Cape Town - City firefighters Jermaine Carelse and Ronaldo Duncan completed their charity feat on Sunday morning when they crossed the finish line at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon (TTOM) - in full firefighting gear.
The two participated in the TTOM, dubbed the “world’s most beautiful marathon”, and finished the 21km half marathon with an unofficial time of two hours and 41 minutes and 51 seconds.
Carelse and Duncan ran the race in their firefighting gear in a fundraising effort to bring awareness to the works of voluntary firefighting organisation, Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS), and also to highlight the severe conditions that firefighters endure at the frontline.
Carelse said they had not trained in their gear in the lead up to the race, so that they would not feel discouraged.
“It’s something else when you run in normal gear and I won’t lie to you, today was the first time I put on my gear and ran in it, like Duncan as well.
“Today was the first time when (we) put on our gear.
“It was the first time I ran it because I did not want to discourage myself by going to run (train) in the gear and thinking this is not a good idea,” said Carelse.
Carelse said the experience was “absolutely brilliant” and an emotional one when they reached their last 400m stretch just before finishing their race.
“We cannot lose sight of why we did this, which was awareness and the donation to VWS.
“Because that is where this started…It was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Since the gun went off the adrenaline got pumping,” said Carelse.
The duo were grateful for the support displayed along the route with spectators cheering them on through their paces.
Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said the pair had set off on “what seemed like an impossible challenge”.
“It was an amazing feat that has earned the respect of all and has demonstrated the dedication and endurance of what it truly means to be a firefighter,” said Smith.
Cape Times