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Mabasa Finish Mubatapasango - Five Years in the Making

Mabasa Finish Mubatapasango, originally from neighbouring Zimbabwe, but now resident in Namibia, began his life-changing journey by driving 1000’s of kilometres to support the Namib Race 2017’s satellite connection for 7 days! The insanity of the race stuck with him, and he decided to take on a different level of responsibility by volunteering for the Namib Race in 2018 and 2019, each time his mind-set shifting slightly from insanity to curiosity to commitment to finally deciding to join the race as a competitor. The road to where he is now, a fit, strong, capable dune warrior has not been easy or straight-forward.

Fuelled with inspiration and a positive attitude, Mabasa has faced some big challenges. He had severe sleep apnoea issues and with the support of his wife, he has managed to cure this, as well as get fit and shift his status from: “..caring less about the food I ate not to mention just how bad I loved my food, life was all rosey and my weight was 110kg” … to smashing 42 kilometer training runs in the desert. During the height of the pandemic, Mabasa set up his own personal virtual challenge to make sure he kept up his training.

In addition to his own personal challenges, Mabasa was set to join the race in 2020, which had been postponed due to the pandemic. He has been blogging and training since September 2019, when he first decided to join the race scheduled for April 2020. Through his darker moments he has kept himself motivated by posting inspirational quotes and sharing his process to get through these moments, which have no doubt helped others in the same situation.

  • "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” - Bruce Lee
  • "Discipline is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done even when you don’t feel like doing it." “If you can remember why you started, then you'll know why you must continue.... Remember why you started.”
  • “Running Allows me to visit my past and make peace with all the mistakes I did, thereby sharpening my future plans.”- Mabasa Finish Mubatapasango
  • “Hope is a burning light that should never die or be put out. It dies by power of choice so never choose to let it die.”

Now having preserved through the months and months and challenges, disappointments, and difficulties with a positive attitude, Mabasa is heading out on Stage 3 living up to his middle name “Finish”.