Working together, Wiersma, Ethiopian Degefa Lafebo, Teboho Sello of Lesotho and South Africans Dan Moselakwe, Joseph Manyedi and Tete Dijana began to close the gap on Beresnev, smelt blood and closed on their prey with surprising speed. Sello and Manyedi fell behind, leaving the remaining quartet to power past Beresnev just 11km further on, 19km from home.

For 16 minutes the Nedbank Running Club quartet of Wiersma, Lafebo, Moselakwe and Dijana jockeyed for position, sensing that the race could be won or lost in a heartbeat as the famous Polly Shorts climb loomed.

It was on ‘Little Pollys’, the prelude to the more serious climb, that Wiersma made his move. Only Lafebo responded but his challenge was short-lived and in a flash the race was over as the Dutch athlete drew away from his rivals.

Only an impressively decorated South African mounted police sextet could stay the pace with the race leader on the full Polly Shorts, providing an impressive equine escort as Wiersma crested Pollys and set his face towards the race finish at Scottsville Horse Racing Club in Pietermaritzburg.

Such was Wiersma’s strength over the finishing 8km, that Leonid Shvetsov’s ‘up’ record of 5:24:49, set in 2008, which had appeared to be out of sight, was suddenly vulnerable. Wiersma swept onto the grass at Scottsville to break the tape in 5:25:00, 45 seconds clear of a fast-finishing Moselakwe and just 11 seconds outside the record and the half million Rand incentive. He was nonetheless ecstatic at the win.

“It means everything – it feels like a combination of everything I’ve ever done,” said the clearly emotional champion. “This is going to change everything for me. Last year I was second. The prize money was nice and I could train without having to find a job for a while, But it didn’t change my life entirely.

“A friend of mine – Hosea Kiplagat – invited me to his house in Kenya and we trained together for six weeks, full time. So I knew I was in the best shape of my life.

“I decided beforehand that if I were to win this race, I’d go back to Kenya for a longer term and see how much I can improve by being a full-time runner,” Wiersma continued. “I also want to see how much I can improve in the standard marathon when I run at Valencia in December.”

Up and down

That only three of last year’s gold medalists – Dutch athlete Wiersma, South African Joseph Manyedi (4^th) and Lesotho’s Teboho Sello (8^th) – could repeat their top ten position this year, points to the different skill sets needed to succeed in both the ‘up’ and ‘down’ runs and also reflects the increasing competitiveness of the race.

Five of last year’s male top ten finishers, including the champion, Dijana, found themselves falling back to between 11^th and 21^st positions, and trading their gold for a Wally Hayward medal for a sub-6 hour time.

Women can possibly adapt more easily to the differences, or the depth of competition does not yet equal that of their male counterparts. Led by the remarkable Steyn, five other 2023 gold medalists repeated this year – Russian Alexandra Morozova (2^nd), South African Carla Molinaro (4^th), Irish athlete Caitriona Jennings (7^th), South African Jenet Mbhele (8^th) and Polish athlete Dominika Stelmach (9^th).

While the core route of the Comrades Marathon remains largely the same year in and out, the overall distance has historically differed by as much as six kilometres, largely due to road or other construction work in and around the approach to the finish in Durban or Pietermaritzburg.

The 1971 route (92km) was the longest and this year’s 85,91km the shortest of the 97 Comrades races to date, offering this year’s 18 884 starters every chance of achieving their target time and beating the race cut-offs. An exceptionally high 93% did just that.

Under new management – a review

For 2018 Comrades winner, Ann Ashworth, her seven months in the saddle as Race and Operations Manager, tasked with delivering a top event last weekend has been something of a whirlwind, but her leadership appeared to find favour with the majority of the runners while Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Board Chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo, was enthusiastic in his affirmation of the role she has played.

“Ann has been amazing, she brought in many fresh ideas and innovations for our 97^th edition,” said Ngcobo. “She worked hard and hit the ground running from day one. She had just 20 days to organise a major launch and invested time and energy to secure sponsors.

“She leveled the playing fields for elite athletes so that those not part of a professional club or team were not disadvantaged, she organised upgraded sanitary facilities for all women during the race and arranged designated refreshment tables for seeded elite athletes at eight points along the route for the first time.

“In addition, Ann was largely responsible for the redesign of the finish area and the route review which led to runners passing Comrades House for the first time.  Personally, I thought the atmosphere along the packed finish straight at Scottsville Racecourse added significant value.

