu countries not mentioned here. There are various definitions of the word "Ubuntu". The most recent definition was provided by the African Journal of Social Work ( AJSW ). The journal defined Ubuntu as: A collection of values and practices that people of Africa or of African origin view as making people authentic human beings. While
7200-421: The political thinkers in the 1960s period of decolonisation , ubuntu was used as a term for a specifically African (or Southern African) kind of humanism found in the context of the transition to majority rule in Zimbabwe and South Africa . The first publication dedicated to ubuntu as a philosophical concept appeared in 1980, Hunhuism or Ubuntuism: A Zimbabwe Indigenous Political Philosophy ( hunhu being
7296-690: The private sector, and the public sector, in order to empower the men and women executing our foreign policy to advance their work through partnerships. The truth and reconciliation council believed in the philosophy of Ubuntu because they believed that Ubuntu was going to help to reform and reconnect the already broken country of South Africa. This is Ubuntu Diplomacy: where all sectors belong as partners, where we all participate as stakeholders, and where we all succeed together, not incrementally but exponentially. In education, Ubuntu has been used to guide and promote African education, and to decolonise it from Western educational philosophies. Ubuntu education uses
7392-426: The public eye but later managed to redeem his clean image with an emphatic faultless win in the 1997 down run beating a strong local and international field. The 75th anniversary of the Comrades Marathon in 2000 was the largest ever staged, with a massive field of 23,961. An extra hour was allowed to allow runners some recovery time for bronze medal finishers to celebrate the milestone. In 2010, on its 85th anniversary,
7488-491: The race from 2012 to 2015, earning four Vic Clapham medals. From 1962 to 1994 the race was run on Republic Day , 31 May. After this public holiday was scrapped in 1995 by the post- apartheid South African government, the race date was changed to Youth Day on 16 June. In 2007, the race organisers (controversially) bowed to political pressure from the ANC Youth League , who felt that the race diverted attention from
7584-532: The race gained a place in the Guinness World Records as the ultramarathon with most runners. 14,343 athletes, the largest field since the turn of the millennium, finished in the allowed 12 hours. Russian runner Leonid Shvetsov set both down and up course records in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Stephen Muzhingi became the first non- South African winner from Africa in 2009. Russian identical twin sisters Olesya and Elena Nurgalieva won
7680-556: The race today states that one of its primary aims is to "celebrate mankind's spirit over adversity". Copper medals – known as the Vic Clapham medal – go to those athletes who finish the race between 11 and 12 hours. He died in 1962. Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi) which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between
7776-495: The race, at 2,850 feet (870 m) above sea level, is situated near the Umlaas Road interchange. Approximately 40 official refreshment stations along the route are stocked with soft drinks, water sachets, energy drink sachets, fruit, biscuits, energy bars, cooked potatoes and other refreshments. About eight physiotherapy and first aid stations are also located at strategic points. Athletes currently have 12 hours to complete
7872-438: The researcher is important because it helps create research relationships. The agenda of the research belongs to the community, and true participation is highly valued. Ujamaa is valued, it means pulling together or collaboration. According to this philosophy, "actions are right roughly insofar as they are a matter of living harmoniously with others or honouring communal relationships", "One's ultimate goal should be to become
7968-500: The significance of Youth Day , and changed the race date to Sunday 17 June for 2007 and 15 June for 2008. In 2009 and 2010 the date was changed (to 24 May and 30 May respectively) to accommodate football's Confederations Cup (2009) and World Cup (2010) in South Africa. In 2020 and 2021, the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic . Forty-eight runners entered the first race in 1921, but only thirty-four elected to start. Most of them were former infantrymen. The course at
8064-470: The spirit of the Comrades," replied Cochrane. In 1965, English runner Bernard Gomersall broke Mekler's down run record with a time of 5:51:09. In 1967, Manie Kuhn and Tommy Malone were involved in the closest finish in the history of the race. Malone appeared to be on his way to a comfortable win and was handed the traditional message from the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg to the Mayor of Durban at Tollgate with
8160-410: The time was tarred only for the final few kilometres into Durban . A time limit of 12 hours was set and Bill Rowan became the inaugural winner, clocking 08:59 to win by 41 minutes ahead of Harry Phillips. Of the 34 starters, only 16 completed the race. Arthur Newton entered and won the race for the first time in 1922. He went on to win the race five times and emerge as the dominant Comrades runner of
