“Some people run to relieve stress, but I have no stress. I just love running!” Medicross Malvern receptionist Fikile Mbuthuma has an uncontainable energy and a passion for running that belies her petite physique.
“Running keeps me fit and young, and I have also made a lot of friends through my running. I absolutely love it,” enthuses the 34-year-old, who won a silver medal in this year’s Comrades Marathon.
Fikile was the first KwaZulu-Natal woman to cross the finish line in the 89 km ultra marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, for the second consecutive year. In this year’s event, she was the 15th woman overall, and completed the race in an impressive time of 7 hours, 18 minutes and 41 seconds.
Fikile hails from Harding on the South Coast, and has been working at Malvern Medicross for 11 years. She first tackled the Comrades Marathon in 2006 and has now run it nine times. “I train almost every day. In preparation for the Comrades I was training twice a day, six days a week, covering around 160 km per week for the five months before the race. I would get up very early in the morning to train before work, and then go running again after work.”
Fikile, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the Nedbank Running Club, has also competed in the Zululand Ultra Marathon for the past six years.
“In 2013 I ran the 68km Legends Ultra Marathon and came first in the women’s category, which I found a very satisfying achievement,” Fikile explains. She will return to East London to run this event again in October.
“My colleagues at Medicross Malvern are very supportive of my running and even threw a surprise party for me when I got back to work after this year’s Comrades. My employers have also been very accommodating. I know I am very fortunate to have this level of encouragement.”
Fikile looks forward to taking part in next year’s Comrades Marathon and hopes to improve on her performance. “My ambition for next year’s Comrades is to finish in the top ten women,” she says.
Malvern Medicross clinic manager Roshan Ramparsad congratulated Fikile on her achievement. “Fikile is an immense inspiration to our staff. Her determination in pursing her running goes to show that with hard work, discipline and passion it is possible to achieve great things. We wish her all the best in her future and, personally, I believe she will go from strength to strength,” he concludes.
“Fikile’s dedication to her running is paralleled by the enthusiasm and caring she shows when assisting our patients in the course of her reception job,” Ramparsad concludes.
Ends
Issued by: Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Malvern Medicross
Contact : Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Sarah Wilson or Meggan Saville
Telephone: (011) 469 3016
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]