Lufuno Musenwa Archives - The Running Mann

14th October 202414th October 2024

Musina Marathon (Borderline crazy)

[MARATHON #272 / UNIQUE MARATHON #165 / 7 September 2024]

The inaugural Musina Marathon held in the northern extremities of Limpopo was the only marathon in the whole of South Africa over the entire weekend of 7-8 September. Musina is a stone’s throw from the Zimbabwean border and the last town on the N1 before hitting the Beit Bridge border post and crossing the Limpopo River.

Musina is where the devil spends his winters when he wants to warm up. It’s a place where your entry level sunblock is Factor 50. Legend has it that a Scotsman visiting Musina made the fatal mistake of sitting down on the pavement and ended up with hard boiled eggs in under three minutes. In other words, this is a fantastic place for a connoisseur to run a marathon.

19th October 202320th October 2023

Shikhumba Marathon (Back in the saddle up Dead Donkey Hill)

[MARATHON #252 / UNIQUE MARATHON #149 / 7 October 2023]

I had not run a marathon for over 16 months courtesy of sloth and a boring neural issue in my knee. Having received a complimentary entry to Cape Town Marathon, I’ve spent the last few months getting marathon fit (or as close as possible to it) again. Then came the inconvenient realisation that my daughter’s birthday was the day before Cape Town Marathon.

I have a newfound respect for government negotiators and their dealings with the trade unions. After a short but intense round of negotiations, I realised that there would be no compromise. Either I flew my daughter and her friends to Cape Town (and convinced the body corporate at my mom’s retirement village in Noordhoek to host her birthday party) or I would have to find another plan.

Another plan was found. The plan involved a 500-kilometre drive to the northern extremities of the Limpopo Province and was one week earlier (meaning one week less to train) but it would have to do. Luckily, a few old running compatriots had the same plan and I was able to tag along with Julian Karp, Don Rukando and Farai Razano (names listed in order of marathons completed – 915, 161 and 101 respectively) on their marathon adventures to the Shikhumba* Marathon.