Most people would be deterred by relentless thunder & pouring rain if you were about to run 42.2km.... but not Pete!
With an early start of 6.30am (still in the dark), Pete ventured off with 2000 other competitors to run in the Nedbank Johannesburg City Marathon. With a target time of 3hrs 45min Pete set off ignoring both the weather and the fact that he was competing at altitude (note the starting height of 1500m with peaks around 1850m). He ran most of the way ahead of the sub 4hr group but joined them for the last 6km to finish in a time of 3hrs 56min.
The startline was a major highlight with the 1900 black male athletes all singing "Shosholoza" in unison. Shosholoza is a South African folk song which translates to "Shosholoza, this train is gaining speed and steaming for South Africa". It is a very uplifting song and gave all the competitors the boost they needed to forget about the terrible conditions.
Link to Shosholoza:
Relief & pain at the finish!Pete is already thinking about doing his next marathon & is determined to better his time. Perhaps training for more than 2 months will help!