“When (former race and operations manager) Rowyn James resigned, we appointed Ann as an interim measure until June, when we planned to formally advertise the position and make a final appointment. Quite possibly we will need to extend the interim position for a few months.  Ann has done well and we hope that she applies for the permanent position.”

The Comrades Chair also emphasised the importance of onboarding several additional sponsors, which largely happened under Ashworth’s management. Cell C, Mr Price Sport and THIRSTI are the event’s Tier One sponsors with no fewer than fifteen named as Tier Two Sponsors or ‘Suppliers’.  Athletics South African and KwaZulu Natal Athletics are listed as event partners.

“Our prize money was higher than ever before and sets a new standard for South African road running,” Ngcobo continued. “We were thrilled that Cell C came on board to assist the CMA in providing suitable reward to the race’s top contenders. Cell C enabled us to increase the prize money substantially with the total prize money up to R4 092 000 and R825 000 to the male and female winners. 

“We also reintroduced the ‘hotspot’ incentive of R50 000 for the first male and female athletes through Cato Ridge (about 30km from the finish) and an additional R500 000 for the athlete setting the fastest pace ever in winning Comrades.

“Gerda Steyn had a superb race, and we were delighted to reward her with cash prizes to the value of R2 000 075 000, which included first prize, the record incentive, the fastest pace incentive, the hotspot incentive and the first South African runner’s prize.”

Asked to share his Comrades highlights with SPNAfrica, Ngcobo pointed to the start, the journey and the finish as ticking all the boxes.

“Ann brought her touch to the start and I thought this was world-class. The changes we introduced worked well, notably the introduction to the masses of the top three male and female contenders while their favourite songs were played.

“Then the atmosphere along the route was fantastic. Crowds were bigger than ever, cheering on the athletes and creating a wonderful spirit for the runners and spectators alike.

“The finish was certainly a highlight for me, creating a great atmosphere with the crowds close to the athletes. And the fact that more than 93% of those who started finished the race within the time limit, compared with 86% at the last up run, was a huge plus point. The relaxed cut-offs during the race gave everyone an opportunity.”

Ashworth herself expressed her satisfaction with the outcomes and how the day turned out. “It wasn’t perfect,” Ashworth acknowledged. “Not everything went according to plan but I truly believe we did the very best we could on the day. The feedback received from runners has been overwhelmingly positive. For me, if runners are happy, then the race was a success.”  

That Ashworth has competed at the highest level as an ultra-distance athlete on the road and in trail running (boasting two Comrades and three Two Oceans gold medals) undoubtedly helped to equip her for the position. And her qualifications as an advocate and an athletics coach provide substantial additional advantages. It is a significant credit to the CMA to have landed a person of Ashworth’s abilities to steer the Comrades ship, albeit in an interim capacity.

“I think that being a recent runner is an enormous advantage,” Ashworth acknowledged. “I have tried to introduce things I wished were in place while I was running as well as addressing the requests received from runners, including the athletes I coach and the athletes I run with. I am hopeful that over time the race will be increasingly responsive to runners’ needs.”

In an event as complex as the Comrades, it is inevitable that challenges will arise, some as a result of actions taken or not taken by the CMA and others not.  It is the manner of the response to these challenges, both on the day and in the weeks to follow, that is important.

Transportation-related challenges, largely due to infrastructural issues at municipal level in Pietermartizburg were identified by Mqondisi as needing to be addressed.

“Movements in and out of Pietermaritzburg are always challenging and can lead to delays and frustration,” said Mqondisi. “But we have strong relationships with the Deputy Mayor of Pietermaritzburg, who is also the Chair of Infrastructure, and we are confident that repairing lights and road damage is part of their strategic planning going forward.”

While there were complaints from runners and supporters, seemingly a small minority, the speed with which these were formally acknowledged was impressive.  Just two days after the race, the CMA issued a media release under Ashworth’s signature, acknowledging the complaints, promising a full investigation and issuing an unequivocal apology for “any oversights, errors and inconvenience cause to runners and spectators”. 

