‘I have not given up hope’: how Comrades champ Dijana runs for his bipolar mom

Inspirational stories abound as to why runners choose to line up for the gruelling race between the KwaZulu-Natal cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban that is the Comrades Marathon. Of course, last year's winner, Tete Dijana, has one too.

There are those who run in memory of their dearly departed loved ones who used to do the race. There are those who run to deal with the pain brought about by the death of a close relative. There are those who run because they have been dared by their friends or colleagues. Some run because they’ve discovered that the sport is good for their health.

Others run that crazy distance of about 90km just to prove they can. After all, don’t they say that every South African should run the world famous ultra marathon at least once in their life?

When it comes to the elites, the assumption is always that they run to win and make money. After all, running is their job, isn’t it?

The reality though is that even those running machines need inspiration, something that helps to keep going in that lightning-fast pace of three minutes a kilometre even after the 70km when the mere mortals are simply glad to be able to put one foot in front of another.

Dijana is inspired by a dream — a hope really. While he knows that it is unlikely to ever happen, the Nedbank Running Club athlete lives for the day his mother will understand just how accomplished a runner he is.

Dijana’s mother — Julia Sizani — suffers from a bipolar disorder and is unaware that her son wears not only the crown of Comrades Marathon king but is also the world 50km record-holder. It is a situation that pains the athlete immensely.

“It makes me sad she does not know I am a champion because it is something I know she would have been very proud of. But I just tell her about it even if she does not get it. She lives in a home but I visit her and I showed her the car that I bought after winning Comrades and she was very happy.

“So while she might be in the situation she is, she is my inspiration. Thoughts of her help fuel me on the road in races and I have not given up hope that someday she might be OK.”

On Sunday in KwaZulu-Natal, when the rest of the elite men will try to take away his crown, the man from Signal Hill village in Mahikeng, North West, will not be intimidated as he seeks to remain champion. Besides the desire to make his mother proud, Dijana also has his two children, Moleboheng and Keaobaka — who keep him honest.

“They are my motivation. I want to do the best I can for them, I want to build them a future better than what I grew up in and I can only achieve for them by doing well in races such as Comrades,” says the 35-year-old whose parents split when he was just eight years old.

Dijana knows he is going to be a marked man on Sunday, having experienced the kind of pressure that comes with being a Comrades champion when he ran the Nedbank Runified 50km earlier this year. He broke inspiration and homeboy Stephen Mokoka’s world record, Dijana running a lightning-fast 2:39:03 to win the ten-lapper in Gqeberha and improve on his second-place finish from the year before.

“I saw that people wanted to beat me as the Comrades champion. Everyone seemed to be looking at me and when I tried to make a move they followed. But I was fit and I managed to overcome them. And most importantly I was mentally fit.”

It is his mental strength, more than his athletic ability that Dijana believes is key to his success and he knows that will be key on Sunday.

“You must know and believe in yourself to make it in this sport. You should know how to handle any pressure that comes your way.”

He is not thinking about the other elite athletes who will be out to not only beat him but also the seven-year-old Down Run record of 5:18:19 set by David Gatebe back in 2016.

“I don’t have competition. My competition is these guys,” he says pointing to his Nedbank Running Club teammates Edward Mothibi, Dan Matshailwe, Johannes Makgetla and Joseph Manyedi sitting with us in the lounge of their camp in the high-altitude town of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga. “I train with them so they know my strengths and my weaknesses. But I am glad I train with them because I could not have asked for better teammates. If I trained alone I would not be able to run the way I do because they are my motivation.”

Like last year when this “Happy Bunch” coached by the reticent Dave Adams enjoyed a gold-medal haul of five top 10 finishes and a clean sweep of the podium, they are looking to once again dominate.

Dijana is confident the victor will come from their group but can’t say who.

“The one who will be strongest at the end will win,” he says.

He was that one last year, breaking away from 2019 champion Mothibi late in the race for a life-changing victory. Can he do it again on Sunday? The one thing he certainly won’t be short of, like most of the about 20,000 who will line up in front of the city hall in the province’s capital, is motivation.

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