Episode 41 New Year It Up with Special Guest Occupational Therapist and 4 x Comrades Marathon Finisher Sara Mahomedy
This episode of Level Up - New Year It Up (Episode 41), hosted by Ziyaad Plaatjes, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes, covers a range of news and personal stories on the occasion of the new Islamic year, 1448 AH.
Key News & Updates:
- Legal & Human Rights: Discussion on the ongoing court battle between Cape Union Mart and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (1:43-2:09), as well as the humanitarian crisis involving thousands of Malawian nationals in Durban (2:10-2:30).
- Sports: Updates on Bafana Bafana's progress in the FIFA World Cup (2:33-2:56), a tour of the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein (2:59-3:45), and the record-breaking results of the 2026 Comrades Marathon (3:48-4:04).
Feature Interview: Sara Mahomedy
- The hosts interview Sara Mahomedy, a four-time Comrades Marathon finisher (4:06-43:00). She discusses:
- Her personal journey into running as a stress-relief outlet and a way to honor her late father's dream (4:21-6:35).
- The physical and mental rigors of training, especially for a mother working as an occupational therapist (12:26-17:08, 31:58-35:28).
- The spiritual aspect of the race, using dhikr and dua to persevere when hitting the "wall" (20:49-28:27, 35:50-38:06).
- Her ongoing charitable work with the Community Chest (41:15-43:00).
Reflections on Muharram:
- The episode concludes with a spiritual reflection on the 10th of Muharram (Ashura), detailing the historical significance of the day for various prophets and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (43:11-45:51).
Listen to Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 41: New Year It Up with Special Guest Sara Mahomedy - Occupational Therapist and 4 x Comrades Marathon Finisher
Sunday 21 June 2026 / 05th Muharram 1448AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Watch Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 41: New Year It Up with Special Guest Sara Mahomedy - Occupational Therapist and 4 x Comrades Marathon Finisher
Sunday 21 June 2026 / 05th Muharram 1448AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
Read the Transcript for Level Up with Ziyaad, Nabihah, and Isa Plaatjes on Radio Islam International MW 1548
Episode 40: Youth It Up
Sunday 14 June 2026 / 27th Thul Hijjah 1447AH 14h00 - 15h00 (CAT)
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To dear listeners, it's just past 200 p.m. right here in South Africa and it's our favorite day of the week, Yom Aad.
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It's the fifth day of muharam 1448 ah alhamdulillah and it corresponds to Sunday the 21st of June 2026.
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I'm Zad Plachies and with me are my co-hosts Nabir and Issa Plachis. Welcome to Level Up where we listen, learn and
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grow inshallah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance and we break down the week's news and talk about what really matters to young Muslims today. Our
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WhatsApp line is open. The number is 072-7861548.
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You can call in on 0185472 or DM us on iil.com. That's I l o v e z
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a c o m. We on Instagram, Facebook x, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok threads as well as upcrolled.
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Muharam Mubarak to all our dear listeners.
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Oh Allah, bring this month of Muharam and this year of 1448 upon us with security, I iman, safety, Islam, your pleasure and protection from shan.
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May this year be filled with lots of baraka for us all and may we continue to be guided by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and follow the teachings of our beloved
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prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. This past week was a busy one as usual.
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One of the top stories is that of the battle between Cape Union Mart and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and its supporters. After three days of hearings
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in front of three judges at the Western Cape High Court, the court reserved judgment and a date for the final ruling
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has yet to be announced. However, one of the journalists covering the story was assaulted outside the courtroom during
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proceedings by a pro-occupation supporter.
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An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 Malawian nationals are currently stranded at the Sherwood Hall transit site in Durban,
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South Africa, facing a severe humanitarian crisis, many fled their homes and workplace due to escalating
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anti-illegal immigration protest and a looming June 30th ultimatum set by local groups. In sports news, Bafana Bafana
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have managed a 1-1 draw against Czecha in their second FIFA World Cup soccer
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match. If Mexico can beat Czecha in their last group match and South Africa can manage to win against South Korea,
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then South Africa's World Cup hopes will still be alive as they would finish second in group A. Alhamdulillah, Toyota
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flew us out to view the Toyota Stadium down in Bloomfenta to get the full experience by driving a Toyota to the
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stadium to park in the VIP section to meet some of the players and to and had
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a tour around the stadium and watch the last day of the Toyota challenge where
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Suzuki Greek beat the car track Lucy Tanos 76-7.
