Geoff Caruth recently alerted me to the sad news that Graham had passed away some time ago. I managed to phone his daughter, Candice Smith, who provided me with the following details, and I quote:

It was lovely to receive your phone call earlier!  I told my brother and sister about the tribute to my Dad and they were so pleased!

My Dad passed away peacefully at Tafta Frail Care, Durban North Beach on 9th June 2023.  

My Dad was as I'm sure you know, an extremely talented runner.  His personal best for the mile was 4min 3 seconds! 

A few other incredible running stats:

800m – 1:50

1500m – 3:46
3000m – 8:19
5000m - 14:21
21km – 66min
Marathon – 2:22

I think my Dad was one of the first South Africans to receive a scholarship to study in the United States and compete there…in the romantic years of track and field athletics. He ran for the University of Washington State, was an All-American and ran an Olympic qualifying time. Had we not been banned due to apartheid he would more than likely have competed in the Olympics. 

At home he represented Stellenbosch University and was the first junior to ever break a South African senior athletics record, he was a South African cross-country champion and competed in nearly all of the middle and long-distance events on track, holding multiple national records along the way.  He also held many records from his years at DHS.  He was Born to Run.

Below is an extract from my brother's speech at my Dad's memorial (a Comrades analogy, given how big a part the Comrades played in my Dad and our lives)...

''If you will allow me the Comrades analogy - Dad’s life was a journey of two halves, full of ups and downs - starting off strong and motoring up towards Tollgate, racing through 45thCutting and Westville and cruising up Cowies and then Field’s Hill.  He found a great pace through Winston Park and Hillcrest and made sure he conserved energy up Botha’s Hill and then through Alverstone and the windy road down into Drummond.

At Inchanga things got tough but he kept moving forward, limping through Harrison Flats and digging very deep right through to Cato Ridge.  He got a second wind and felt good through Umlaas Rd and Lion Park, only to face the unforgiving and brutal monster that is Polly Shortt’s on battered legs and broken mind.  With grit and determination he soldiered through the last 8kms, down Jesmond Rd, round the corner and through to the Oval, finishing his race well, with head held high.
In Comrades, and I believe in life - you start out running against the clock, seeking to find out how fast you can go but as you wind your way through the course, begin to realize that the real race is, in fact, against yourself and it is far more a lesson in finding out who you really are and what you’re capable of.  I think Dad found his true self in the latter stage of his life and made peace with how he had run his race.''

I urge all of you who knew Graham to post tributes to him here. I have undertaken to forward these to Candice - and she'll share them with her family. Many of you may not realise that Graham was an integral part of the team that organised our 50th Reunion in 2016. He had fallen on hard times, and yet he made a very positive contribution, and he conducted himself with kindness and dignity, which was so typical of his character. So please do post tributes.