His passion for running has been consistent even during the COVID-19 induced lockdown. His passion was ignited by a 5km park run in 2014. He later took on endurance runs until he started to participate in marathons, which he enjoys the most. He recently ran a 42.2km in 4:31:42 during the African Bank Soweto Marathon 2024.
Ditiro Essau Modise, commonly known as Roger, is from Bangalong but spends most of his time in Marapong. His jogging routine includes a 10km run, which he considers a recovery run and he usually completes it within an hour or at least 5 minutes per pace at best. He also participates in 20km routines.
Just this year alone, Roger already has 7 marathons under his belt, namely; Mall of the North 42km, Polokwane City Marathon 42km, Soweto Marathon 42km, KaapSeHoop Marathon 42km, Run for Cancer 48km, Exxaro Marathon 21km and the Comrade Marathon, which is his biggest run so far, covering 87km.
Ahead of the African Bank Soweto Marathon 2024 in November 2024, Roger previously had a personal best performance on 42km in 03:26.
He is a member of the Exxaro Marathon Club Limpopo Chapter and they participate in marathons across the country. Annually, his running app records a staggering over 1200km, and this is due to his consistency and the team he is part of.
Speaking to Ntshebele, Roger said running is a habit which pays off. “Participating in Marathons is not about money or winning. I do it out of passion and dedication, which comes from many hours invested in exercising and soft runs. Trust me when I say this habit does wonders to the body. It builds a good shape. You can easily tell by looking at a person that this person is a runner”, he said giggling. Roger further advised those who are starting to jog to not strain themselves.
Reacting to what the nature of running a comrade’s marathon is and what it requires from a runner, he said persistence is the way to go. “What I have learnt about this
endurance run, is that I must solve my problems, myself. Running 87km wasn’t an easy thing and at some point, I felt like giving up and being stretchered away, but I continued until I finished”, he said.
This was his first comrade’s marathon and he plans to do 14 more, to cover 15 comrade marathons in his life. He jokingly said 14 more years await him to accomplish the mission.