The Journey of Simbithi’s Silver Medalist
When James McCallum returned to South Africa in 2019, his mother gave him a choice: cycle, paddle ski or run. He chose the latter, and now has four Comrades Marathon under his belt, three of which have yielded silver medals. This story, however, has a few delightful twists, turns, down and uphills, much like the route between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Meet the (not so) reluctant runner.
“I gingerly started with the Umhlanga park run, and I wasn’t very good,” James leans back on the bench at the Heron Community Centre. His peak cap is swung backwards, and the sun is just setting behind him. “But, I kept going back because I liked the vibe, so I progressed from ‘not so good’ to not completely terrible. I found myself in the top three, regularly, and I really started to enjoy it.” Soon, James decided to tackle the 10km KZN trail run. “Only a silly little ten k,” he winks impishly. “Again, not too bad, so I was convinced to go for the Deloitte Challenge, which is twenty-one kilometres.”
As it happens, once James had become a regular runner, the idea of running that marathon was bandied about. In the midst of a global pandemic, though, the Comrades look a little different. “My first Comrades was the virtual edition in 2020,” James reminisces. “So, we were meant to run the ninety kilometres in loops around Umhlanga. I thought I would run half and get a medal for participation.” Though he started with a group, James recounts that the group slowly thinned out with every kilometre that passed. “Eventually, it was just my buddy and I, because everyone else bailed. So, I kept telling him I would keep him company for another five kilometres. Then, another five, and another…until I had finished the full ninety. Crazy, isn’t it?” He did a second virtual Comrades in 2021, this time running for Humphrey the dog, raising awareness for the Durban and Coast SPCA. “A photo of me ended up on the front page of The Ridge Magazine, accompanying an article called ‘The New Normal’, which I thought was pretty cool!”
When 2022 rolled around, and the Comrades was restored to its full status, James pondered whether he would do it again. “Because, as you know, everyone says you aren’t really a Comrades runner until you’ve done an up and down-run. I call it the Comrades con,” James rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “And, I hadn’t had the proper Comrades experience yet, so I figured I would lace up and give it a try.” He ran with his club, DHS Old Boys, as part of the B-batch. He remembers seeing the elite runners up front. “That race was painful. I kept cramping, and by the time I reached the finish line, I was doing a little old man shuffle to keep moving.” A time of 08:14 earned James his Bill Rowan medal, and he was chuffed. He was approached by Puma to be one of the brand’s running ambassadors. “Not bad for a silly marathon runner,” he quips.
An array of marathons have since characterised James’ running journey, including the Cape Town Marathon, Durban International Marathon and the Two Oceans, in which he’s earned two silvers. He started the 2023 and 2024 Comrades in the A-batch. “This year, Comrades changed the structure. I started in Group one, B-Batch, which is equivalent to the old A-Batch. Group one was reserved for top seeded runners, and group two followed after.” His fourth Comrades in 2024 saw him run his personal best: 06:40!
He also found time to return to Spain, to the idyllic island of Menorca, where El Jefe (Spanish for The Boss) invited him on a trail run. “I thought I would represent South Africa, and show them what we’re made of,” he smirks. “We went eighteen kilometres in with a fifty-metre elevation, and I was quite chuffed with my performance. I was then informed that that was just the warm-up, and a thirty-five-kilometre run awaited, with a solid elevation of a thousand metres,” he shakes his head at the memory. “Listen, I did my best, but…” he trails off, chuckling.
An old friend once told James that everyone runs for different reasons, a statement he still holds close. “Some run for money, some for status, some for the medals. My medals are in a drawer, so it is neither of those for me,” James says. “Running started as something I did to clear my head. Over time, it became a way to measure progress. Not against others, but against the version of myself from the day before,” He speaks of the peace he finds when his feet meet the road, or a quiet trail. “When I run, all the noise disappears. It’s one of the reasons I don’t run with music in my ears. I just want to hear my breath, my heartbeat and my footsteps; it’s that rhythm I love.”
His favourite time to run is early morning, when the air is clear. “That’s the time I use to clear my head and quieten my mind. There is nothing to beat it, and you get that runner’s high that tells you it isn’t really that bad, even if your body feels like you’re about to collapse,” he smiles. He joins the RUNSimbithi crew every Wednesday morning for his cool-down, and he does enjoy a run on Ladlau Drive. “I love to run alone. Some might say I’m an antisocial runner, I just think I’m more of a grumpy runner!”
When asked whether he will keep running Comrades, perhaps aim for a gold, James’s smile broadens. “I’ve met some incredible people through running, both here on the Estate and across the globe. It’s not just about pace. It’s about showing up, putting one foot in front of the other, and staying curious about what you might discover on the next hill.”
