As soon as he hangs up his uniform at the animal clinic, veterinary assistant, Trevor Morapane (39) hits the road in Broederstroom to run his daily 10 – 40 kilometres in preparation for the Comrades later this year. It has been a dream for the past years and now he is finally going to do it.
Trevor has been working as a veterinary assistant at the Broederstroom Veterinary Clinic for the past eight years and he says it was his employer, Le-anne Kleynhans who encouraged him to live his dream. “Age is not on my side but I believe the results is in one’s own hands. I just run, enjoy the race and hold on to the thought that I am going to put myself on the map. Someday people are going to read about me and say ‘he did it!”
Trevor only started running seriously at the age of 30. “I started running for fun, never thinking to enter a race but then at age 35 the bug bit. My first race was a 10 km race at Wonderpark. Since then many followed, including Om die Dam, Sowetan marathon and the Wally Hayward marathon. I always wanted to do the Comrades and now I have qualified. It is a dream come true.”
Trevor was born and bred in Broederstroom. “I grew up on a farm, which is now Pecanwood Estate. My parents both worked on the farm. After finishing matric I studied electrical engineering in Pretoria but due to a lack of funds I could not complete my studies and had to drop out. I had temporary jobs for a while until I found employment at the veterinary clinic and I love it. Animals are my thing. I love them, I even live on the clinic grounds. We have quite a few animals of our own here and I am available at night for the animals in the clinic.”
Trevor ran the 21 km Om die Dam race earlier this month and crossed the finishing line in fourth place. He will be back for the 50 km ultramarathon in June and then the Comrades will follow.
The Broederstroom Veterinary Clinic is currently looking for sponsorship for Trevor to help him realise his dream. “It has been his dream for some time and he has worked so hard to prepare and be ready for this! We are so proud of him and so blessed to have him on our team. We are looking for people to sponsor towards this dream. If you would like to make a contribution please call 079 353 6757 or email us info@broederstroomvet.co.za “