Comrades Marathon – following in legendary footsteps

The 96th edition of the iconic Comrades Marathon is coming up on Sunday, June 11, starting at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and ending at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban. The Comrades Marathon Association has revealed their official route distance to be 87.701km, making this, the 48th Comrades Down Run, almost 2.2km shorter than last year’s race. In the build-up to the much-loved event, we will run a weekly series. 

THIS week, we spoke to Durban runner Brett Goodwin (33) who is tackling his first Comrades Marathon this year. The runner said he has not set a stringent time goal but rather looks forward to enjoying the race – known for its unmatched sideline support.

“As this is my first Comrades, I want to enjoy this first experience. I’ll be very happy with a finish time around the 10-hour mark,” he said.

An avid sportsman in his school and university days, Goodwin took up running a decade ago to keep fit.

“I’ve now been running for around 10 years. I started out with Parkrun, then joined my first club. Thereafter, I did a few Ironman 70.3s. I ran multiple half-marathons and two marathons, and last year, committed to the 2023 Comrades Marathon,” said the athlete, who runs for Hollywood Athletics Club.

To date, his longest marathon was just over 55km – the Comrades Route Tester from Pietermaritzburg to Kloof.

“I used Durban International Marathon as my qualifier, and my time was 3 hours and 57 minutes. I have had a relatively trouble-free build-up to Comrades. I’ve been doing strength training once a week, and when I’ve felt the onset of an injury, I’ve either treated it with sports massage or a chiropractor appointment,” he said.

Also read: Trainer reveals important training tips for Comrades

Goodwin has been training for Comrades since January.

“I built up from 50km per week to 80+km a week from March onwards. I generally do three midweek runs and two longer runs on the weekend,” he said.

His road to the Comrades has not always been an easy one as he was diagnosed with Covid-19 last year.

“I committed to Comrades in September last year, so that’s when I started my base training. I, unfortunately, had Covid-19 in December which set me back, but I picked up the training again in January. Having lived in Durban my entire life, Comrades has always been on my bucket list,” he explained.

Also read: Trainer reveals important training tips for Comrades

The spirit of the Comrades

The Comrades Marathon is an iconic race on the South African Calendar. When asked what the race means to him, Goodwin said there is a Comrades’ legend in his family.

“My uncle, Barry Holland, is a Comrades legend. He holds the record for the most Comrades finishes, which is 48, and all have been consecutive. This year, he aims to complete his 49th Comrades and next year, his 50th. The plan has always been to run his 50th Comrades with him, so I thought I’d start this year so I can hopefully get my back-to-back when running with him next year. I am incredibly grateful that he has written my coaching programmes and guided me along the way,” said Goodwin.

So far, the highlight of Goodwin’s running career has been completing the sub-four marathon at Durban International Marathon.
“Breaking that barrier and knowing how I felt on the day have ignited a fire from within to run even faster over the next 12 months,” concluded Goodwin.

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