When Junaid Bhayat’s (44) friends could no longer keep him on his feet, a medical team rushed to attend to the Comrades Marathon runner. Bhayat, a chartered accountant from Musgrave, was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban.
“I have always admired Comrades runners. I was doing shorter distance triathlons, as well as cycling with Team Impi Cycling Club when the challenge of ‘the Ultimate Human Race’ inspired me to start serious training with a group of running friends in April this year,” he says.
After a two-year-long coronavirus-forced hiatus, the 95th Comrades Marathon took place on Sunday, 28 August this year.
“It is an incredible feeling at the starting line. I met up with my friends, and we were feeling strong. The atmosphere was indescribable when they played Chariots of Fire, Shosholoza and our national anthem before the start of the race.”
Harsh reality sinks in
Bhayat paced himself, making good steady progress in the 89km race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
“I walked up a few of the hills – it’s a long day and you can’t run every bit of the race. At that stage I was eating and drinking regularly and kept going knowing there were some downhills coming. I was slightly ahead of my planned schedule, and by Fields Hill I was still comfortable.
“At Westville my wife and kids encouraged me, and gave me some refreshments, and from there I just wanted to get it over with. I didn’t eat or drink any more after that. My heart rate was climbing higher and higher, and I was overheating but I kept my mind on the finish line.”
Marathon runner, Junaid Bhayat
In his determination to reach the end, Bhayat’s body could not cope with the dehydration and the heat generated in the last section of the punishing 90km ultramarathon.
Just 150m short of the finish line, he collapsed and “blacked out”.
‘Not all heroes wear cape’
There were 80% of patients in crisis attended to in the Comrades Medical Facility over the last two hours of the race.
“Mr Bhayat was brought into the facility in a comatose condition by five burly schoolboys, and placed in the care of a specialist in training from Wits University, Dr Deshin Reddy, who swiftly recognised that Mr Bhayat’s condition was critical,” recalls Dr Nic Dufourq, an emergency specialist from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Bhayat’s temperature was recorded at 42.2°C, confirming that he suffered from heatstroke.
According to physician and nephrologist Dr Shabbir Dawood, this is a medical emergency where the body can no longer self-regulate at such high temperatures and starts to shut down.
“I have looked after patients who ran the Comrades previously and I could recognise signs that made me realise he would need care in the ICU to recover. I phoned his wife immediately, and we started making arrangements to book a bed and prepare for his admission,” says Dawood.
Dr Shabbir Dawood, Netcare
Racer in recovery
Under Dawood and the medical team’s care, Bhayat woke from his two-day coma and was treated for a few days in ICU to recover from heat stroke and acute kidney damage.
“I received so many calls from people who were concerned for Mr Bhayat, and we are most pleased to report that he is recovering well and was discharged from hospital a few days later,” adds Dawood.
Bhayat says that he couldn’t be more grateful to the Comrades Marathon Association for the medical support provided to him and other runners on the day.
“My family and I are very grateful, firstly to God for enabling me to survive, and for all the doctors, nurses, paramedics and others who helped me in my time of need and for the amazing support we’ve experienced, especially from Dr Dawood,” says Bhayat.
ALSO READ: ‘I want to be a part of history,’ says Comrades hopeful
