The Company We Keep: Running the Comrades for my late dad

The Company We Keep is a column on the CN&CO blog that profiles some of the most interesting people in our networks. Here we share the details of the lives of people we know, showcasing the extraordinary diversity of our society and proving that people truly are at the heart of everything we do.

This column is by Alan Harris.

My name is Alan Harris, son of Charles Harris.

I sadly lost my father, Charles Harris, to cancer when I was 12 years old. My dad was 41 when he passed away. My dad’s passion was running the Comrades Marathon. He ran his last Comrades with cancer for his kids – me, my sister and my two brothers. I promised him in his last days that I would run the Comrades at least once in his honour.

I decided 36 years later at the age of 48 to run the 2024 Comrades Marathon – the 87 km up-run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.  

I believe the most difficult challenge in life is a terminal disease like cancer. I remember my dad’s battle, and the pain and suffering he endured over a long period of time. So, for me to run 87 km with one day of pain and suffering was nothing by comparison.

The longest I had run previously was 10 km, when I was 19. As the owner of a boxing studio – cRESULTS Digital Fitness Boxing in Bryanston – I have always kept fit and healthy. I have never enjoyed running, so this was going to be an awesome mental and physical challenge.

So where do I start?

Trust a plan and run with it (excuse the pun)

I am fortunate to know Carel Nolte from CN&CO, who has run the Comrades several times. Chatting to him would become key to my completing this beast of a marathon. So going forward, Carel then became known as “Coach Carel”.

Coach Carel enrolled me with the Easy Equities Born to Run athletics club. 

Coach Carel gave me a very simple road map (excuse the pun – again) to follow to finish within the required 12 hours, which is what I was aiming for. Here it is:

• 50km a week
• Twice a week strength training (I used the boxing classes for this)
• Do a 42 km qualifier sooner rather than later 
• Stay healthy 
• No injuries
• Keep it simple
• Keep moving forward 
• Don’t stop to talk to people
• Don’t sit  
• Don’t take your phone
• Don’t get caught up in the hype
• Run uphills slowly 
• Walk when you need to 
• Tape your tits 
• Use a pace band
• Stay away from sick people 
• Remember your family and friends on the run
  I think I can; I know I can; I will
• Have fun 

Leading up to the race

I found an awesome group of runners to run a minimum 10 km, 5 times a week at 5am up until the Comrades, called the JP (Jukskei Park) Runners.

So in the 3.5 months of running training, I completed the following:

• 2 x 21 km runs
• 1 x 30 km run
• 1 x 42 km qualifier race in 4:32min
• Total k’s run in 3.5 months: 807

My dad’s race number!

A really special moment was when I thought, how amazing would it be if I could run in my dad’s race number, 2122? I approached the Comrades team and they arranged that I could run in his number! Thank you Comrades Marathon team! The number 2122 will forever be embedded in my heart and mind.

Challenges

The challenges leading up to the Comrades didn’t come without further challenges. Two weeks before the Comrades my wife and son got swine flu, so my amazing supportive wife Laura Harris, without hesitation said she would sleep in my son’s room until they were both better. One of the hardest parts leading up to the race was not being able to hug and kiss my beautiful wife, daughter and son for at least two weeks for fear of getting sick.

When my wife went to the doctor she asked for a preventative measure for me so the doctor prescribed some medication for me, super thoughtful.

The week before the race, my dreaded fear came true; I started feeling sick on the Tuesday prior to the race, which was that coming Sunday. Swine flu generally takes four to six weeks to get out your system. I was not going to succumb to this flu so I dosed myself with vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, Berrocca, Airmune, lots of liquids and I went for the jet fuel drip. I couldn’t do any running in that last week when I should have been following the tapering programme. I managed to keep the symptoms in my nose, so luckily it didn’t go to the chest. However, I did feel it in my throat in the morning of the race, “wtf”.

The day of the race

I woke up at 3 am after at most three hours of sleep. My supportive family were up at 4 am to take me to the start, which was at 05.30 am on Sunday. We arrived with enough time for me to go to my allocated start position.

The start of the race was one of the most memorable times of my life, singing the South African anthem, the listening to Chariots of Fire, hearing the cock crow, then hearing the cannon fire to start the race. I cried like a baby. This brought back so many happy memories of when I used to wake up with a cup of Milo and watch my Dad on the TV with a feeling of total love and admiration for him.

