Gqeberha Ultra-Marathon Last Place Finisher Inspires with Grit And Banter

Photo Credit: Sunshine Simplicities via Facebook

Tammy decided an ultra-marathon would be a “fun challenge”. Although the fun only lasted about 30km, she persevered. She crossed the finish line, dead last, but feeling like a champion!

Gqeberha, South Africa (05 February 2025) – While I can’t speak for everyone, we sometimes experience an unexpected urge to break free from routine and pursue something remarkably different. This desire to challenge ourselves may be inspired by the start of the new year, having listened to someone’s unique story or a health scare that almost forces you to get up and do better. Whatever the cause, this powerful feeling arises when it’s time to make a significant life change, and it’s often too compelling to ignore.

For Tammy, aka Sunshine Simplicities, it was the sudden urge to take on the NMB Gqeberha 50km Ultra-Marathon, convincing herself it would be a fun challenge before hitting the “enter” button on the race’s application site.

“Treat it as a training run and see how far you can go, I told myself. By 30km the fun had left my body. By 40km I had forgotten what fun is,” Tammy reflects on having talked herself into running the longest and probably most challenging race of her life.

By the time she had reached the 42.2km marathon point, not realising she had a minute to spare before cut-off, she stopped, exhausted and likely regretful, from the gruelling challenge she’d willingly taken on.

But, Tammy remained determined to continue and an encouraging voice from the sidelines that yelled: “keep running” gave her the added push to keep going.

Stalked by an ambulance and a Metro traffic officer car with flashing lights and sirens close behind her during the last leg of what proved to be a debilitating race (likely a tactic to get the last runner of the race to call it quits), Tammy championed on.

“So I kept running, or mostly walking actually. And that’s how I ended up completing the NMB Gqeberha 50km Ultramarathon. Albeit last,” Tammy jokes in a post.

Reflecting humorously on an eventful day, Tammy, with blisters the size of lychees, felt chuffed sharing that being the last person to cross the finish line almost made her feel like a winner.

Because, let’s face it, finishing a 50km ultra with an ambulance as your hype crew is a win in itself!

Well done to you, Tammy, for taking on a huge challenge with such heart and refusing to give up because you always knew you had it in you to do it, and it went through to the very end. Your grit is truly inspiring!