Jagadhasen ‘Juggie’ Appalsamy Naidoo will run his 20th Comrades Marathon on Sunday.
Born and raised in Sizela on the South Coast, he now lives on the Bluff, in the Durban south basin.
Now retired, Naidoo, 62, worked at the Mondi Paper Mill as an inventory controller.
He said he started running the Comrades Marathon as a way to get in some soccer training.
“Both my brother, Moonsamy ‘Gansen’ Naidoo, and I played soccer back in the day. Initially, we both played on the South Coast, in Sizela. And there were also leagues within the sugar mill there where teams played against each other.
“And then within the community, we played for different soccer teams. I played for Celtics Club in Sezela and my brother played for The Eagles. We used to travel out to Umzinto to play matches.
“We decided, during that time, to do our own additional training. Back then the only sporting events which required you to do your own training with your own level of commitment was any race or marathon of this nature. So we decided to do the Comrades Marathon.
“We did our first Comrades in 1999. I finished in 9 hours and 13 minutes and my brother finished that race in 10 hours and 11 minutes. I can't recall what positions we finished in, but being the first Comrades race, all you wanted to do was get to the finish line. Getting in the top positions is not what we focused on.”
In 2002, the brothers decided to tackle the Two Oceans Marathon for the first time.
“We did it from start to finish and we finished that in 5 hours and 14 minutes. I think with the scenery and the atmosphere out in Cape Town it makes that race so much easier. Personally, I think the tougher race is the Comrades.”
From the time Naidoo started running, he has been a member of the Merewent Athletics Club, based in Merebank.
“It's two years now since my brother passed away. Over the years he had moved up to Joburg for work. So we had to separate for a while, but he continued doing the Comrades. He joined Sasol Athletics Club up there and used to come down to do the Comrades. He had done 11 Comrades.
“I now have two other youngsters from our club who I train with, in addition to all of us also training on our own. I do around 15km, three days a week, then on a Saturday I do my long run which is about 22km. Once a month, on a Saturday, my friends and I meet and we run for about 3 or 4 hours.
“In terms of training, you actually start cutting down on training closer to the race, at least one month before the Comrades. So, now that we are running the Comrades on June 11, May 11 would have been our last long run. But in the build-up to the event, we still continue with light training and light physical activity.”
He said in terms of diet and general health, he would try to eat more fruit.
“The last two or three days before the race I'll eat more pasta. I'm also a vegetarian. This is basically my eating routine during training before the race.”
Over the years Naidoo has not suffered any injuries while doing the Comrades.
“Now and then my knee gives me a bit of a problem, but that comes with age. Other than that everything has been fine.”
Naidoo said his inspiration every year came from the people and the atmosphere on race day.
“I enjoy the camaraderie that the runners have on the road and the support from the people who come out to watch the race. It also takes major commitment from one’s family in terms of the support they offer.”
Last year Naidoo finished in 10 hours and 17 minutes.
“I'm hoping to be able to cut that down a bit and bring it to below 10 hours. I would be happy with that.”
He said he enjoyed a down run, but more for the family vibes on the day.
“I really enjoy the down. We get to go up to Pietermaritzburg in the early hours of the morning and when I finish my race in Durban I try to make it back home within 15 or so minutes so that I can watch the rest of the race on TV with my family.
“Over the years the Comrades has become a family event where we all gather at home to watch the big race together,” he said.
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