With her record-breaking victory in the 2024 Comrades Marathon, Gerda Steyn added yet another accolade to her already glittering running career, and further cemented her status in many people’s minds as the greatest female ultra-athlete produced by South Africa to date. We caught up with her for an in-depth chat about her big win, the upcoming Olympic Marathon in Paris, and other aspects of her running. – By Sean Falconer
The Comrades Marathon has long been known as the unofficial world championships of ultrarunning and this year, a world class international and local field will be lining up outside the Durban City Hall, among more than 20,000 other runners for the 97th Comrades Marathon and 49th Up Run.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) hosted its Elite Athletes Media Briefing in Durban today (Friday, 7.6.2024). Among this year’s top contenders will be:
Internationals:
WOMEN
Alexandra Morozova – Russia
Morozova boasts 5 Comrades Marathon gold medal finishes from 5 starts and will be very strong on the Up Run. A former winner having won the race in 2022, Morozova has been on the podium in the top 3 in all but one of her Comrades finishes. Last year she was 6th but still ran her fastest ever time of 6:14:32. Coached by former winner Oleg Kharitonov, Morozova will be in the hunt come race day.
Dominika Stelmach – Nedbank Running Club International (Poland)
With a very strong ultradistance running pedigree and 3 Comrades Marathon gold medals to her name, Stelmach knows how to run the race having achieved a best of 2nd place in 2022 as well as golds on both the Up and Down Runs.
Caitriona Jennings – Nedbank Running Club International (Ireland)
An Irish native that represented her country in the 2012 Olympic Games Marathon, Jennings finished on the podium in 3rd at her first Comrades Marathon in 2019 on the Up Run. She returned last year to Comrades to make it two golds from two starts running a very fast 6:10:26 for 5th.
Andrea Pomaranski – Nedbank Running Club International (United States)
A 41-year-old who hails from the United States of America, Pomaranski boasts a very fast 2:31 marathon from Houston in 2023 and in 2024 has already run under 2:34 for the marathon twice. After a 2nd place finish in last year’s World Championships over 50km, Pomaranski has set her sights on the Comrades Marathon.
MEN
Piet Wiersma – Nedbank Running Club International (Netherlands)
Known as the unknown dutchman at the 2023 Comrades Marathon, Wiersma won the hearts of many South Africans last year where he finished 2nd, a scant 3 seconds behind winner Tete Dijana and smashing the previous course record in a time of 5:14:01. A student who is based in Italy and does all his training in the mountains, Wiersma is coming back hungry to win the Comrades and has specifically focused on added hill training for this year’s Up Run.
Andrew Davies – United Kingdom
Davies is a seasoned and fast marathon runner who boasts a marathon personal best of 2:14:23 from the 2022 Seville Marathon. The 44-year-old Brit will be making his Comrades debut in 2024 and with his speed, could well provide an upset at the front of the race.
Aaleksei Beresnev – Russia
Russian athletes have a rich history with the Comrades Marathon with many running to gold medal finishes and even wins. After a hiatus from the Comrades Marathon, more Russian athletes are starting to make their way back to South Africa and Beresnev is one of them who will be looking to emulate his countrymen. Running 5:24:40 last year to finish 8th after leading for some part of the race, it is said Beresnev much prefers the hills, and the 2024 Comrades Marathon could be the stepping stone of his career.
Alex Milne – Nedbank Running Club International – United Kingdom
Milne ran a very fast 5:31:34 in his debut Comrades last year after an extremely fast last 15km to the finish. In any other year his time would have been good enough for a top 5 finish but was only good enough for 15th last year. With a 2:16:30 marathon personal best from the 2023 London Marathon, Milne has the strength and the speed to mix it up with the men upfront and returns to Comrades hungry for a top 10 finish.
Johan Lantz – Sweden
Lantz is an ultradistance trail runner who hails from Sweden and makes his way to Comrades to run his debut. A very strong runner, Lantz boasts an impressive 5:14:41 from the Tunnel Hill 50 miler (80km) and based off that, and with the race being an Up Run, has the pedigree to challenge for a top 10 finish.
South African And Rest Of Africa Athletes:
WOMEN
Gerda Steyn – Phantane Athletics Club – South Africa
What can be said about Steyn, a two-time Comrades Marathon winner and course best time holder in both the Up and Down Runs, rewriting the record books in winning fashion. On the last Up Run in 2019, Steyn became the first woman to run the Up Run in under 6 hours, taking over 10 minutes off the course best time and finishing an amazing 17th overall in the field. She comes back this year a much stronger and faster athlete and more recently broke her own South African record in the marathon with a world class 2:24:03.
