Having stood on the side of the road supporting Comrades runners on Sunday (and for most of my childhood supporting my dad), I can attest that it really is the ultimate human race.
The world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon is a unique event, where dreams can come true and a security guard can conquer the world.
This year a formidable Nedbank Runners’ Club team dominated the men’s race. First, Onalenna Khonkhobe led with blistering speed until halfway, setting a new halfway mark record of 2:26:30 before falling out of the race completely.
His two team-mates took over from there and Tete Dijana beat his training partner and 2019 defending champion Edward Mothibi to the 2022 title.
The women’s race was won by controversial Russian athlete Alexandra Morozova.
She had to run as an “international” entry and was not eligible to take home any prize money. World Athletics had called on the race organisers to ban all Russians from competing but the Comrades Marathon Association was forced by the court to allow her to run only the day prior.
But this is not where the heart of the race lies.
If you visit the finish line you will quickly discover that the last men and women across the line receive just as much applause – if not more – than the winners.
The front runners are followed by a motley crew of about 14 000 strong. Fat and thin, young and old, rich and poor, tutus and tiaras, the Comrades brings them all together for 12 gruelling hours.
Spectators stand and cheer each finisher until the last second. When the final gun goes off there is not a dry eye in the stadium, and there are still runners streaming in.
A woman collapses with disappointment and exhaustion just metres from the finish line, another man follows behind, upright, but his knees are bloody, clearly from tripping or collapsing earlier.
The disappointment is tangible. Each man and woman represents months of hard graft, early morning training and many, many kilometres. This is not a race you finish without sacrifice.
The real spirit of the Comrades remains true to its origins. The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Clapham to commemorate the South African soldiers killed during the war.
Clapham, who had endured a 2 700km route march through sweltering German East Africa, wanted the memorial to be a unique test of the physical endurance of the entrants. The constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to “celebrate mankind’s spirit over adversity”.
There were many local runners who completed the race and even a few silver finishers to boot. But there was one local runner who set a record unlike any other.
Dolphin Coast Striders athlete Barry Holland completed his 48th consecutive Comrades Marathon! He holds the world record for most consecutive Comrades Marathon runs (and the most runs completed by anyone) and has been running since he was 20 years old.
He arrived with bloody knees and a triumphant smile, just making the cut-off in a time of 11:44:39.
Barry said there were times he did not think he would make it as he had suffered from bad cramps along the route. But his team-mate’s encouragement kept him on track.
That is what Comrades is all about.
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