STATISTICS |
||||||
OK, that was just a bit of fun. Reality check: In actual sports science, the best Comrades runners are those who combine structured training, mental resilience, and heat adaptation … and star signs don’ t matter at all.( But it’ s fun to pretend!) |
I’ ve also included a table providing full entry to finish data for the 30 most popular men’ s names. |
Strongest Bloodlines |
||||
“ When it comes to the women, nobody does the Down run better than Debbie” |
It’ s quite normal to feel pride in your surname, but in terms of sheer numbers, only the Dlaminis and Ndlovus can‘ keep up with the Khumalos’ at Comrades. They are the only centurions, with 126 and 115 starters respectively. The Ndlovus also have the best finish rate of the clans with 50 or more starters, whereas the Gumedes are the best at beating their predicted time, doing so by 19:17 on average. |
|||||
First Amongst Names What’ s in a name, is the old saying … Well, when it comes to the 2025 Comrades Marathon, bragging rights go to all the men named Emmanuel, Jan, Bonginkosi, Justin, Jonathan, Phumlani and Thapelo. Using a criterion of a minimum of 20 starters they are all part of the unofficial‘ 100 % finish by name club.’ Their names are obviously synonymous with perseverance!
|
When it comes to the women, nobody does the Down run better than Debbie. All the Debbies that started the 2025 Comrades arrived in Durban within the 12- hour cut-off. I also checked name derivations and the four Deborahs and solitary Debbie-Le maintained the 100 % success rate. Sadly, one of the three Debras ruined the perfect record. |
Dropping the criterion to a minimum of 20 starters brings the Afrikaners into the mix, with the Du Toits, Van Zyls and Smits all arriving in Durban with a clean sheet. Your overall best name combination to ensure a Comrades medal is therefore Bonginkosi van Zyl.( Sidenote: If Comrades gold medallist Irvette van Zyl and her husband, SA 400m hurdles legend LJ van Zyl, ever decide to have another child, they should consider naming him Bonginkosi for optimal Comrades performance!) |
||||
Although there were a couple of Kims fewer, they also secured a 100 % finish success rate. The two top Kims, Kim Pain from Jeppe with her 32nd finish and Kim Jackson from DHS with her 27th finish, can claim the win over the two top Debbies, Debbie Slater from RunZone and Debbie Holland from Dolphin Coast who both earned their 22nd medal. |
On this list, the Khanylies are the best at beating their predicted time with the Malulekes, Mudaus, Nkunas, Mazibukos and Du Plessises also ending in the green. As someone of Anglo-Saxon lineage, I have to express disappointment that the first English sounding surname on this performance chart are the Joneses in 65th. Times have certainly changed – keeping up with the Joneses is no longer something to aspire to. |
|||||
Image: Comrades Marathon Association | Graphs: The Running Mann blog |
Raising the bar to 50 or more starters sees Siyabonga and Paul, both with just one DNF, as the best bet to earn a medal. Credit to those named Thulani, Bongani, Robert, Johan and Kenneth, who all managed to beat their predicted finish times. |
The second table shows how the most popular 30 female names fared from entries to finishing. Michelles had the most entries, qualified, starters and finishers. Carlas are the quickest, and Claires are the overachievers, on average finishing almost 28 minutes ahead of their predicted time based on the qualifier x 2.5 equation. |
So, can you take anything away from these name stats? Yes, if you trained hard and still had a bad Comrades, then blame your ancestors … or your parents! |
|||
19 |