More motivation

My primary or first motivation was the promise I had made to my Dad 38 years ago. Then my 10-year-old son said to me a week before, “Dad, if you don’t finish and get a medal, I will be disappointed”. Now if that isn’t motivation, I don’t know what is.

I said to myself, if I finish this, I won’t have to do it ever again 😄.

The race

I started overwhelmed with emotion, but I was ready to complete this challenge. The crowd support and atmosphere were amazing in the beginning, and the magnitude of athletes all with the same goal felt incredible. I unfortunately had to run the whole race on my own, as the people I trained with were proper runners and I would have held them back.

Now bring on the hills.

If you are not aware, the first half of the Comrades Marathon up-run is said to be the hardest 42 km marathon in the world from an elevation point of view. The hills are no joke, and they definitely took their toll. Twenty-five kilometres into the race my right calf started to cramp with a pain that I have never experienced before. Every time I struck the road with my right foot it would cramp. It was debilitating.

I had two choices: quit or find a solution. I channelled our family motto “Harrises never give up”. I tried different positions to land my right foot on the road, which meant I had to change my running style. With a further 62 km to go, this wasn’t ideal.

Fortunately, I found a running style that was manageable, but the fear of the cramp was with me for the rest of the race.

When you run the Comrades you will also walk. It’s inevitable. And so, after about 50 km I was faced with another choice, which was: walk now and then, or continue to run and just keep running. After 50 km the transition from the walk into a run was very painful for about three minutes. So you start to fear the walk (which you have to do) because you know you are going to have to go through that three minutes of pain when you start running again. I chose to walk and embrace the pain :}.

There was a lot of crowd support along the way. However, I got into such a zone that I almost blocked them out. I had one goal and that was to finish in 12 hours.

With 10 km to go, my Apple watch ran out of battery so I was “running blind”, asking other athletes for the time and distance to the finish – another curve ball! But everyone was helpful.

I prayed the whole way and chatted to my dad, so coming to the end, I said to him, let’s finish this together – and that pulled me through the last couple of k’s.

I completed the race in 11:29, which enabled me to get my Comrades medal.

My biggest reward that I was looking forward to was to see my beautiful family and hug and kiss them, as I did when I used to go and watch my dad at the finish of all his races. Sadly they were stuck in terrible traffic for six and a half hours trying to get to Maritzburg. This was due to roadworks and poor logistics. When my family arrived, they were very emotional and very proud of my achievement, as I was always when my dad finished. This made the whole experience so memorable and worthwhile.

This race was one the toughest mental and physical challenges that I have ever experienced. When looking back, I should have trained for at least six months to a year, but I thought at the time, I don’t enjoy running so why would I put myself through more months of unhappiness. So my decision was right, but also wrong 🙂.

FYI there wasn’t a single time before or during the race that I didn’t believe I would finish in the allocated time and get a medal. If you go into a challenge like this without believing 100% that  you will finish, you will more than likely quit.

Giving back

Another great bit of advice from Coach Carel was to use the Comrades Marathon app to raise funds for a charity of my choice. I chose the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa. We manged to raise R18 400. Thanks to all the people who contributed to this amazing charity. I know the recipients were truly grateful. 

Time to reflect

• Life is too short not to challenge your mind and body every day.
• Exercise is not a chore it is a privilege.
• Adversity is the biggest motivator.
• A terminal disease is the biggest challenge in life. Everything else is doable and achievable, with a goal, a plan, accountability, execution and an incredible support structure in the form of your family and friends.
• Never take on a challenge and at any stage believe you will fail. Grind it out, and you will be amazed at the outcome!
• Look after your mental and physical health every day!
• Ask for help and advice when you need it.

Thanks for the love and support

• To my incredible wife Laura, my daughter Mia and my son Dain, thanks for believing in me and sacrificing for me
• Sean, my brother-in-law, for the many hours and k’s together on the road
• The rest of my amazing family
• All my friends
• All our members at cRESULTS
• Coach Carel
• JP Group
• Born 2 Run
• A very special thanks to all who contributed to the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa
• To my Dad Charles Harris, thanks for the memories of you when I was a kid, and the 11:29 of quality time together on 9 June 2024. Love you!

What’s next?

The sky is the limit!