8256-442: The tribe. According to Michael Onyebuchi Eze, the core of Ubuntu can best be summarised as follows: A person is a person through other people strikes an affirmation of one’s humanity through recognition of an "other" in his or her uniqueness and difference. It is a demand for a creative intersubjective formation in which the "other" becomes a mirror (but only a mirror) for my subjectivity. This idealism suggests to us that humanity
8352-430: The war ended, Clapham wanted to establish a memorial to the suffering and deaths of his comrades during the war, and their camaraderie in overcoming these hardships. He conceived of an extremely demanding race where the physical endurance of entrants could be put to the test. Clapham asked for permission to stage a 56-mile race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban under the name of the Comrades Marathon, and for it to become
8448-490: The whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity. Nelson Mandela explained Ubuntu as follows: A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food and attend him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable
8544-488: The women, the Nurgalieva twins' hold on the race was finally broken in 2014 when Ellie Greenwood , GBR, won the down run after a spectacular finish, taking the lead just 2 km before the end. In 2015 Caroline Wostmann became the first South African woman to win Comrades in 17 years, followed by Charné Bosman in 2016 and Ann Ashworth in 2018. In 2017, American Camille Herron , led from start-to-finish to become only
8640-499: Was added in 2007 for runners finishing in under 6hrs, but outside the gold medals. Often there are fewer runners earning a Wally Hayward medal than those earning a gold medal, if any at all. - In 2005 the back-to-back medal was created and henceforth was awarded to novice runners who complete an 'up or down run' in succession. Back-to-back medals were automatically awarded to 2005 Comrades Marathon finishers who had completed their first Comrades Marathon in 2004. As with any new innovation,
8736-505: Was awarded a special presentation by Councillor V.L. Shearer. He was one of only 35 finishers. The Comrades was run for the first time on 24 May 1921 ( Empire Day ), and with the exception of a break during World War II , as well as the COVID-19 pandemic-impacted 2020 and 2021, has been run every year since. To date, over 300,000 runners have completed the race. The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Clapham , to commemorate
8832-710: Was born in London on 16 November 1886 and arrived in the Cape Colony in South Africa with his parents at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899. Clapham attended Wynberg Boys' High School . At the start of the First World War , he signed up with the 8th South African Infantry which was sent to German East Africa , now Tanzania . During this time he marched over 2700 kilometres in pursuit of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's askari battalions. After
8928-458: Was born when race official Max Trimborn, instead of firing the customary starter's gun, gave a loud imitation of a cock's crow. That tradition continues to the present day with Trimborn's recorded voice played over loudspeakers at the starting line. In the 1950s, a full twenty years after he won the race for the first time, Wally Hayward recorded his second victory and followed that up with wins in 1951, 1953 and 1954. He represented South Africa at
9024-465: Was introduced in 2000 and named after the winner of the first Comrades Marathon in 1921. The time limit for this medal was inspired by Rowan's winning time in 1921 of 8hrs 59min. - A new copper medal, the Vic Clapham medal (named after the race founder), was added in 2003. This medal coincided with the increase in the time allocation for completing the event from sub 11hrs to sub 12hrs. - The Wally Hayward medal, named after five-time winner Wally Hayward,
9120-583: Was later disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance. He claimed it was contained in medicine he had taken for a sore throat, but Jetman Msutu was elevated to the winner, thus becoming the second black winner of the Comrades. In a sad twist for Mattheus, not long after the 1992 race, the substance for which he was banned was removed from the World Athletics ' banned substance list since all evidence pointed to it having no performance enhancing properties. Mattheus also suffered much negativity in
9216-477: Was the 95th event since its inception in 1921, and the apt event slogan was "The Return – Sishay' Ibuya". Legislation concerning mass participation events limited the number of entrants to 15,000, and preference was given to those who had entered the cancelled 2020 race. The KwaZulu-Natal Sports Department confirmed that 2 athletes died following the race. As with every ultramarathon , there are potentially lethal health risks involved in extreme physical events. In
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