First female Comrades Marathon winner dies
Betty Cavanagh successfully completed six Comrades Marathons, as well as having run four races unofficially, between 1970 and 1973
THE Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has expressed its saddeness over the death of Betty Cavanagh (89).
Cavanagh is revered as the first official female winner of the Comrades Marathon, when it opened up to participation of both women and people of all races in 1975.
She has been described as a humble and endearing person; a genuine trailblazer who inspired women and paved the way for our current female ultrarunning champions.
Cavanagh successfully completed six Comrades Marathons, as well as having run four races unofficially, between 1970 and 1973. Her official personal best was achieved in 1978 in a time of 9hr53min. She holds six bronze medals.
Well regarded in the world of athletics, Betty inspired many women to take up running and participate in The Ultimate Human Race. Together with her husband Tony, they initiated long distance training sessions, motivated other athletes and were part of a growing ultra-running community.
The CMA said Cavanagh possessed a real gentle and welcoming spirit, always with a smile and an easy-going attitude. Her humble but illuminating presence will be greatly missed by Comrades officials and volunteers alike.
“As the official winner of the 1975 Comrades Marathon, Betty Cavanagh’s name was the first to be engraved on the coveted Comrades Marathon Bowl. She and her fellow female pioneers such as Lettie van Zyl, Mavis Hutchinson and even others before them, such as Francis Hayward (1923) and Geraldine Watson (1931/2) were the inspiration, not only to my generation of women who gradually began competing in greater numbers in the late 1970’s and 80’s, but were also the genuine trailblazers who paved the road for the likes of Frith van der Merwe, the Nurgalieva twins and Gerda Steyn, as well as the record number of 6476 women who have entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon,” said CMA chairperson, Cheryl Winn.
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