Ultra-marathon has a colourful history

VETERAN Vic Clapham endured a 2 700km route march in German East Africa (present-day Tanzania) during First World War. On his return home, Clapham devised a plan to commemorate his South African brothers who lost their lives in the first global conflict and as a legacy to the camaraderie which connected the survivors together.

His plan was a 90km endurance marathon starting from Pietermaritzburg City Hall and ending in Durban. The first Comrades Marathon took place on 24 May 1921, and the race has been run annually since, with the exception of some years during the Second World War and the Covid pandemic.

In the early morning hours of 1921, 34 athletes stood at the start of the first edition of the now world-famous event. Sixteen finished, with the winner, Bill Rowan, completing the route in a time of 08:59:00, which remains the slowest recorded winning time.

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The first woman ran unofficially in 1923, in a field numbering 68 athletes. Frances Hayward took 29th place after nearly 12 hours of exertion and accepted the prize of a silver tea set and rose bowl in place of a medal.  Only in 1975, 52 years later, would women be officially welcomed into the Comrades Marathon fold.

The early races were run on dirt roads of sand and gravel as tarred roads were only found in the cities. A small field of runners competed as opposed to the more than 15 000 athletes expected in the 2022 Comrades Marathon.

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The ultra-marathon attracted many interesting characters. Bill Payn, a Springbok rugby player and well-loved Durban teacher, was persuaded to participate in the 1922 marathon and made the decision the night before.

He ran the race in rugby boots, stopped for a chicken curry in Hillcrest, drank beer in a Drummond hotel, accepted peach schnapps en route and enjoyed tea and cake with his family in Pietermaritzburg before finishing in 8th position. Payn played a club rugby match the next day.

Clapham’s son Eric described the arrangements undertaken by his father when organising the early marathons.

Clapham wrote, “Runners would descend on our home before the race. My dad, an arch-scrounger, got donations of tea, milk and biscuits for all. I would have to give up my bed and sleep on the floor so a runner could have a comfortable night’s rest. On the morning of the race, my brother Douglas would have to cycle around Maritzburg at 4.30 am in the freezing air with a notebook and pencil to rouse the local runners. Each had to sign he’d been wakened. My mother would fry thick steaks on the coal stove in the kitchen. Each runner would get a massive steak topped with a couple of eggs for breakfast.”

“The runners brought their toiletries and clean clothes in small suitcases. We took these on a truck, which my dad had scrounged, and accompanied the athletes. If we saw a runner sitting on the roadside in pain, we’d massage his muscles with Ellerman’s liniment. Every now and then, we’d see a guy pooped out and ready to pack up, and we would find his suitcase and wait while he quickly dressed and climbed into the truck with us, before we pulled off, looking for someone else who needed a drink of water, a rub-down, a word of encouragement or finally, a suitcase full of warm clothes.”

Sources –
The Observation Post, www.samilhistory.com
Comrades Marathon Association, www.comrades.com