Adele Broodryk – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
Broodryk is one of the country’s best ultradistance runners and has back to back Comrades Marathon gold medals from her 2 starts, finishing 3rd in 2022 and 2nd last year, also breaking the magical 6 hour barrier with her 5:56:25. Can she improve one better and take the top spot this year?
Galaletsang Mekgoe – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
One of only two women who are in the same training group as men’s back to back winner Tete Dijana, Mekgoe ran a dream debut back in 2022 finishing 5th and came back even faster in 2023 but finished in the worst position of 11th, just outside the gold medals but in a time of 6:31:18 which would have given her a gold medal in every Comrades to date.
Jenet Mbhele – Xcel Athletics Club – South Africa
A South African Marathon champion, Mbhele surprised many by showing up at Comrades last year having never run further than a standard marathon. The Xcel running club athlete finished 7th in the golds in a very fast 6:27:13 and will look to add another gold medal on the Up Run.
Carla Molinaro – Hollywood Athletic Club – South Africa
Molinaro has 6 Comrades Marathon medals to her name of which two are gold medals. On her last Up Run in 2019, Molinaro ran a time of 7:51:12 to finish 45th amongst the ladies. A lot has changed since then, especially in 2023. Pushing the pace hard at the start of the 2023 Comrades, Molinaro ran the race of her life to finish 3rd, and agonizingly just missing out on a sub 6-hour finish with her time of 6:00:22. She then went on to be crowned World Champion over 50km and returns to this year’s Up Run a much different athlete.
Deanne Laubscher – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
Laubscher is a strong athlete who represented South Africa in both the World 50km and 100km Championships. She will be looking towards her first Comrades gold medal this year after running a very fast 6:36:55 in last year’s race.
MEN
Tete Dijana – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
If you don’t know the name Tete Dijana, you have not watched the Comrades Marathon the last two years! Dijana has become a household name in South Africa with victories in the 2022 and 2023 Comrades Marathons, the latter in a new Down Run course best time of 5:13:58. Coached by Dave Adams and part of the very strong Nedbank running club, Dijana’s first Comrades came from his only Up Run in 2019 where he finished 50th. Don’t let that result fool you into thinking he can’t run hills. Dijana is a completely different athlete now and holds a 2:11 marathon, split during the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50km where he set a then world record over 50km.
Edward Mothibi – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
Training partner of Dijana, Mothibi finished 3rd in last year’s Comrades Marathon but returns this year as the defending Up Run champion given his win in 2019 when the last Up Run was run. A very strong athlete who has podiumed in the last 3 Comrades Marathons, Mothibi will be looking to prove that his Up Run win was no fluke and that he can do it again.
Bongmusa Mthembu – Arthur Ford Running Club – South Africa
Mthembu hails from KwaZulu-Natal and is a Comrades Marathon legend having won the race 3 times and obtaining victories in both the Up and Down Runs. The last time the race went up in 2019, Mthembu narrowly lost out on a 4th victory, finishing 25 seconds behind Mothibi. He returns as a monster on the hills and will once again be eyeing out the top of the podium.
Nkosikhona Mhlakwana – Hollywood Athletic Club – South Africa
Nicknamed the pit bull, Mhlakwana is another athlete who hails from the KwaZulu-Natal province and has proven his worth in the Comrades Marathon with a gold in 2022 and 11th and 12th places in 2019 and 2023. On the last Up Run, Mhlakwana fell to the ground with the finish line in sight and went from 9th to 11th. With a 2nd and 3rd place in the Two Oceans, he has the speed and strength to make an impact.
Teboho Sello – Maxed Elite Running Club – Lesotho
Sello has been a name synonymous with South African distance running, stepping onto the podium of all major races around the country except one, the Comrades Marathon which is his favourite event. A former winner of the tough Soweto Marathon, Sello has 4 Comrades gold medals with a best of 5th and ran his Comrades personal best last year where he finished 7th in 5:24:22.
Joseph Manyedi – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
Manyedi is a former television front runner. He is an ultradistance running specialist as attributed to his 3 Comrades gold medals from the last 3 races. A training partner to double winner Dijana, Manyedi was 5th on the last Up Run.
Dan Matshailwe – Nedbank Running Club – South Africa
A 3rd place finish on his debut Comrades in 2022, Matshailwe chose to focus on the Two Oceans Marathon in 2023 and came so close to winning it with his 2nd place finish after suffering with leg problems for most of the race and then closing the leader towards the end. This year is all about Comrades for Matshailwe who is also part of the Dijana Nedbank training group.
