Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa and Tendai Vambe
WHEN 57-year-old Ms Irene Munhenga arrived at Mutare Sports Club last Saturday, dressed in a green dress, matching doek and a pair of worn tennis shoes, few would have predicted that she would become one of the most talked-about participants at the Zimpapers Mutare Branch Ladies Fun Run.
Yet by the end of the day, the grandmother of four had overcome pain, exhaustion and unsuitable footwear to complete the demanding 21-kilometre race barefoot and claim a bronze medal.
Clad in a purple Queens Move T-shirt over her green dress, Ms Munhenga was among only seven women who braved the half-marathon event. Most participants opted for the shorter 5km and 10km races.
Surrounded by competitors decades younger than her, the energetic runner from Chiwetu Village under Chief Makoni was never intimidated.
When the starting signal sounded, she disappeared along the route with quiet determination, carrying more than 40 years of athletics experience and an unwavering belief that age should never define a person’s limits.
Hours later, she returned to the finish line looking markedly different from the woman who had set off.
When the starting signal went, she joined the other runners and disappeared along the route, carrying with her decades of experience in athletics and the resolve of a woman who has refused to allow age to dictate what her body can still do.
When she eventually returned, a couple of hours later, however, the woman who had left the starting line in a neat green dress and tennis shoes looked very different.
The dress had been tucked into her khaki shorts, which were inside the dress all along. The tennis shoes were gone, discarded along the way as they were making it difficult for her to run. Instead, she ran barefooted.
Remarkably, the green doek remained firmly on her head.
She had completed much of the race barefooted after abandoning her tennis shoes because they were no longer fit for running.
Because of the tennis shoes, she had also battled pain in her left leg, particularly during the final five kilometres, as the tarred road and sharp stones took their toll. Yet she kept going.
At the finish line, Ms Munhenga had done enough to secure third place among the seven competitors, earning herself a bronze medal, accolades and US$130 in prize money.
For a woman who started running while still in primary school, the achievement was another chapter in a sporting journey that has spanned more than four decades.
“I started running when I was still in primary school. I was already winning races and bringing recognition to my school. My parents could not afford to pay my school fees, but my school paid them because I was their star. I won many accolades for the school and helped put it on the map,” she said in an interview shortly after the awarding ceremony.
Ms Munhenga, said athletics was not something she picked up later in life.
“It has always been a part of me. I have always been athletic. I am a runner and athletics favours people who run. I never stopped being a runner simply because I became a mother. Having a child did not mean that I had to abandon the sport that I loved,” she said.
She said her journey through motherhood did not end her relationship with athletics. Instead, she passed the passion to the next generation.
“I have one child, and she is now married, and has children, so I am now a grandmother. When she was growing up, I taught her to run too. She also became a runner. I have four grandchildren now and they are athletic as well, but not so much runners,” she said.
For Ms Munhenga, the sport has therefore become more than an individual pursuit. It has become part of her family.
She said the opportunity to take part in the Ladies Fun Run was too important to ignore when she heard about it.
“When I heard about this programme, the Ladies Fun Run, I had to come. I made sacrifices so that I could participate in such an exciting opportunity,” she said.
Those sacrifices included travelling from Rusape to Mutare, preparing herself physically and fitting training around her responsibilities.
However, none of that compared with what happened during the final kilometres of the race.
“The race became very difficult, especially during the last five kilometres. My shoes were no longer suitable for running, so I took them off and continued barefooted. I was stepping on sharp stones and the tarred road was painful,” said Ms Munhenga.
She said the pain eventually spread to her left leg.
“My left leg was painful too, but I could not stop. At that point, I knew I had come too far to give up. Running barefooted was not easy at all. Every step could feel the stones and the heat of the road. But I kept telling myself that I had to finish,” she said.
The sight of a 57-year-old woman continuing along the route barefooted, her traditional doek still on her head, became one of the memorable images of the race, with one Facebook user commenting on Ms Munhenga’s video, “I saw her running in the morning while I was driving to church, without shoes. She was running bare footed. She is a strong woman, I like that.”
By the time Ms Munhenga crossed the finish line, the neat appearance she had started with had given way to the unmistakable look of a woman who had fought her way through 21 kilometres.
“I had started the race properly dressed, with my green dress, my doek, my Queens Move shirt and my tennis shoes
“But when I came back, the dress was tucked into my khaki shorts because I had to run properly. The tennis shoes were no longer with me. I had to continue barefooted,” she said.
Despite the ordeal, Ms Manhenga said finishing third gave her renewed motivation.
“Winning US$130 and getting the medal meant a lot to me. I am grateful that I was able to compete with these younger women and still come third.
“For me, this is not about saying I am 57 and I have beaten age.
“It is about showing that if you have the passion and you remain active, you can still challenge yourself,” she said.
Her story also resonated with other women who took part in the 5km and 10km races.
For Ms Munhenga, however, the biggest prize may be the opportunity to continue running.
She appealed to companies, organisations and individuals to support her sporting ambitions.
“I am appealing for sponsorship because I want to continue running. I have the experience, I have the passion and I still have the strength to compete, but support is important. If someone sponsors me, I can train properly, get suitable running shoes and prepare for more competitions. I should not have been running barefoot. I need proper running shoes because running 21 kilometres on the road is not something you can take lightly.
“With support, I can prepare better and represent my community and my province at other races,” she said.
Ms Munhenga said she also hopes that her participation will encourage other older women to take up physical activity.
“I want other women to understand that you do not have to stop being active because you are getting older. Age should not be an excuse for sitting at home and saying you can no longer do anything. You can start slowly, you can walk, you can jog and, if your body allows it, you can run,” she said.
Young 5km runner, Ms Tariro Muchetu (26), said Ms Munhenga’s passion had been one of the highlights of the event for her.
“Seeing Ms Munhenga running 21km at her age was very inspiring.
Most of us young women think we have more energy simply because we are young, but she showed us that passion can take you further than age.
“I was amazed when I saw her coming towards the finish line. She had gone through so much, but she was still pushing. It made me realise that we should not limit ourselves because of our age or circumstances,” she said.
Another 5km participant, Ms Rumbidzai Muchengeti (30), said Ms Munhenga’s performance had made the race particularly memorable.
“I came here for the 5km, but one of the people who inspired me most was the old lady. She could easily have said she was too old for a 21km race, but she came and competed. When I saw her after the race, especially knowing that she had struggled with her shoes and had to run barefoot, I was amazed. That takes a lot of courage,” she said.
Those willing to sponsor Ms Munhenga can contact her on +263774975738.
