Together We have the Potential to be Great

This Sunday I spent my day in Pietermaritzburg waiting for my significant other to finish his first ever Comrades. I never thought I’d say this but it was an amazing experience, it’s a phenomenal event that attracts people from all walks of life.
I found myself surrounded by a cross section of South Africans united for a common purpose. It was mind-blowing! We were a group of people so fundamentally different united by something as insignificant as a running race. Who would have thought? Compare this year-upon-year support to the paltry 7000 individuals the ‘million man march against crime’ managed to garner. That’s somewhat sad.
Comrades will succeed where these ‘marches fail’ because it is about the human touch. It’s about complete strangers helping each out. Runners and supporters you’ve never met spur you on when all you want to do it quit. They don’t do it for money or fame but rather because it’s in the spirit of the race. Comrades displays South African’s at their finest! If only this attitude could seep out into everything we do.
As a nation we’re a bit like a spoilt child – one minute we’re delightful and the next we’re so obnoxious that even our own family considers putting us up for adoption. We’ve become so obsessed with protecting our own that we’ve forgotten what we can achieve together! As a country we are filled with passionate, intelligent and funny people. We should see this everyday, not just during an event like Comrades.