ON COURSE FILE. Gerda Steyn was on track to win her fourth Comrades Marathon title on Sunday, with just under an hour remaining in her race. Picture Fuad Esack
Image: Fuad Esack
Inside the final hour of her race, Gerda Steyn was on track to win her fourth Comrades Marathon title on Sunday.
The wily ultra star went out at a steady pace, content to let Elizabeth Mukoloma lead the way in the early stages of the race.
Earlier, in a first for the Comrades Marathon, the elites went off 15 minutes ahead of the rest of the field in what was an attempt to alleviate some of the congestion of runners at the start.
Just over the two-hour, 20-minute mark, Elizabeth Mukoloma had opened up a major gap over Steyn as she went out at a blistering pace. If she had been able to maintain that pace, it would have smashed the downrun record; therefore, it was just a matter of time before she would be caught and passed.
Steyn makes her move
At the 2h42 mark, Steyn finally caught Mukoloma as she took the lead in emphatic style on the descent down to Drummond on a steep downhill. The only thing Mukoloma could do was watch as Steyn quickly became a tiny figure in the distance.
Further back, Steyn’s Hollywood club teammate Irvette van Zyl had worked her way into third place at the halfway mark.
By the three-hour mark, Steyn had already opened a 200m gap on second place and 500m over third.
The 2022 winner Alexandra Morozova passed Mukoloma at the 3h07 mark, as she looked to challenge Steyn, although with the gap already massive.