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The ALink Pummers won against Romania a 46-26 and the headline game the Toyota
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Cheetahs claimed victory over the Georgia team Black Lion with a score of
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47 to 31. South African athletes George Kusher and Ker Stain won the respective
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men's and women's titles at the 99th 2026 Comrades Marathon. Both runners set
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historic record-breaking times in the uprun from Durban to Peter Marittsburg.
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We hear from four times Comrades Marathon finisher Sar Muhammadi what the ultimate human race is all about.
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Sarah Muhammad is a 41-year-old occupational therapist, wife, and mother of two from Durban. She has always lived an active lifestyle.
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Growing up, she was inspired by her parents, her dad was always exercising and going for his daily jog, while her mom enjoyed walking and aerobics.
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Fitness was simply part of their family culture. Although she felt as though she went through a quieter period during high school and gained some weight, she
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began taking running seriously in her first year of university, it quickly became her outlet. Her stress relief and a way of looking after both her physical
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and mental well-being. Sara's family regularly participated in fun runs such as the Spa Ladies Race, and running became something she genuinely enjoyed.
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Her late father always dreamed of running the Comradees marathon but never had the opportunity to do so. In many ways, her comradees journey has allowed
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her to honor his dream while pursuing one of her own. She continued running through much of her adult life,
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including during her first pregnancy, and she still remembers putting her daughter in her pram, coming home, and heading out for a run. When her second
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child was born, life became busier and more demanding, and running once again took a backseat. About two years later, she realized that she needed something
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for herself again, an outlet beyond the responsibilities of work, marriage, and motherhood. She returned to running, and
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that's when it became more than just exercise. It became a passion. She completed her first marathon in 2020,
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just days before South Africa entered lockdown. From there, she set her sights on Comrades and completed her first race in 2023.
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Since then, she has completed the 2023 down run, the 2024 uprun, the 2025 down run, and now the 2026 upun.
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Running has taught her discipline, resilience, gratitude, and faith. It has carried her through life's challenges
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and celebrated many of its joys. Running has become a passion and, if she's being honest, a little addictive. Inshallah
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her goal is to run the historic 100th comrades marathon next year inshallah. I mean after that she will re-evaluate but
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for now she's simply grateful for every step of the journey and every opportunity that Allah has given her to keep running. Alhamdulillah
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for joining us today. Now Sarah, you've just finished the ultimate human race,
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the Comrades Uprun. First things first, how are your legs feeling today? And how many stairs have you successfully avoided since last week Sunday?
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Oh, the stairs. Yeah. Um, alhamdulillah, I'm much I'm feeling much better. Uh Monday and Tuesday there was
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obviously pain. Um however, you know, this being the uprun, pain is not as bad as the down. Um the down run, the
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recovery and the pain is a lot worse and the recovery takes a lot longer. So by Wednesday, alhamdulillah, I was feeling a lot better. Uh yeah, avoiding stairs.
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Hey, you know what? I've run 89.9 kilometers. I've run 85.6 km. So at that
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point stairs I think for me at this point now stairs is um it's nothing. I won't say I really avoid it. I'm just
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lucky in that I don't have stairs at home. And uh yeah but obviously if I'm in a lot of pain I would rather preferably take the lift than go up and
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down the stairs and put myself through more more pain at that point. But sugar I'm I'm feeling a lot better and um I I
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won't say I'm fully recovered. The body takes a while to recover, but I'm feeling physically a lot better.
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Alhamdulillah, that's good. Now, Sar, for our young listeners who don't quite know, and maybe even some global listeners who may not know, what exactly is the Comrades Marathon?
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Okay, so Comrades Marathon is the world's it's the world's oldest and largest ultra marathon. It happens annually
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um in June um either from Derban to Marisburg which is your upr run or from Marisburg to Durban which is your down
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run and um it goes anything up until the mileage or the kilometers is up to 89.9
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or 90 km. Last year it was 89.9 um and this year it was 85.7.
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So to be honest, those few kilometers don't actually make a difference. It's still a very tough race.
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So we gather that this is not your first time participating in the Comrades Marathon, but what was your inspiration or motivation to first participate?
