[Marathon #285 / Unique Marathon #175 / 7 September 2025]
With a focus on running marathons I’ve not done before, I tend not to run much in my own backyard these days but fortunately RunZone keep adding and tweaking the CGA race calendar. They replaced their Autumn Challenge 48k with the inaugural aQuelle Zone 3 Marathon which necessitated another couple of laps around Randburg.
The 6am start was shifted to 6:10am due to traffic congestion but Alistair Cronk on microphone duties kept us informed and entertained. At one stage he asked who was here for an early Comrades and / or Two Oceans qualifier and almost all the marathon runners put up their hands.
However, some people were still getting used to the change of seasons and this was reflected in the attire of some runners as can be seen from the photo below.
With this being the first marathon in Gauteng after the post-Comrades hiatus, spirits were high and the spring flowers were out. One benefit of a spring marathon is that the scent of jasmine offsets the normal smell of sweaty runners and the blossoms are more pleasant to look at than many of us who are still weighed down with winter fat.
About halfway through the first lap, we were going through an industrial section void of trees and other foliage when I spotted the distinctive loping running style of David Kimmelman in the distance. David was in the same boat as me, carrying some extra baggage around the course, so we could bond over detailed discussions as to how we had gained said extra baggage and how difficult it was to offload it again.
He was using the race as a ‘get back into shape*’ training run for Cape Town Marathon and had a planned bailing point just after the 30km mark but we were running the same pace and therefore had several kilometres of good conversation to enjoy before then.
* It is a bit of an oxymoron that one has more shape when you are ‘out of shape’ but have to be less shapely to get ‘back into shape’.
I managed to capture David in many of my route photos including the one below. As it was taken just after passing the Jewish cemetery in Montgomery Park where notable figures like Helen Suzman and Johnny Clegg are buried, I think David is giving a ‘proof of life’ gesture.
You can also see David on the periphery of the ‘decision time’ photos below (he was always going left or he would have to answer to his coach, David Ashworth) at the 17km when the 1500 half marathoners took the low road back to Marks Park and left the 750 full marathoners to slog it out as the day warmed up.
To get to the decision time split you have a lovely gentle downhill that starts from the route high point at 13km and keeps going all the way to 19km. As this is a double lap route, you can enjoy the same friendly downhill to knock out kilometres 34 to 40 on the way home.
There are a few pulls along the way but nothing too steep or too long. Personally, I like this kind of route which gives all the muscles in your legs a good workover but there’s nothing too strenuous. I got the total elevation gain at 531m. And even with most of the last 2km being uphill, I didn’t really notice it. Another bonus is that much of the running is through shaded avenues, especially for those of us who extend our runs into the late morning heat.
Running allows one to get philosophical and the below sign inspired the following deep thoughts …
Politicians and sex shops have a lot in common – they are both in the business of improving service delivery, make inflated promises, do dirty deals behind closed doors and specialise in screwing people over. A lot of South African politicians also profess to ‘Luv Land’ and build their policies around land redistribution or land retention. If LuvLand were to do a joint venture with one of our political parties, I wonder which one it would be?
Marathon running is also known to bring a smile to one’s face but you know you’re in the roff part of Randburg when the dentists use “Tooth” and not “Teeth” in their advertising. Speaking of which, the long absence of highveld marathons from the beginning of May until the second weekend of September can be called a real passion gap.
Truth be told, they actually look like a good place to go for an enamel panel beating and I always enjoy a company that engages on social media (I am not even sure how they found my post since I didn’t tag them).
Towards the end of the second lap I caught up with Fourways clubmate John Gounden and we ran most of the way home together. As dawn broke, I was one of the thousands of eager beavers crossing Emmarentia Dam but I was a much more weary ‘meh bear’ by the time we returned mid-morning.
This was another exceptionally well organised event from Graham Block, Candis Lubbe, Debbie o’Mahony and the rest of the RunZone team. The race was really well marshalled and sign posted, everything was exactly where it should be and it was an absolute pleasure to run! The event is also one of the most affordable in Gauteng at R280 for the marathon and Graham has promised to try and keep the amount the same for 2026.
As someone who is prone to picking up a bit of extra baggage over the winter period, it’s great to have this event in my backyard to herald in spring and the start of the new running season. I strongly suspect I’ll be lining up at the start again in 2026 as an integral part of my post-hibernation weight loss program. I’ll call it my annual spring clean.
