Three years ago a Dunoon runner’s dream of competing in a world series trail competition in Austria crashed due to the coronavirus outbreak in 2020.
Athlete Sibongile Tshikitsha this week smiled broadly as supporters and fans gathered in Milnerton to bid him farewell as he finally embarks on the journey.
Tshikitsha, known as “ Mountain goat” in trail running circles, was invited by the prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) based on his 2016 exploits in trail running locally. He won the Stellenbosch and Ceres trail run championships with record times.
He will fly out to Austrian next Tuesday and tackle the arduous 100km of mountain running on Saturday June 17.
“I was meant to run in Austria in 2020 but Covid-19 happened and I was shattered but I stayed on training and running locally,” he said.
Now he is ready to tackle the race and the support from the local fraternity has buoyed him to greater heights
Seven time Comrades Marathon finisher, Brian Super, speaking at the farewell, urged Tshikitsha to focus and remain resolute.
“Comrades Marathon provides the smallest medal and I have seven of those. I hope Sibo will return with a medal in Europe which might be bigger than ours. He knows he is going to a tough race and he is ready,” said Super.
His trip was organised by a non-profit organisation Bloodsisters, which spotted his talent five years ago when he won the Montosberg 21km trail in record time.
Bloodsisters founder, Sandra Birklbauer, says they were not overly disappointed with the 2020 cancellation because they knew Sibo would travel to Austria eventually.
“We had prepared him a tour around Austria where he would have been able to meet the supporters of our organisation and acclimatise before the marathon.”
Peter Jacobs, who runs Rich’s Meat, met Sibo 10 years ago, and said he was impressed by his dedication to athletics and community upliftment.
“He loves what he does and has inspired me to become a runner. As a businessman I understand difficulties that athletes face and Sibo has remained focussed,” said Jacobs.
Tshikitsha runs a small club in Dunoon where he encourages children to participate in sport. The club works with 40 children aged 7 to 14.
“I want these kids to have an opportunity to focus on more constructive ways to solve their issues and not fall in with bad elements like I almost did at a young age,” he said.
“Everybody should have that one passion in life, something that fills you with joy all the time. I discovered my passion at a very early age, and I truly believe that I was born to run. I love to run with all of my heart.