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No, actually this was actually my fourth Comrades marathon. Alhamdulillah, I managed to finish. I've been running
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since 2023. So my first um Comrades marathon took place in 2023 which was
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the up run um and then 2024 25 and 26 and it alternated between the up and the
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down. Um it was always a dream of mine you know it was always a bucket list item you know just to tick off my bucket
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list. Uh running has always been much more than just exercise for me. You know it started as a tool for managing my anxiety and just in general to improve
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my health. Um and also it was you know my late father's dream and he's he spoke
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about running the comrades one day. So I guess completing my first comrades turn into a turned a dream into a reality and
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it was always something I told myself I'll do when I turned 40 but alhamdulillah I managed to do it a little earlier than that and um it was
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always just supposed to be one. It was a bucketless item but then when you start it becomes not for everyone but for
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most. And if you're a runner, you're a runner. Um it becomes addictive, you know. Um and then everyone tells you, "No, you have to go for your backto-back
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medal, which is if you run two comrades marathons back to back, you get a third medal." So you do your first one, you
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get your first medal. On your second one, you actually get two medals, which will be your backto-back medal because you ran it back to back. And for the
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most part, most people actually stopped there. Um yeah, but then it just went on from two to three and always say you have to be a
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bit crazy to run the comrades. I don't know why we do it. Uh but we do it and um now I for me my goal is to do the
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hundth. So I just told myself I'll just keep running until I do the hundth and insh it would be my fifth one if I complete it and when I complete it and
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then uh I and then from there I'll just decide whether I want to do any more or not. But yeah, so Shuk, I've done four. Alhamdulillah.
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Alhamdulillah. Inshallah, you will manage to do the next year's 100th one.
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Okay. So, everyone has a different way on how they prepare. But how did you prepare mentally and physically for this?
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Wow. Okay. So, this question is a big one. There's so much I have to say on this, but I'll try and keep it as short as possible. Okay. So your your basic
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preparation starts your main preparation and your actual comrades training starts between Jan and June. For most people
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they do the qualifiers in this in this time. So you're also training towards your 42.2. You have to qualify in 5
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hours. When I first started we qualified in 4 hours 50 minutes. Um and you had to make your time then. If you don't make that time then you cannot run the
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comrades marathon because it means you didn't qualify for the race. Um so most guys and most people do their qualifier
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in this time. However, I always in the last two years I prefer to do early qualifier meaning I'll do my qualifier
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the previous year. So after the comrades marathon you know we go through a rest period of about 3 to four weeks and then
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you kind of get into running. It's very hard as a runner not to run. Like for me this year I told myself no I'm taking at least 2 months off but I'm already
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starting to feel good and I can I'm getting like itchy feet and you know I just want to get back on the road even if it doesn't mean comrades training but
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it's if you're a runner it's in you it's like you know those early mornings are built in it you just don't feel good if
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you don't do it. So because it's a mental thing you know it's if it helps us mentally that run high and you crave it.
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So I qualify the last two years in October. It just takes the pressure of comrades. Um and to run comrades and it
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it doesn't some some people only run 6 months in the year and they do their comrades and they run comrades every year and that's just the way and and that's not a bad thing sometimes because
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your body also takes a beating after comrades injury and pain and you know it so that long rest actually works well.
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But for me, I think being consistent and running all year round is what will get you to comrades. You have to be um so my
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average is four days a week. Um personally more than that is too much. I need those rest days in between. I also
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like to do some cross training. So I'll do Pilateses, I'll do strength training in between. And those are very important because you cannot just run. That just
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causes injury. You have to do strength training. you have to do, you know, strengthen your core, your back muscles, your body needs to be strong and your
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arms also need to be strong because people think it's just running on the road, but it's not. It's your, you know, your shoulders begin to pain your So,
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you need to have strong muscles, strong upper body in general and um, you know, and build that endurance. So, your main
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training does start from January. Like I said, I train 3 days a week, usually three weekdays and then my long run on
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the weekend. And then your long run is anything between 20 and 50 kilometers.
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But you know, you build up to that. It doesn't happen every weekend. There's a 10% rule you follow where you increase it by 10% every week, your mileage, and
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then you're building up to that. So that's usually what it takes. For your elite runners, they're running more than that. They're running five, six days a
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week. Some of them only have one day, one rest day a week. And those are your elite runners. They're building mileage over 1,200 kilometers. They're coming in
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your sub 10 hours. They're coming in your 9 hours, 8 hours, those 7 hours.
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Those are your elite runners. So, your program is all dependent on what time you want to finish. I run a 12-hour comrades. I train for that. Um, I've
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always sugar and made it in. I've never came later than 11 hours 35 and I always try to keep it at that. I like that little bit of a leeway. I don't like to
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be pressured when I run. For me, it's just too stressful coming in just before 12 hours. So I like to come in that under that time and my alhamdulillah and
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it's just been like a default or it's just happened that you know you get better every year and my time has just improved every year. Last year and this
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year my times are the same. However, last year was the down run and this year was uprun. So this was my uprun personal best was 11 hours 23. So it depends what
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your goal is. At some point I'd love to get a bronze medal. So I want to do a sub 11 hours.
