“It’s not going to run itself” — East London’s Tembisile Vakele on Comrades 2017
I last caught up with the powerhouse of enthusiasm and goodwill that is Tembisile Vakele during his euphoria after finishing Two Oceans 2016.
Many things have happened on Tembisile’s journey since then and he shared some of the highlights with me after receiving two medals in two days — for finishing 2nd in the 35+ category in the Mdantsane 10Km fun run on Saturday, and for finishing 4th in his category for the 10Km race that was part of the Africa Day half-marathon event on Sunday. He ran both races after working night-shift and although he looks tired, his eyes sparkle as we chat about where running has taken him during the last year, and where he is heading next.
Two Oceans 2017 was a very different race from Two Oceans 2016 for Tembisile. For one thing, he has joined a club and so instead of flying solo this time, he travelled to Cape Town by car with fellow runners Mavuks, Shane, BH and Ntombi. He remarks that this time he really got to see everything along the way up close and found the journey to be as much of an experience as the race itself.
When he tells me about the race itself, he sums it up: “It was a madness.” For one thing, it was absolutely freezing. He didn’t fancy wearing a rubbish bag to keep himself warm at the start as some of the other runners were and decided to warm up by moving and included a few push-ups in his routine. He says everyone was warning him to save his energy and Udo Carelse of SABC Sport tweeted a photo of Tembisile doing pushups captioned “Madness at the start of #omtom2017.” Tembisile laughs and says: “life is too short to be serious all the time; you need to have fun and make others happy on your behalf.”
After push-ups, it was time to sing the anthems and begin the race. Tembisile finished the first 28Km without too much difficulty. Unfortunately, the cold and the steep climb up Chapman’s Peak caused him terrible leg cramps and once he reached the top, he realised he would have to slow down if he wanted to finish the race because he had already seen 2 runners drop out from injury. This scared him. “That is so terrible,” he says “so much effort and expense to get to Two Oceans and then having to drop out. No.”
He remembers again how cold it was but says he is grateful to God that the wind wasn’t as bad as on the day of the Argus. He delighted in the folk along the way cheering the runners on and mentioned that the inspirational posters along the way kept him entertained. He particularly enjoyed one that read: “Feel it in your soul.” He shakes his head and says: “When I got to Constania Nek — that thing — even runners who have done Two Oceans 20 times are still frightened of it. When I got to it, I kept telling everyone that I wasn’t feeling it in my soul, I was feeling it in my legs! And maybe my lungs, when trying to breathe, and in my hands when I was taking water sachets.”
Once past the worst of Constantia Nek, he tried to recover some time lost on the inclines by pushing himself on the flats because his dream was to make a silver medal. When he reached 42Km he realised that he would not make a silver medal because he was already on 3 hours and 4 minutes so he regrouped and decided that he would aim to try and better his 2016 time of 4 hours and 42 minutes instead.
“My legs were saying no but somehow you have to use your mind to push. When I was about 3Km away from the finish, I could hear all the excitement and feel the vibe at the finish line and I felt that I was home, that I had made it. I begged my legs to sprint and I crossed the line, finishing the race in 4 hours and 31 minutes — 11 minutes shorter than last year!”
“But that wasn’t all, ” he continues, “as I crossed the finish, this gentleman who happened to be Udo Carelse, caught me off-guard and interviewed me on live television!” At the end of the interview, Tembisile finished off with a few cross-over clap push-ups for good measure. I ask him if he is crazy and he laughs and says, “My legs were tired, not my arms and anyway that energy at the stadium lifts you up.”
The day still held a few surprises after the race…in the excitement of getting to the race, Tembisile and his peers forgot to take note of where they parked their car. Another runner drove them around in circles to try and find it to no avail. Eventually a car guard, who was already on his way home, helped them find it and they made their way back to the guesthouse to sleep.
Being on live TV has been an ambition of Tembisile’s for a long time and he says it was amazing to have been able to inspire his daughter and the other children in his neighborhood who were all very excited when he got home. He is also excited that his brother and some of his colleagues have started running too.
Looking ahead, Tembisile informs me that The Comrades Marathon 2017 is his “new business — last year I watched in on TV for the last time, this year I am going to be running it and feeling the vibe!”
He says that he is treating the Comrades “like a business because it isn’t going to run itself. I am going to have to be there to run it and I have to make investments in it. To get there involves digging deep in many ways — into my pockets, into my mind and especially into my muscles. I am going to be conserving energy until then and keeping my muscles in a safe environment— as you do with precious investments.”
Tembisile is a little concerned that the Comrades is uphill this year because he prefers downhills and flats. His face lights up as he says: “Imagine being the first delegate from East London to win it! Or even just come in the top 10! That would be the best thing ever! I must believe in myself that I can finish it. I already know that I am going to have to be careful and pace myself — perhaps walking for a few minutes every now and then because of the hill. I have heard that the support along the way is amazing.” I suggest that he should perhaps skip the push-ups before the Comrades, to which he smiles and replies: “Well it’s a tradition now…maybe I’ll just do 3, we’ll see.”
And so, on the 4th of June, Tembisile will be participating in his first Comrades with 10 of his club members. He is looking forward to experiencing Durban for the first time and he invited me to do this interview to thank all the people who have helped him along his road. He specifically wishes to thank his boss, his club, his friends and every single person who has supported him in any way or wished him well along the way so far.
Article: Wendy Koll
Photographs: Dean Venish