EDITORIAL | Soweto marathon has potential to be a great event, but the basics need to be fixed

Over the past few weeks we have seen how parallels can be drawn between the experiences of those living in South Africa and those representing our country at a big sporting event. Much has been written about how the Rugby World Cup has offered a glimpse of hope to a country besieged by daily problems, ranging from bad service delivery to crooked politicians. Unfortunately, this past weekend, a local sporting event has drawn attention to the depressing state of our infrastructure.

While we are celebrating the first local men’s win for the Soweto marathon, the event on Sunday has also been mired in negativity. But let’s celebrate the good first: South African road runner Ntsindiso Mphakathi became the first local man to win the event in 12 years while Irvette van Zyl won the women’s 42.4km for the fourth time. Mphakathi was the first South African male runner to walk away with gold since Michael Mazibuko’s victory in 2012. 

Mphakathi, who finished the marathon in 2:19:13, should be saluted for his determination. He has been trying to win the race since 2013. Last year, he finished fifth. “To win this race is a big achievement for me because I have been trying to get a better position in this race for quite some time,” Mphakathi said. “The course, as usual, was tough and I think it needs you to have passion and enough time to prepare for it because it has got a lot of hills. Maybe I can say I'm one of the runners who are good in hard courses. That's why every year I try to get a good position for this race. I have been patient for a while.”

His female counterpart, Van Zyl, missed a record time by 33 seconds, but she was not perturbed. “The dream [of breaking the record] is still there,” said Van Zyl. “This was again a torturous race,” she added.

Both runners are already planning their next achievements, with Van Zyl qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics while Mphakathi's sights are firmly set on the Two Oceans ultra-marathon.

While both were gallant in their wins without complaining about the state of the race, politician Herman Mashaba took to social media site X (formerly Twitter) to retweet a post by another user who had filmed runners in the Soweto marathon running through human waste flowing into the streets. “This is very unfortunate, embarrassing and deeply sad,” tweeted Mashaba. 

The Action SA leader might be accused of being an opportunistic politician, ready to pounce on a dysfunctional ANC-run entity, but he is also correct — it is a sad day. More comments on social media followed, with many users reminding Mashaba he was mayor of Johannesburg not too long ago. Several people blamed the governing ANC. Some were very matter-of-fact about the situation, saying this was commonplace in most townships in South Africa.

Finger-pointing will get us nowhere. We need leaders — and municipal officials — with the vision to see this event as an opportunity for South Africa to showcase and celebrate runners and supporters coming together in the famous city of Soweto, home of former president Nelson Mandela and the Hector Petersen memorial site where the 1976 student uprising changed the path of history.

The Soweto marathon has the potential to become one of our greatest events, attracting locals from across the country and many more international runners. But if we can't get the basics right, the opposite will happen. Then a fantastic sporting occasion will eventually die a slow and sad death.