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Um but yeah, you know, that's your comrades training between January and June and it's a build up. A lot of people have coaches who coach them and
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they follow a a program. I've never done that. Although I feel um it's a structured program and I think at some point I would like to if I want to improve my time then that's what I need.
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But it it's not just running it's uh it's time consuming. I run early mornings I prefer. Um, this year was a
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real challenge for me. Uh, between work and my kids schedules and just life in general, I it was my hardest year. I
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really honestly didn't think I'm going to end up running. There were times I wanted to pull out because it became too much. But at the end of the day, I enjoy
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running and I and I told myself this is my goal. I run for myself and it's what I do for myself and it's what I enjoy
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and I just cannot see myself not running. So, um, and you know, it's a goal there. You know, it'll always keep
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me on the road. I feel if I don't do Comrades or have a goal of a specific marathon, um, like I've done one, two
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oceans. I went to Cape Town to do the Cape Town Marathon last year. It was cancelled and I chose not to run it this year because it was too close to
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Comrades for me. But, you know, but there must there'll always be a goal. If I stop Comrades, I want to do more two
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oceans. I want to you know do other marathons that are different in other you know in other places and things like
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that. So yeah that's basically your comrades training. Alhamdulillah that's good and inshallah you will be able to
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reach that goal that you want to reach inshallah I mean but for the most part alhamdulillah
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if you would like to join the conversation our sublime is 0727861548
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or you can call in on 0185472 or you can even DM us on social on
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at.com on social media that's iO O V E Z A C O M Let's go for a break and when we get
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back we will be continuing our discussion with Auntie Sara about the comrades marathon inshallah
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tutoring mentoring homeschool assistance concessions facilitation and more
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visit after grant academy the dawn of excellence
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and welcome Welcome back to Level Up. If you've just tuned in, we've been talking about the Cape Union March Trial, the
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current Afrophobia situation, FIFA World Cup, the Teoto Challenge, and the Comrades Marathon.
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If you missed it, be sure to check out the Radio Islam International SoundCloud during the week for the podcast as well
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as our website.com for the video podcast. But right now,
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we'll be continuing our discussion with Auntie Sara about her experience of the Comrades Marathon. If you would like to
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join the conversation, our sublime is open. The number is 072-7861548
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or you can call in on 0185472 or you can even DM us on.com
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that's I love v e z a c o m. Now, Sarah, walk us through the atmosphere at Durban City Hall at 5 a.m.
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What was going through your mind spiritually and mentally?
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The atmosphere is something else and it's only if you've experienced it, you would know what it's like. And you don't have to be a runner. You want to be a
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spectator, you can come there that part of the morning and you can feel it. But standing and being part of it and standing in that crowd is really
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something else, you know. Um it's just a m it's it's thousands of us runners standing together, you know. It's
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excitement, it's nerves, it's you know, you go through all those feelings. And this year for me was the first time I stood amongst friends, familiar faces.
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And that actually helped me, you know, because um my first comrades, I was never as nervous. But the more comrades I've
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done, the more nervous I become. Um, it's it's because you have a frame of reference. You know what you've been through. You know the pain you've
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endured. You know, like my first Conway race, I got so sick. You know, uh, a lot of runners and at some point, every
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runner experiences, most of us, not everyone, but most of us experience that nausea or some some people actually, you know, they have tummy issues. So, it's
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it's it's the nerves that really get you. And this year I was really nervous.
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But you know when I walked into my pen um you know for the last 2 years I've been running for charity. So we run in the charity batch and there was a few of
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us and my friends, friends I met, new friends, old friends and you know we gathered there and it it actually helped
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to have the familiar face to calm your nerves and uh you know spiritually I you know you feel humbled you know you you
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you stand there you read your dur you make your dua you ask Allah tala for the strength and for you know you ask him for protection and you're asking him for
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ease and and you remind yourself that you know you have done the training and now is the time to trust in Allah and to just enjoy that journey.
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In Islam, we talk a lot about patience, perseverance.
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So when you hit the wall, you know that wall at the notorious sections like Inchanga or poly shorts, how did you use
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your internal faith to keep your legs moving?
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So comrades yes it's I say it's it's your physical training that you've done that gets you there and I say that's
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40%. And it's 60% mind for me because it's a mind game. The entire race is a
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mind game you know um and and is exactly what carries you through that race of comrades and remembering Allah and
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putting your trust in him. Um you know and you every runner hits a wall. Yes.
