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This list comes from a t-shirt
I bought at the Comrades Expo
in 2005 celebrating the 80th running of the Comrades Marathon.
I think it is pretty concise!
NOTE: The comments in RED
are mine!
80
Reasons to run the 80th Comrades Marathon
- Personal achievement and self
satisfaction
- Self respect and self discipline
- Health and fitness
- Cardio vascular benefits
- To lose weight (I wish)
- A journey of self discovery
- For the joy, freedom, wonder
and beauty of it
- To fulfil a dream
- To meet an extraordinary
challenge
- To be part of a showcase event
- For the spectacle and prestige
of the race
- So that life will be a little
less gray
- A personal struggle
- A heroic struggle
- For personal upliftment
- To honour the noble origins of
the race
- To commemorate fallen comrades (my grandfather
fought in WW1, and was killed in action in WW2)
- To celebrate Youth Day (yea right!)
- To be part of an historic event
- To be part of the 80th
celebratory festivities
- To experience the spirit of
Comrades
- With a friend, for a friend (always!)
- With a loved one (have done the last
9 runs with Andy, my hubby :-)
- To make new friends
- For the companionship of hours
and months of training (yea,
yea!!!)
- For the unique camaraderie of
race day
- For the kindness and kinship of
fellow runners
- For the legendary crowd support
- For the Proudly South
African-ness of it
- For the medal
- For the badge
- For the T-shirt
- For the prize money (don't think I fall
into this category!)
- For the fame
- For the pride and the glory
- For a wager or a dare
- For one of the official
charities
- For your own favourite charty
- In memory of a loved one :-)
- For your boss
- For your employees
- For yourself
- To earn the admiration of
neighbours, colleagues and friends
- To better your previous time
- To complete an “up” and a “down”
- To earn your green number (your
10th) (done)
- To run in and show off your
green number (your 11th) (done)
- To earn double, triple or
quadruple green (your 20th, 30th, 40th)
- For the electric atmosphere of
the start
- For the unbridled energy and
enthusiasm of the first 20km
- For the good-natured chirping
of fellow runners on the route
- For the shared seriousness of a
daunting challenge
- To conquer the distance
- To conquer the time
- To conquer the hills
- For all you can eat
- For all you can drink
- World class refreshment stations
- For world-class physiotherapy,
medical and emergency support
- The exhilaration of passing
through halfway still feeling optimistic and fresh (mmmmmmmm?)
- For the breath-taking view of
the Valley of 1000 Hills
- For the spine-tingling feeling
you get as you run past the Wall of Honour
- For your first glimpse of the
ocean from the top of Field’s Hill
- For the thousands of grossly
inconvenienced local residents who love the race
- For the kindness, caring and
support of strangers
- Because this year it’s “down”
which means no “Polly Shortts”
- For the overwhelming crowds on
the run-in to Durban
- For the awesome and embracing
atmosphere at the finish
- For the sharing of battle
stories afterwards
- For the generosity of sponsors
that are emotionally involved in the event
- For the organisers’ endeavours
- For the cities of Durban and
Pietermaritzburg and the province of Kwazulu-Natal
- For the thousands of volunteers
- To be a South African hero
- For the millions of listeners,
viewers and supporters all over South Africa who want you to succeed
- For ALL the people who care
- Because it’s South Africa’s
Everest
- For the people who can’t
- Because you can
- At least once in your Lifetime
you must experience The Ultimate Human Race
External
links: Official Comrades Marathon
website
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