The 2019 Comrades Marathon will be remembered for many reasons, but the two standout performances of the year were undoubtedly those of men’s winner Edward Mothibi and women’s winner Gerda Steyn. – BY SEAN FALCONER
Winning the Comrades Marathon is considered the pinnacle of achievement in South African road running, and adding that title to your name opens the door to fame, media attention, sponsorships, endorsements and more. However, the way that Edward Mothibi and Gerda Steyn won the Comrades titles in 2019 went a step further, and their performances in the Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg will long live in the memory.
After an eventful men’s race that featured several changes of the lead and then an exciting breakaway group of five contenders, it eventually came down to Mothibi, who finished fourth last year in his debut Comrades, going head-to-head with three-time winner and double defending champ Bongmusa Mthembu as they hit the final ‘Big Five’ climb on Polly Shortts. With most people following the race expecting Mthembu to once again use his strength on the hills to pull clear, it looked like things would go according to script as he opened a small gap on the challenger, but instead it was Mothibi who threw in a surge of his own and made the decisive move on the notoriously steep hill.
The old adage once again proved true, that the first runner to crest the top of Polly’s with 8km to go will go on to win the race. By the top, Mothibi had pulled 20 seconds clear of Mthembu, and he then powered his way to the finish at the Scottsville Race Track in Pietermaritzburg to claim the win in 5:31:33. Mthembu finished 25 seconds adrift in 5:31:58, with World 100km record holder Nao Kazami of Japan taking third in 5:39:16 in his debut Comrades.
After the race, Mothibi said that he had dug deep into his reserves of strength to overcome Mthembu up Polly’s, but that he had actually surprised himself by winning: “I didn’t plan to win; I just wanted a gold medal! I gave it all. I just pushed harder.” For his part, a gracious Mthembu conceded that the better man on the day won, and he added, “I could see Edward had a plan… everything I did he could respond to.”
Other notable finishers in the men’s race included Justin Chesire coming home sixth to become the first Kenyan to win a Comrades gold medal, and Zimbabwean Marko Mambo finishing eighth and first veteran. Also, in a heartbreaking finale, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana made a late surge to overtake Gordon Lesetedi and Siya Mqambeli to go into ninth position with just a hundred metres to go, only to stumble and falter, then watch helplessly as the last gold medal eluded him. Further back in the field, 1995 winner Shaun Meiklejohn finished his 30th Comrades in 6:56:16, while the two leading Comrades medallists of all time, Barry Holland and Louis Massyn, achieved their 47th consecutive medals in 10:29:42 and 11:51:52 respectively.
Majestic Gerda
The early leader in the women’s race was 2017 Down Run winner Ann Ashworth, who was on pace to run a 6:03 and smash Elena Nurgalieva’s Up Run record of 6:09:24, but it was Gerda Steyn who took control of the race just before the 30km mark, then flew up Botha’s Hill and further extending her lead to just under two minutes over Ashworth by the halfway mark in Drummond. For the rest of the race she serenely extended her lead, never looking troubled, and reached the finish in an incredible 5:58:53, smiling, waving and even doing a jig on the line.
Steyn had won the Two Oceans Marathon for a second time just seven weeks before the Comrades, where she missed Frith van der Merwe’s course record by just 53 seconds after deciding not to push too hard and thus save her legs for the Comrades. It didn’t look like the 56km Cape ultra had any adverse effect on her Comrades performance, however, as she became the first woman ever to complete the Up Run in less than six hours. Reminiscent of Van der Merwe’s incredible winning run in 1991, when she finished 15th overall in the Comrades field, Steyn came home 17th overall, winning by a margin of nearly 19 minutes over second-placed Alexandra Morozova of Russia (6:17:40), who was also second in 2017 and third last year. Third place went to debutant Caitriona Jennings of Ireland in 6:24:12, with Ashworth taking fourth in 6:27:15.
Steyn’s performance earned her a cool R1.2 million in prize money – R500,000 for first place, and incentives of R500,000 for a new course record and R200,000 as first South African finisher. Her winning time is the fourth-fastest ever run by a woman in the Comrades (although the three faster times were all on the Down Run), and she is just the fourth woman ever to win the Two Oceans and Comrades in the same year, after Van der Merwe (1989), Elena Nurgalieva (2004 and 2012) and Caroline Wöstmann (2015). After the race, Steyn said, “It is a dream come true! Many years of hard work came together today. It’s a real blessing… it’s the biggest achievement I can ask for.”