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You know, at some point in the race, you're going to hit a wall. And it's your mind that gets you through it. You know, there are moments when your legs hurt, your energy drops, your mind just
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starts questioning everything. You ask yourself like because it's not my first, you know, why am I here? Why am I doing this? Why am I putting my body through
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this? And then you just keep going. You know, it's your mind. Like it's for me it's the determination.
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Um, you know, like once I start, I'm determined to finish. Unless I always say something physically really happens to me that I'm physically unable to
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finish, I will stop. Other than that, um I will keep going. Even if I finish the race and I don't finish and I don't get
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a medal, but I ran it till the end. It's a mental thing for me. And um I always say, you know, to run comrades, you you
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must be able to run it alone. You must be able to be in your own head because no matter what you you have your friends there but at a certain point I like my
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philosophy is um I don't wait for you you don't wait for me I don't hold you back you don't hold me back and you have to have that
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you and you have to be strong in mind because you'll find that most a lot of people come at 60k 68 or they see they're not making the cut off and they
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just can't go and they just stop and once you do that it's very hard to move past that point the next So it's important that you finish the
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day. So you know I I try not to focus on how far I still have to go and you just take it one step at a time and like just
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as in life you know sometimes all you need to do is just to keep moving forward. Um so yes you know your mind
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your sub your belief is is in you cuz you're constantly reading you're talking to yourself you are pump you know trying
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to pump yourself up and and talk to your other mind that is putting you down and you know and the negative mind so it's
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it's a constant battle. It's constantly talking to yourself and you know um and and mentally getting yourself there.
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That's so true. And then speaking of you know like talking to yourself and you know being in your own mind and um a lot
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of runners I've heard rely on music but do you find yourself using or reciting specific suras or making dua you know just to clear the kilometers?
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Absolutely. You know um comrades tests you test you in every way possible. It tests you physically. It t
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tests you mentally. It tests you emotionally.
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So um definitely you know for me it's at the beginning of my race you know is when I make my duas I read my zikar make
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my dude and just remember Allah and ask for that strength for the journey and it just depends like um usually it's the
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60k mark from 60 kilometers onwards you know it's your mind that gets you there it's your mental state that gets you
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there. So um you know throughout the race you keep reading you keep making sugar oh you
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know alhamdulillah I've reached this part you know bismillah let's go I've only got like 40 kilometers to go or
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whatever the case is so you definitely rely a lot on your zikar a lot on your remembrance of Allah and you know that's
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one of the biggest things that carries us through yes so there comes a point in ultra in an ultra marathon where your training ends and pure trust in Allah takes over.
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Now I want to know at what kilometer did you realize okay my body is done this is entirely up to Allah now the Allah.
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So this question actually ties in with the first question you know of your zikar and remembrance of Allah and um
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for me the moment you know came this year at the top of both hill I found the first part of the race quite challenging
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because it's constant climbing all the way from city hall you know you're climbing and you're climbing and you're climbing all the way up until you reach
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like hill crest Bas hill and um once you did Both's hill in your head you know oh god there's you know I've only got two
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big hills left there's five big hills it's cowi's hill fields hill both's hill in changanga and poly's although there's
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many many many little hills in between but you know once I reached that point I was I was done like I was physically
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done in my head I'm you know cuz you you you keep on looking and as much as you tell yourself you're not going to you take it one step at a time but you do
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think oh my god I've still got like um you know another 60 km or 50 km to go.
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So at that point there you know uh I was tired and um and up until then like your training carries you and so for me that
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was like my mental block and at that point I'm like reading and I'm remembering and making zika and making
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sugar and asking him for um you know the strength now just to get through the
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rest of the race. So it is very much um there's a lot of spiritual and spirituality during comrades especially
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for a Muslim and for a lot of the other faiths as well u because you can hear them you know speaking to Jesus and you can hear people praying on the road and
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and trying and talking to the other self and talking to the other mind and motivating yourself to get through um and you know I kept reminding myself
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that had already carried me this far and you know um and he would continue and carry me through the remaining of the
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race. So, um for some runners it's it's often and it's always also the 60 km mark you know because you're training
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also it's a lot of it's it's mentally it's mental from there. So this year you know I felt it at that point and then
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automatically I felt really good after halfway and then the last 10 kilometers for me was the hardest part because I was like tired and I'm actually telling
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myself you know what you can do it like you know you you calling on your creator and you reading and you and you mentally preparing and telling yourself that you
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can do it. So yes definitely you know um your remembrance of him and your remeance of tala is a big one and and uh
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without that I could never I could not finish the race because it's not just physical it's very much mental and it's very much uh spiritual as well.
