Comrades, walk across the line!

I went down to Comrades Marathon this past weekend; my very first time in attendance. I’ve watched the race on telly since I was a youngster and so it was a treat to actually be down there, on the route, cheering for friends. We all know that the last half-hour before the cut-off is always an emotional crowd-pleaser as runners crawl, fall, stumble and are carried across the line. Traditionally, this is when the “Comrades spirit” is revealed as runners forfeit their own races to assist those in worse physical condition.

While it makes for entertaining viewing, I’ve never believed in the carrying-across-the-line thing; a race is only completed when you pass below the finish banner under your own steam. And, standing on the grass in the inner circle as runners poured into the stadium in the final minutes, watching the tv footage projected onto the big screen above the stadium, this was enforced.

If you followed the race you would know that two runners died this year. Media releases say that only 7 deaths have occurred in the event’s octogenarian history; yes, I also thought there were many more.

Media releases said that Willem Malapi, a 48-year-old runner from Worcester, had entered the medical tent looking for help when he went into cardiac arrest. He was transferred to St Augustines Hospital where he passed away during the course of the night. But Willem, a 14 times Comrades finisher, is not the reason for this posting.

34-year-old Michael Gordon was the runner featured on the television footage. Four other runners carried him into the stadium, one at each limb. Michael was positioned face-down, his head hanging. Not 2km before this he had been running steadily, cheering on his fellow runners. Carsten Frischmuth, one of the runners who helped carry Michael into the stadium commented, "When we got to one kilometre to go he started wandering all over the road and then collapsed inside the stadium. We had to make a call on whether we should leave him and call the medics or go on. We decided to help carry him through and make the 11-hour cut off”.

Standing on the field I watched as they carried Michael onto the track with 300m to the finish. I immediately felt a kind of panic, tapping Tim and saying, “Look. Look. There’s something very wrong with that guy. His head is hanging. He’s unconscious. Why are there no medical people on the field?”

This was no ordinary carry-over-the-line Comrades finish… it was very, very evident that something was terribly wrong and I couldn’t take my eyes from the screen.

Running at 10km/h it takes you just over 30s to cover 100m. This caravan was moving much, much more slowly. The seconds were ticking and the minutes dragged – and still there were no medical personnel on the field…

With 200m to go the 4 runners were battling. There’s a distinct difference carrying a conscious person and an unconscious person – and clearly Michael was unconscious. Conscious people grip or bend their elbows. The runners were battling to hold onto limp limbs. And when they finally reached the finishing line, placing Michael on the ground, his face embedded in the grass and did not turn to the side.

I saw a medic try to lift Michael’s arm and it slipped from his grip. They then moved Michael on to a stretcher, trying to lift him from under his armpits. His shoulders gave no resistance and his arms slipped through the medic’s hold. This was very clearly a dire situation.

Would the medics have been able to help if they were on the field earlier? Maybe, maybe not. What I question is why they did not run out on to the field to assist, not whether they would have been able to prevent him dying. A release I read mentioned something about how they let the runners compose themselves and cross the line first before rushing to their assistance… blah, blah, blah. When someone is being carried belly down, head hanging, body limp and pale they are never going to be able to compose themselves nor cross the line on their own! These people must have seen hundreds of shattered runners; surely they could tell that this one was different?

As for the four runners… my heart goes out to them. They tried their best to carry this poor man into the stadium as fast as possible; yes they hoped to help him get across the finish line before the 11-hour cut-off but their good-natured Comrades spirit probably escalated into panic as they realised that this man needed urgent medical attention.

While my first question was about the actions of the medics, my second is about this whole carrying thing. For reference, I’ve never been in such a state where I could not stand on my own two feet to get across a finish line; and perhaps this is why I’m unable to understand this whole phenomenon.

Firstly… if I cannot get myself across a finish line then that finish line is not for me to cross at that time. I could not bear to be carried across the line though I would appreciate if they could notify the medics of my predicament*. Actually, even if I crawled across the line I would not be proud of my achievement. Crawling is not finishing. Whatever the reason: inadequate preparation, illness or just a bad day, if I want that finish I would have to come back another year to try again.
* In an AR this is a different situation, as you can’t trip-trap a few hundred meters to call on assistance. In our environment it is our obligation to assist any ill or injured racer to the best of our ability, carrying them if necessary to where they can be helped by professionals.

People who are carried across the line are in a sorry, sorry state. If you cannot stand on your two legs it is time to call it quits. I think this is like the whole Mt Everest thing where climbers turn back less than 100 vertical meters from the summit and vow to return another year; and they’re able to return because turning back saves their lives. This is why I have great admiration for someone like Alex Harris who came so close twice and nabbed the summit on this third attempt* (*I stand to be corrected on his number of attempts… but I think I’ve got it right).

Comrades, and other races, are just that – they’re races. Most come around again annually – like your birthday, Easter, Xmas and Valentines Day – and there are always plenty of others if you miss one. Yes, there’s the preparation, the travelling, the expense… but these are material elements and are irrelevant in the Big Picture. You only have one body and a race is just not worth blowing these on.

If your body fails, accept defeat gracefully. It happens. Instead learn from your experience, fine tune your preparation and be able to cross the finish line with pride another day.