Kama won't quit running
ALTHOUGH he only took up road running 14 years ago, 61-year old Senzo Kama has achieved more than most athletes who have spent their lifetime in the sport.
The Gqunube Street grandfather who runs in the colours of the Port Elizabeth Athletic Club won two awards at the clubs presentation earlier this year – the Mr and Mrs Bird trophy for the most outstanding performance on the road and the CTheron trophy for the performance of note at the Two Oceans where he won his age category.
Running long distance races has not been easy for Kama who is up at 4.30am every day for his training run to work!
Which is a fair distance from Motherwell to Sherwood in the Western Suburbs.
"After the race I cannot even stay for the prize-giving because I have to go straight to work [at a national supermarket chain].
"I do not receive any sponsorship and when I race I out of town I have to take a loan from my employer," said Kama who started running as a joke.
"I was working as a merchandiser at Makro and some of the guys there were runners. One of the guys asked me to come along for a run.
"I took part in my first race without training and I was hooked," he said.
In addition to numerous local races Kama has five Comrades and 12 Two Ocean under his belt.
He is a regular in both the Eastern Province marathon and cross-country teams. Earlier this year he finished second in the marathon at the national championships in George and last month was in the Eastern Province cross-country team at the SA champs in Port Shepstone.
And when does he plan to retire?
"Never. I will run till I drop dead," says Kama whose hero is Vladimir Kotov, the Belarus-born South African long distance runner, who competed for the Soviet Union at the marathon of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and became the oldest runner to win the Comrades.