Comrades history beckons for Charne Bosman

Turning out among the favourites in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday, Charne Bosman will have an opportunity to make history at the 92nd edition of the Comrades Marathon, though the veteran distance runner insists she will rely on her usual cautious approach.

After taking second place in 2015, Bosman stormed past cramping compatriot Caroline Wostmann in the latter stages of the down run to secure her maiden victory last year.

With Wostmann pulling out of this weekend’s race after picking up a hamstring injury, Bosman was set to lead the local charge in the 87km Up run.

While she faced the likes of former 50km and 100km world champion Camille Herron and fellow American Sarah Bard, Bosman said she would not allow the opposition to affect her approach to the race.

“It will be all about now and about keeping my cool no matter what the other female athletes are doing,” Bosman, a member of the
Nedbank Running Club, said yesterday.

A three-time Two Oceans gold medallist, Bosman skipped the 56km race in Cape Town in April in order to focus on Comrades, and after racking up over 2 800km in training this year, the 41-year-old was confident of taking control if her opponents went out hard and hit the wall.

Should she emerge triumphant, Bosman would become the first South African athlete to win the race more than once since Frith van der Merwe earned her third Comrades title in 1991.

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