The CMA release highlighted five areas of potential shortcoming, only two of which could have been directly attributable to the CMA:

1. The short supply of runner goodie bags to the Durban registration;
2. The late arrival of the buses tasked with the transportation of athletes from the finish area to Durban as part of the Runner’s Bus Service;
3. The tremendous traffic congestion on the N3 highway as well as in the areas immediately surrounding the finish venue;
4. The late collection of general waste and recyclables from the refreshment stations located in the second half of the race route; and
5. The short supply of Robert Mtshali medals to athletes finishing between 9h00 and 9h59.

The manner in which these and other challenges are addressed will shape the Comrades Marathon in the immediate and longer term future, notably with a view to one of the most important dates in the event’s history, the 100^th Comrades Race, scheduled as a down run to Durban in 2027.

Looking to the future

Looking ahead, there is every likelihood that the quality of the international challenge will strengthen and there is little doubt that the CMA will be re-doubling the efforts to achieve this, aiming to attract the cream of the crop of the world’s ultra-marathoners for their centenary in 2027, a non-Olympic year.

Partnerships will be key, in particular those from local, provincial and national governments, and the CMA’s sponsors and suppliers. The importance of outreach to the wider community has traditionally been recognised by the CMA and this will need to be strengthened further if the event is to succeed at this highest level.

The strong recognition of age group runners and team competitions have been features of the Comrades over the years and next year could see a remarkable age-related double act, an occurrence which Comrades founder, Vic Clapham, could scarcely have imagined in 1921 when the Bill Rowan narrowly broke the 9 hour mark to record the great race’s first win.

Comrades 2025 could be extraordinary in that it will likely produce the first, and possibly second, runner to complete fifty Comrade Marathons.  A stress fracture prevented Balito athlete, Barry Holland, from becoming the first to achieve that milestone over the weekend, being forced to withdraw at halfway.

While Holland struggled, Outeniqua Harrier marathoner, Louis Massyn, completed his 49^th Comrades journey on Sunday with 25 minutes to spare, immediately reaching out to Holland, suggesting they finish their 50^th Comrades together next year, as sprightly 74-year-olds!

Both Massyn and Holland ran their first Comrades in 1973, Holland recording an impressive 7 hrs 52 min while Massyn clocked in at 10 hrs 14 min.  Massyn ran his fastest Comrades (6:25) in 1980, while Holland’s best is just four minutes slower, run in 1991 in his 21^st Comrades.

Another aspect of the Comrades which sets it apart from most other sporting events is its powerful celebration of the race’s heritage, to the extent that the Heritage and Traditions Committee is one of the most influential of the CMA’s formal forums.

The Comrades Marathon now boasts a set of nine impressively crafted medals which can be won by participants completing the world’s greatest ultra-marathon within certain target times. Five of these are linked to Comrades greats of the past – Vic Clapham (sub 12 hr), Robert Mtshali (sub 10 hr), Bill Rowan (sub 9 hr), Isavel Roche-Kelly (women sub 7 hour not earning gold) and Wally Hayward (men sub 6 hour not earning gold).

The Comrades Marathon Association might do well to consider increasing their medal tally to a perfect ten to celebrate their centenary in 2027. And if so, might a Bruce Fordyce (arguably the greatest Comrades runner ever with nine victories) or a Sam Tshabalala (first black runner to win in 1989) medal for a rare back-to-back ‘up’ and ‘down’ double victory be considered?

Only twelve men in 97 years and nine women in 57 years have achieved this feat, making it an exceptional opportunity to award these medals retroactively at the Comrades Centenary. Tete Dijana (2022 and 2023) and Gerda Steyn (2023 and 2024) are the latest athletes to have accomplished this.

Given that this medal would requires two wins, what price a Fordyce-Tshabalala medal?

Comrades Marathon Results 

Top 10: Male

Top 10: Female

 First South African: Male

First South African: Female

Top 3 KwaZulu-Natal: Male

Top 3 KwaZulu-Natal: Female

Elite Team Prize: Male

Elite Team Prize: Female

Team Prizes: Male 20-39

Team Prizes: Female 20-39

Team Prize: Male 40+

Team Prize: Female 40+

Top 3: Male 40-49

Top 3: Female 40-49

Top 3: Male 50-59

Top 3: Female 50-59

Top 3: Male 60+

Top 3: Female 60+

First Position: Male 70+

First Position: Female 70+

New Best Time: Female

Last Finisher: Eddie Mkhabele – Race No. 30323

First Non-finisher: Barnabas Mlanduli – Race No. 7541