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Alhamdulillah.
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Now you mentioned that um your training is from January to June and we know that Ramadan has been uh in this in the
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months of January to June. It's it was in February to March I think this year.
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Um if I remember correctly. Anyway, so did any of your peak training block cross over with Ramadan or your fast?
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And if so, how did you manage your nutrition, your hydration and maintaining your spiritual energy?
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Yes, definitely. I mean, um I'm all four of my marathons, all four of my comrades training has crossed over with Ramadan.
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Um you know, it requires a lot of careful planning. Um but at the same time, Ramadan is a physical for and a
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spiritual reset for me and it's it's quite a big physical reset. um you know having run uh comrades back to back and
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always running marathons in between and uh the body does get tired and you know like I was fatigued this year I'll be honest with you I didn't know if I was
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going to do the comrades or if I'm going to finish the comrades and I was my mindset was just not there I was very negative
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um I was only doing it because you know my friends you know motivated me to do it and I said no we can do it let's just keep doing it we'll run till we run the
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100th So, um, my mindset wasn't there and physically I was exhausted. Um, I don't know if it was my iron levels at the
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time or I was just really tired. Like December as well is always a very busy month with family. And so I came out of
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December feeling tired. Not, you know, I didn't come out feeling refreshed. I came out feeling very tired. So when
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Ramadan came along, I took it as, you know, I don't do mileage in Ramadan.
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Ramadan I run three most four times a week and not even I run three days a week. I don't keep it in and nothing
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more than I don't think I ran anything more than 8 kilometers at a time and it just depends but for the most part I'm
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only running up to 6 kilometers you know um each run. So um and it's easy running
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it's um although it it's tough in Ramadan because this year it fell in the middle of summer. Um in my first comrades I remember I used to have Siri
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and a good Siri hydrate and I used to go for my run in the morning and I survived my fast alhamdulillah. But this year I couldn't do that between life and work
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and you know the kids and all of that it it became a lot. It was very I found it very tiring. So I used to have to go
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like and most of the time I used to go just beforear.
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Uh previously I would avoid going before if because I used to get such bad cramps but I just focus on eating well even if I can't eat in the morning I had to
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train my body so I used to have like some oats oats in the morning and on top of it I used to have egg with maybe a half a slice or a slice of beer whatever
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I could tolerate sometimes just the egg alone and I used to have some electrolytes um you know some of my rehydrate in the
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morning and uh lots of water you know but water in a few hours it eventually you know it comes out So
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um yeah, you do your best and uh breaking fast you know I used to try to eat but as Ramadan goes your stomach
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shrinks. So you try your best to keep your nutrition up and you stay hydrated.
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But you got to manage. You know, I would just uh go just before if breaking fast.
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It's a lot of planning as well. You know, for us females at the end of the day, I always tell the men that are running and people that I know. For you
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guys, it's easy. I mean, not for all men. Some men, some of my friends, they cook and they do a lot of other things.
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But for the most part, you know, my husband really is very supportive. Um but at the end of the day it's still my
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duty to come home after work, go into the kitchen, make lunches for the kids.
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Um he helps in all the other aspects you know with washing and making the breakfast for the kids. So I'm not saying he's not helpful but a lot of it
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falls on my head. So even when I'm working on a Saturday when I'm certain Saturdays I'm doing my very long run.
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I've run 30 35ks. I rush home. I get home sometimes I barely get to eat. I'll make a quick smoothie and then I'm out the door again at 9:00.
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and it's an extreme rush. there's no time to um so I've taught my family that on a Saturday you know what I don't have a helper there it's their duty to clean
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and do whatever it is to you know however a lot of the time you as a you know a mother's job is never done so
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you u it's a lot of planning like I know if I'm running in the morning and I'm just not talking about Ramadan now but in general I'm running in the mornings I
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have to wake up at um you know I'm waking up at 4:00 half 4 um I usually try and make lunches the night before if
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you're only getting home at 5:00 from work from fetching the kids from a dresser. If I if I'm working late and my husband fetches them, but I'm, you know, you're still getting home at 4:00 or 5
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and then you still got to worry about supper. On the weekends, it's planning your menu in advance. If I'm working late in the days, I know that I'm working late. So, I end up having to
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cook on the weekends. So, all of those things, you know, the cooking, the planning, planning in advance, making lunches early the night before. It takes a lot of energy and a lot of planning.
