Barkly East, 17 June 2025– Four (4) officials of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality (JGDM) have successfully completed the 2025 Comrades Marathon on Sunday, 8 June, receiving three medals.
The quartet comprising Ayanda Keka, Mcebisi Nonjola, Sicelo Pongoma and Thomas Maseko completed ‘The Ultimate Human Race’ with finish times ranging between 9 and 12 hours.
The 98th instalment of the Comrades Marathon spanned 89.98km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. A record 22 000 runners participated in this year’s “down” run, which saw Tete Dijana win the men’s race and Gerda Steyn win the women’s race.
Ayanda Keka (46), JGDM’s Agriculture and Forestry Coordinator and a first-time participant in the Comrades, completed the race with a finish time of nine hours, fifty-nine minutes and forty-three seconds (9:59:43), landing him a Robert Mtshali medal.
Mcebisi Nonjola (58), JGDM’s Municipal Manager and a third time participant at the legendary race finished in ten hours, fifty-three minutes and fourteen seconds (10:53:14), which earned him a Bronze medal.
Sicelo Pongoma (43), Water Section Authority Manager at JGDM, was competing in the Comrades for the third time this year. He finished in eleven hours, forty-nine minutes and one second (11:49:01) and received aVic Clapham finishers medal.
Thomas Maseko (53), Supply Chain Manager at JGDM and first-time Comrades participant, completed the race in twelve hours, twenty-three minutes and one second (12:23:01), barely missing the 12-hour cut-off time for receiving a medal.
“It was a gruesome, yet exciting race. This was my third Comrades but, for some reason, this one tested my mental strength to its limits. Nonetheless, I am happy with the bronze medal,” said Nonjola.
As head of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality’s administration, Nonjola said that he hopes the quartet’s endeavour will inspire more municipal employees to lead more active lives.
“The public administration environment can be demanding and requires vitality to be able to thrive within the space. We are hoping to inspire more employees to adopt active and healthy lifestyles,” he said.
The Executive Mayor of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, Councillor Nomvuyo Mposelwa, congratulated her officials for flying the Joe Gqabi flag high at this year’s Comrades Marathon.
“Our employees are our biggest asset and thus it is crucial that they invest in their wellbeing. We are proud to see this display of excellence both in and outside the workplace. I want to encourage all our employees to become more active because a healthy and vibrant workforce will enhance our service delivery and socio-economic development efforts,” she said.
