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Radio man pulls out of comrades marathon

STAR pupil: Proud parents Mondli and Malo Thela with their daughter Nonhlanhla at a farewell dinner at Isibay Hotel, Durban, hosted by Gagasi FM DJ Phindi Gule, who will be her mentor while she studies at UCT.Pic. THULI DLAMINI. 24/01/2010. © Sowetan. MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Phumlani Dube has big plans forUmlazi. © Unknown. ------ mainbody weekpics colour 25cm wide johan 5239
STAR pupil: Proud parents Mondli and Malo Thela with their daughter Nonhlanhla at a farewell dinner at Isibay Hotel, Durban, hosted by Gagasi FM DJ Phindi Gule, who will be her mentor while she studies at UCT.Pic. THULI DLAMINI. 24/01/2010. © Sowetan. MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Phumlani Dube has big plans forUmlazi. © Unknown. ------ mainbody weekpics colour 25cm wide johan 5239

RADIO personality and entrepreneur Phumlani Dube has pulled out of this year's Comrades Marathon.

The 30-year-old Ukhozi FM sports presenter was one of celebrities set to compete in the 89,17km race as part of the Comrades Marathon Association's Celebrity Challenge.

The other celebrities entered for the race include kwaito star Kabelo, Big BrotherSouth Africa winner Ferdinand Rabie, Biggest Loser runner-up Asanda Siloti, actor Lungile Radu and SA cricketer Doug Watson.

"Last year was a very difficult year for me on many levels," Dube said.

"What I really want to do now is consider the various aspects of my life. I need to take stock and clear up things that are wrong and see how I can move forward. That's where my focus needs to be right now."

The former East Coast Radio and Gagasi 99.5 FM presenter revealed that he was treated for stress last year.

Dube also crashed his car, a BMW Z4 roadster twice in the past year, with the latest incident taking place only a few weeks ago.

"The past year was so bad it is almost impossible to describe," he said.

"As a result of these mishaps I am mentally and physically exhausted, so I have no choice but to withdraw (from the Comrades Marathon).

"I'm not ready for the task and I need time to recover from everything that has happened. I'm out of shape and, even worse, I can't train in my current condition."

Dube said he was disappointed since he had looked forward to taking part in the marathon.

"It is disappointing and I feel as though I am letting people down" Dube said..

"But I intend to compete next year, by which time I will have had the chance to prepare properly. As for this year, I think it will be nice to watch the Comrades on TV."

Despite this setback, Dube has launched the Nix Mapha social movement and healthy lifestyle campaign, which has already received many accolades.

The name Nix Mapha is township slang for "Don't just give or share" in the sense that young people should not share their bodies with anyone or anything negative or destructive.

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