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And the only time you're actually resting is when your head hits the pillow. Um, you know, and I'm I'm a early sleeper. I usually go to bed
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early, but this this year was tough. I couldn't find my I wasn't, you know, before I could be asleep. And if if
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I could sleep at half 7, 8:00, but not anymore. You know, with the kids, my kids being older and um, you know, life
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just gotten busier. You're only sometimes sleeping at 9, half past 9, 10:00. So, and once you're done with everything, getting home late. So, it
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takes a lot of, you know, people think it's easy. It's really not easy. I always tell the men, I said, "You are lucky your wives are there." You know,
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even leading the day before comrades. I was in my kitchen. I was cooking, preparing a meal cuz I said, "You know what? If we are going to come home at
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9:00 in the night, um, or whatever the case is, uh, I need to have something in the fridge so that the kids can eat. I need to eat a good meal. the day before.
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So, you know, I cooked like a rice dish, nothing. But it ended up spicy. But, uh, you know, at the end of the day, I needed to eat well the day before. And I
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don't rely anybody for help. I I I tend to do it all on my own. It's not always a good thing. It's not always a good quality to have, but I'm that way. Um,
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she my mom did help. She sent some food and, you know, the few days after comrades, my my best friend from, you know, she she cooked and she sent me
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food and all of those things do help. It was such a blessing in disguise. So it's a lot for a female and only a
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female who's running who's married with kids especially a Muslim female and you know with our salah and everything else you have to do in between only you know would they understand what it's like.
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Sure. Yeah. So it is a a lot and alhamdulillah for your little blessings and also like you mentioned it was your
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it's your outlet so you know it's your personal goal you're not doing it for anyone else so alhamdulillah
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um Sarah entering the Scottville raceourse in Peter Marsburg seeing that
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finish line and knowing that you made the 12-hour cut off what were the first thoughts or prayers that have left your lips.
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You know my first words is the first words is the moment you cross that line is alhamdulillah you know alhamdulillah
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you know I made it I am crossed you know you just keep on making shuk for for granting you the strength and the body
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and the mind physically and mentally to cross that line you know and then obviously you think of your family your friends your supporters and everyone who
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helped you along the way and um it's never an individual moment you know it's collective effort.
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You know, you're grateful for your family, for your support system. Um, but at the end of the day, you are just so grateful for Allah to give you that
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strength. It takes running 90 kilometers, 85 kilometers. It's not, the body is not designed to do that. And the
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only way you can do that, yes, you put in the work and you put in the time and you put in the effort, but it's only, you know, with your from your creator at
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the end of the day, cuz there's so many people along the way you watch, you know, I I saw this, I don't know how old
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he was, old man. I think he was running his 48th comrades. Um, you know, people who have done 19, 20, got their green
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numbers. I honestly don't know what makes them keep coming back. Um, I kind of know, but I don't know if I could go on for that long doing it. And it takes
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a strain on your body, but it does make you stronger. But it it also takes a strain on your body. And you know, it's only Anna that can give you that
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strength because he wanted he I could have gotten really sick along the way.
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Vomiting and running's tummy and the things that happen to runners. I've experienced it and I've seen it with my
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own eyes. Fainting on the side of the road. The cramps. Sugar. Alhamdulillah.
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never experienced cramps and I hope it stays that way but you know the the things that runners the thing that the things that they go through so it's
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always sugar it's always alhamdulillah you're grateful for getting there safely in one piece at the end of the day
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inshallah I mean yes so there are young people listening right now who are facing their own massive upruns so to
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speak you know whether it's metric exams mental health struggles goals or finding their direction in life. What is one piece of advice that you can give them to overcome their personal challenges?
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So my advice would be, you know, for anybody who wants to try something new
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or has um is having mental health struggles or, you know, has a challenge in their life, you know, don't be
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intimidated by the size of the mountain in front of you.
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It's persevering, telling yourself that I'm going to do it. I can do it and I'm going to complete it. And whether it's an exam or
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whether it's a personal struggle or or whether it's a dream, you know, that feels impossible for some for some people, you can never conquer it all at
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once. You know, you do it one step at a time. you um uh you know like you accept
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the challenge and you start planning towards it and you start doing something about it. Nothing's ever going to happen in life if you're just going to you know sit back and not do anything about it.
