You could forgive the paparazzi's confusion at Beluga on Wednesday night: who to follow? On the one hand, Pinelands Might Dodos star winger Mike Dabrowski, sharing a table with his boisterous entourage; on the other, Kiefer Sutherland, currently most familiar as Jack Bauer from hit television series '24'. Photographs, autographs, inane small talk with complete strangers — just another night out for two big-time celebrities.

Sutherland is in Cape Town (apparently) to film the next series of 24; Dabrowski has far more important matters at hand. For where Jack Bauer has merely to survive bombs, terrorists, and hourly threats to world peace, Dabrowski has to try and get through 87 kilometres this Sunday, as he attempts the Comrades for the first time. And by his own admission, he's absolutely terrified.

The Comrades is one of South Africa's definitive rites of sporting passage, a test of endurance that sits alongside the Two Oceans marathon, the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour and the Absa Cape Epic, amongst assorted events that have a masochistic allure that draws in thousands of people every year. In this case, it's running from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, and while middle-aged Russians and fleet-footed Zimbabweans will command Monday morning's headlines, it's the likes of Dabrowski who represent the real spirit of the Comrades.

The majority of the field will spend close on 12 hours grinding through the course, interspersing measured jogs with judicious bursts of walking, and moving forward with one simple ambition: to finish the race, in 12 hours, and avoid a stint in intensive care in the immediate aftermath. However, much you celebrate finishing the Comrades in the years that follow, the actual race is an act of grim pragmatism, and getting through it takes an extraordinary act of self-belief.

Every incentive helps, and fighting off the pain that sets in as the race unfolds, requires every possible ounce of strength. Being able to say that you've finished the Comrades contributes substantially to that strength; in the case of Dabrowski, however, and fellow Mighty Dodo Mark Rowles, there's a charity angle that will push both runners just that little bit extra come Sunday.

TREE (www.tree-ecd.co.za) supports the training of teachers in early childhood development; the Starfish Foundation (www.starfishcharity.org needs less of an introduction, the work that it's done to support Aids orphans well established. Both charities do exceptional work, and both are being supported by Dabrowski as he attempts to slog through KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.

Starfish is also being supported by Rowles, who has made a habit of running long distance races for charity while dressed as a superhero. The outfits change, but the intent remains the same: take on the race dressed as Spiderman, or similar, and raise money at the same time. Rolo will be hard to miss; surely a guy running 87 kilometres dressed in tights and underwear warrants a small donation for an excellent cause?

There is a third member of the Mighty Dodos collective setting out from Durban on Sunday — 114 kilograms of Scott Picken, with the svelte build of a heavily pregnant water buffalo, will attempt the Comrades. If Picken makes it as far as the pie counter at the first BP on the route, I'll be amazed; Dabrowski and Rowles are better bets, though, and should have plenty of good karma to nudge them on. Remember the pair as you watch Kotov or Nurgalieva cruise over the finish line — and if you're feeling in generous mood, a very worthwhile contribution is only the click of a mouse away.

  • Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za

    Print this page
    Send this article to a friend
    RSS
       Digg
    de.li.cious
    facebook