Vakele Jamile “VK” 32 years old from Ndakeni in Maxesibeni can’t wait to do what he loves best which is running the Comrades Marathon on 14 June 2026.
Jamile started running in 2021 as a hobby then the following year he started running seriously and it was when he joined XJ Athletic Club based at Emaxesibeni. The same year he attended races and emerged as the podium finisher in various competitions.
“I am not a full-time runner as I am employed and really running needs enough time to train, you must have a coach to guide you and nutritionist to tell what to and not what to eat,” said Jamile. He has back-to-back medals for running the Comrades in 2024 and 2025 consecutively. He attained 7H25 in 2024 and in 2025 he improved his finish time by 6H29 and said that his target for this year is 6H00.
Jamile said the support he gets from his family and XJ AC is amazing: “My mother and siblings would spend the whole day watching television during comrades and also the support from my teammates is amazing. Some will go as far as seconding us with their cars during training sessions and some attend races just to cheer us and that I really appreciate.”
He appealed to community to join XJ AC, saying it might be a rural running club but the professionalism that is there is amazing. He concluded by saying running is also good for people’s health.