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You have to be proactive and you have to be consistent and you have to be uh and you have to persevere and trust the
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process. You know, you're obviously going to ask your creator and ask Allah for guidance and you can never underestimate what you can achie achieve
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with the perseverance and faith. And um you know if you put your mind to something it's um it's it's difficult
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and you're going to come across challenges along the way. But if you put your mind to something and you have that strong mind and you you know and you
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keep talking to yourself and telling yourself and believing anything is possible and you know we all go through challenges and for me uh this
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was the hardest challenge I don't even think child birth compared to this this was for me the hardest uh it's the hardest thing I do and every time I do
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it I just you know you tell yourself I can do anything if I can it's just keeping me and and you know keeping me in strong mind, keeping me strong in body and keeping me strong spiritually.
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And um why we do it? Honestly, we runners, we have to be a little bit crazy to do it.
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But it's a challenge at the end of the day. It it doesn't have to be comrades.
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Your challenge can be not everybody loves running. Not everybody loves the road. Your challenge could be anything.
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It doesn't have to be physical. It can be an emotional challenge. It can be a mental challenge. It could be you know trying new things adventures you know
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taking these wild adventures doing something new doing something different and um you know but do not underestimate yourself at the end of the day.
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Alhamdulillah that is great advice. Now Sarah before you go I believe that um there is a cause that you're actually
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running for. Please can you tell our listeners a little bit about this?
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Um Rabiha I would also like to just take this opportunity. I for the last two years and this being my second year
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have been running for the community chest. Um to raise funds for community chest. Um it's a charity that I've
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chosen well you know they actually approached me last year and I decided to do it again this year. My um goal was
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10,000 sugar. I think I've managed to raise about 18,250 rand so far.
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um you know it's it supports early childhood development uh underprivileged children you know giving them a good
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start in life um being part of different like of programs you know that early childhood cuz uh you know for me as an
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occupational therapist I know what early intervention and early development can do for a child mentally and physically
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so um you know it's very near and dear to my heart and they're a nonprofit organization 100% % of the proceeds go
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towards helping others and helping children, helping people. So, um you know, um I would really appreciate it if our listeners, you know, you can check
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out my um Instagram page. I think I go with S. Muhammad and my link is there in my bio. Uh I would appreciate it if even
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if it's 100 rand, 50, whatever it is that you can, you know, at the end of the day, it's saka at the end of the day. Um no one ever gets poorer from
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giving. So um yeah, I just appeal to the listeners to make a donation and help those in need. Um
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so much I mean inshallah mean for your time
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so much for having me. It was really a pleasure.
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43 minutes, 11 seconds
Before we wrap up today's program, on Friday will be the 10th of Muharam.
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Fasting on this day is very good. But also fasting if we can on the 9th or the
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11th is even better as it sets us apart from the Jewish people who fast only one
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day. Here are a few stories of each prophet and their link to the 10th of
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Muharam. Prophet Musa Alisam Moses Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala parted the Red Sea allowing Mus Alisam and the oppressed
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people to escape their own pharaoh while the army chasing were drowned when the sea was closed again by Allah
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subhanana wa ta'ala a victory of good over tyranny
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celebrated with gratitude prophet Noah Noah After months of floodwaters, the ark
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finally came to rest peacefully on Mount Judi, saving nuisam and the believers.
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Prophet Ununice, Jonah. Allah subhanana wa ta'ala freed Ununice safely from the
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belly of the whale symbolizing repentance and forgiveness. Prophet Ibraimisam.
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Abraim safe from the intense fires set by the tyrant Namud Num emerging completely unharmed.
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Prophet Aubai Job miraculously cured of his long and agon
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agonizing illness after enduring immense patience.
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Prophet Adam Allah subhanana wa ta'ala accepted the
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repentance of Adam and Prophet Adam's wife
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how e he Eve were reunited on earth at Mount Arafat
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and in 61 ah Imam Hussein Rodan the beloved
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grandson of prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam along with his family and companions was martyed on the plains
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of Karbala while standing for justice and principles.
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Once again if you would like to join the conversation during the week you can do so on our social media pages @ i love
45:59
45 minutes, 59 seconds
zarkcom that's i o v e z a c o m. We are on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok threads and upscrolled.
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46 minutes, 8 seconds
You are welcome to read the articles on our website as well as listen, watch and read the past episodes of Level Up on our website ilz.com.
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46 minutes, 18 seconds
And if you've missed any of the other Level Up episodes or you'd like to just go back and listen to it, you're welcome to do so on the Radio Islam International Soundcloud.
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to our dear listeners for joining us on this lovely Sunday afternoon. Please join us every Sunday right here on Radio Islam International from 2 to 3:00 p.m.
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46 minutes, 39 seconds
Inshallah. Amen. From myself, Nabiha, from Isa, and from Zad. Enjoy your Sunday and we wish you a wonderful week ahead. Inshallah.
