AMABEADIBEADI NEWS: COMMUNITY CHEST

“I am Mncedisi Marc Matinise from Durban. I currently have 2 Comrades Marathon medals. Although my first Comrades was in 2022, I have known since 1999 that I would one day run The Ultimate Human Race. Maybe for a very long time things never quite clicked. But running Comrades has always been my only reason for running.

For this year's race I ran the Soweto Marathon as my qualifier. I heard it wasn't easy so I had to go there and see for myself. I did see and returned with the medal!

I have been fortunate enough to have Dave Williams (a Comrades legend of note and long term partner of Community Chest) as both my neighbour and teammate. He along with some other teammates and running partners have helped me a lot in being able to establish my running career. They're without a doubt the main reason my long term goal of running Comrades eventually came true.

I'm a family man who enjoys taking time out of the busy career as a manager at a property management company by spending time with family. My wife, Pam and our 2 daughters (Liyasa and Luna) have been very supportive over the years and I always draw in inspiration from that whenever I'm having a difficult race. I always think "No matter what, I must finish this race." It's the only thing I want them to know me for, that even though I am struggling, I will finish.

I have chosen Community Chest for 2 reasons. One, Dave is always urging us to. But also, I truly love children. I believe that, in order to have a better nation in the future, we need to raise our kids the right way today. That involves a number of things from raising them with love and always teaching them to do the right thing, to ensuring that they never miss a day of school because of whatever situation they have no control over. I truly love the work that Community Chest does for disadvantaged children and it fills my heart up that I can contribute to their cause whichever little way I can.”