Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Bruce Fordyce
7 November 2009
Harare — RACE organiser, Guy Hammond, strolls to the middle of the roadroad and, shouting through a loud hailer, attracts the attention of the runners gathered at the start of the Kariba half-marathon.
"I would like to introduce our two guest runners. The first is nine-time Comrades marathon winner, Bruce Fordyce."
There is a ripple of polite applause from the assembled runners.
"The second," he continues, "is our very own 2009 Comrades Marathon Champion, Stephen Muzhingi."
The crowd roars and cheers in approval and the applause lasts for over a minute.
It all began 29 years ago in Gutu, a tiny village near Masvingo, that doesn't have a post office.
Interestingly, Muzhingi's birth certificate indicates he is now 33, but he believes he is actually 29. Muzhingi and his six siblings used to run to and from school, and they had to run quickly as their teacher's anger towards late-comers was well known.
So from an early age, Muzhingi was running almost 22 km, five days a week. But it was his sister and older brother who encouraged him to run competitively, in spite of the fact that his teachers tried to turn him into a footballer.
But he persisted and his running talent soon became evident. He ran well in local races, including the HAC 20-miler (32km) and the Peter Gradwell Marathon.
It was then that he heard about the Comrades Marathon. In his first Comrades, Muzhingi finished 123rd in 6:40, but he had to spend the night before the race sleeping in a bush in the City Hall.
Muzhingi is a huge hero in Zimbabwe. In a country so inundated with challenges, Zimbabweans are filled with pride at his magnificent win in this year's Comrades.
Not only did their Stephen stick it to the runners "down south", but he also thrashed the invincible Russians as well.
"I have great respect for the Russians," he says. "But I can win again and I love the up run so I am looking forward to 2011."
And what a thrashing it was. It is always difficult to create significant gaps in the "Down" Comrades and the leading runners tend, more often than not, to be bunched closely together at the finish.
Muzhingi, however, carved out a 10-minute lead and ran the second fastest time ever. At the finish, it appeared that there were two races -- Muzhingi against the stopwatch and that of the rest of the field competing for minor places.
In just five hours and 23 minutes, Muzhingi elevated his status in Zimbabwe from little-known runner to national hero.
But Muzhingi is surprised by the surprise of his win.
"I knew I would win and run a fast time because my training told me I would," the shy man from Gutu says without a hint of arrogance.
"His self confidence is supported by fellow Zimbabwean and 15-time Comrades runner, Eddy Edmondson.
As chairman of Harare Athletic Club, Edmondson decided to invite Muzhingi to speak at the club in february this year.
Muzhingi already owned an impressive CV when he stood up to speak in HAC's friendly club-house.
He had run four Comrade Marathons and had two gold medals (including third place in 2008).
But Andy recalls that the room went quiet and he felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck when Muzhingi told the HAC runners:
"I will run the Two Oceans as a training run and finish in the top five positions (he was fourth) and a few weeks later I will win the Comrades.
"My training has gone very well and it has told me I will win."
According to Andy, Stephen spoke so convincingly that everyone took him at his word. Muzhingi's training is certainly unusual and he acknowledges the fact.
Next month he will begin his grueling build-up to the Comrades. His runs include a 56km run, which he runs in alternate directions every Saturday.
His approach is simple. Each Saturday, he strives to run the 56kms faster than the previous one.
He also endures five-hour runs through the think bush and veld near Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison in a heavy track suit so that he sweats profusely.
He drinks only after completing the session and then he downs water mixed with Zimbabwe's famous Mazoe orange juice.
He enjoys the fact that the rough bush tears and scratches his legs badly.
When he runs a road race, those scratches on his legs remind him how hard he has trained and that motivates him to push even harder.
His diet is also simple. Lots of sadza and nyama.
On the morning of the Comrades, he rises at 3am to eat lots of bread. Muzhingi remembers the time when, as a young boy, his mother would have nothing to serve with the sadza.
So she would tell her family, "Tonight, we have sadza and point."
They would roll the sadza in their fingers and point, then dip it in an empty relish bowl before eating the plain mealie meal.
Although he has come a long way since, he remains true to his roots.
Mow Muzhingi is a successful full-time runner with a sponsor (BluffMeats) and a manager (Cliff Chinasama).
He is a contender for the Zimbabwe Sportsperson of The Year award and is due to meet the Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture.
His status as Comrades champion has enabled him to travel extensively.
Muzhingi had never been to Kariba before and had never fished from a speedboat. He is also realistic enough to know that he has less than 300 days left as Comrades champion and that defending his title is important.
If his self-belief is as strong as it was when he spoke at the HAC in February, then he may well be the next multiple Comrades champion from southern Africa.
Bruce Fordyce is a nine-time winner of the Comrades Marathon and spoke to Stephen Muzhingi during a fishing day at Kariba. He wrote this article for the October issue of Runner's World magazine.
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