CITY OF STARS SENDS WARRIORS TO CONQUER COMRADES CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
- Mpho Dube
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
A city is not built on cement alone. It is built on lungs that refuse to collapse. On hearts that keep rhythm when the road turns cruel. On legs that know the meaning of uphill.
On Tuesday in Polokwane, the City of Stars proved it trains all three. Executive Mayor Cllr Makoro John Mpe stood at the front — a runner himself, legs already fluent in long distance. Beside him, City Manager Thuso Nemugomoni, the woman who skips rope at dawn and runs the road at sunrise. MMC for Sport Cllr Tebele Jerry Mamabolo completed the guard — also a runner, also fluent in the language of endurance.
They did not pin numbers to their own chests. They sent warriors. Municipal officials who will leave Durban’s warm Indian Ocean shores this Sunday, 14 June 2026, and chase 87km of “Up Run” gravity all the way to Pietermaritzburg’s City Hall. The 99th edition of the Comrades Marathon. The last uphill before the century. 87 kilometres. 12-hour cut-off. One law written into the tar: finish.
Mayor Mpe did not waste words. He handed the team their code for the road:
“Go fly the City's flag high. Run with courage, finish with honour. The medal is earned long before race day. And if anyone asks where you are from, tell them: 'We come from Polokwane where giving up isn't part of the municipal by-laws.'”
That line will echo at Drummond. It will echo at 70km when doubt creeps in.
Because in Polokwane, resilience is not a slogan. It is municipal code. The same discipline that guards every cent in the municipal purse also guards every minute before the cut-off. The same checks and balances that deliver unqualified audit opinions year after year also demand training logs, medical screenings, pace plans. No stone unturned. No kilometre unchecked.
Look closer and you’ll see the metaphor. The Mayor runs. The City Manager runs and skips rope. The MMC for Sport runs. That is not coincidence. It is doctrine.
A healthy mind gives birth to stable finances. Nemugomoni’s skip rope and running shoes teach rhythm. Rhythm is what keeps Polokwane’s books clean when others stumble. A runner’s heart knows pacing. Mpe and Mamabolo know you don’t win Comrades at 10km. You win it at 80km. That same patience keeps service delivery moving when pressure mounts.
From VO2 max to variance reports, from hydration plans to budget controls. Polokwane measures, adjusts, endures. When leadership sweats, administration gets lean. When a body learns to endure 87km, a municipality learns to outlast tough cycles.
Sunday is not just another race. It is the 99th Comrades Marathon. An “Up Run” from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. From sea level to the City of Champions. From ocean breath to Midlands climb.
87km uphill. 12 hours on the clock. Born in 1921 from a soldier’s dream of endurance after war, Comrades turns 100 next year. This team runs Chapter 99 so Polokwane can help write Chapter 100.
MMC Mamabolo told them: “You carry more than a race number. You carry the City of Stars on your chest. Every step you take is a step for every resident choosing to move instead of sit.”
City Manager Nemugomoni stood for every official watching: “When you finish in Pietermaritzburg, you finish for all of us. You prove public service and personal fitness run the same race.”
On Sunday morning, when 20,000 feet hit the Durban tar, Polokwane will be running too. Not with legs, but with faith.
Watch for the green and gold at the halfway mark when the road tilts up. Watch for them at 80km when the body begs for mercy. They will move like people used to long council meetings and longer community roads. They will move like a city that knows the hardest climbs come right before the greatest views.
From Durban’s shores to PMB’s City Hall. From skip rope at sunrise to finish line at sunset. From municipal by-laws to marathon bylaws.
All the best to our marathon warriors. 87km. 12 hours. One city behind you. Run with courage. Finish with honour. Bring Chapter 99 home. Bring proof that in the City of Stars, we don’t just build cities. We build people who can outlast them.
#CityOfStars #HealthyLifestyle #Comrades2026 #99thEdition #UpRun #87km #12Hours #NoGivingUp #PolokwaneRuns
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