Having been brought up in an active, sporty family alongside brothers that excelled both on and off the pitch, Hollywood Athletics Club member Nontuthuko Mashimane has attempted all the sports that you can think of. However, it is running that inspired her most and is a sport that she now not only has dedicated her life to, but also used to inspire many and bring about change and hope for many.
“I’ve always been someone who loved sport but funny enough growing up, apart from interhouse cross country, running really did not mean much until I left school,” recalls Mashimane. “My mom was a really good basketball player and ran short distance at school, and my brother Sibonelo was a really good cricketer, but as we all now know, both Sib’s and I live the sport of running daily!”
Like many other families in KwaZulu-Natal, the Mashimane family would wake up to watch the Comrades Marathon start and then later go onto the route to watch and cheer for the runners, and this was the start of a long and growing fondness of the event for Mashimane. “With Comrades I have started off with volunteering for the event whilst still in high school, and from there went onto become a seconder and supporter when Sibs ran his first Comrades. It was when he finished his first that I was so inspired to run it too, and in 2015 I lined up for my first and I have not looked back.” Mashimane also now sits as a board member on the Comrades Marathon Board, and has also raised hundreds of thousands of rands for charity on the event. Now having completed eight Comrades to date, Mashimane looks forward to getting her tenth finish and green number.
She has also taken her love of the sport into her full time job, qualifying in the field of Nutrition where she is an Ethnomedicine Practitioner specialising in Nutrition and Iridology. “I love Nutrition and its capabilities of helping the body heal itself.” Juggling both a full time job, training for an event such as the Comrades Marathon and sitting on the board can be tough, but Mashimane is all about balance.
“My term on the Comrades Board started last year and I was running my eighth so it was challenging because one needs to put two caps on, one as a Comrades runner and also as one of the people who try to lead the whole association to greater heights and greatness,” says Mashimane. “It’s been a learning curve but my driving force to being able to do it all is my passion for the sport and the community.”
As a proud member of the Hollywood Athletics Club, Mashimane says running for Hollywood Athletics Club has been the best decision ever. “Hollywood is just pure VIBES! Everyone in my club is just there for the running vibes, it’s awesome and we just want to run and be merry. The club puts their runners first, always supporting and evolving and I can say without a doubt that this club is my other family!”
As an avid traveller and someone who has taken part in races all around the world such as the iconic Berlin and Dubai Marathons, Mashimane says that there is still no race such as the Comrades Marathon. “I lived in London for a few years so go to do many epic races around Europe but there is a reason why Comrades is called the Ultimate Human Race,” says Mashimane. “When you do it you realize just how much you love your country and its people.”
Mashimane hopes to keep making an impact within the sport and to keep running herself for as long as possible. “I’d really also love to see more women participating and see more women of colour getting opportunities to compete and be at their very best.”
Lookout for Mashimane and her brother Sibonelo who take part in most of the races on the KwaZulu-Natal calendar, they’re not hard to miss. Nontuthuko with her ever present smile and engaging nature towards other runners and Sibonelo with his funny wit and enthusiastic caring nature for runners around him.
“We were all born with a God-given talent. Whatever I do, I do with honesty. I didn’t choose this life of helping others in the sport, it’s been inside me and every space I am in, all the people I serve, it is always purposely driven and I think that is why I never get tired of being there for everyone.”
