her arrival in Sherwood, refreshing the App every few seconds in the minute leading up to the cut-off, but she had actually built quite a buffer and cruised across the timing point with a 32-second cushion. Now it was game on!

Brigitte had averaged 8:06 per kilometre until this point. With 6.5km left, she now had to run 7:45 per kay to beat the final gun in Durban. As any Comrades runner will tell you, those last 6.5km into Durban are far from easy. The jarring down 45 th Cutting and then the left turn to climb towards Tollgate are both excrutiating, so running this section faster than you have run any section the whole day is considered highly unlikely. However, Brigitte just put her head down and went for it. With darkness well and truly set in, and the bugler about to play The Last Post on the finish line, Brigitte entered the stadium and made the victory lap around the Kingsmead Oval, wearing the biggest smile ever. She snuck home in a time of 11:59:24 – 36 seconds under the final cut-off – and her coveted Comrades medal was safely in the bank!

BRIGITTE’ S CLOSE CALLS CUT-OFF POINT TO GO TIME IN HAND

AGAINST THE ODDS

To put her effort in perspective, Brigitte completed the first sector of the race( Start to Lion Park) as the 16051 st-fastest runner, whereas in the last sector( Sherwood to Finish), she recorded the 5127 th-fastest time, that of a comfortable bronze medal finisher! Looking back on her epic day, Brigitte says she couldn’ t have done it without all the support she received.“ It meant the world to me to have my family there at 30km and 60km, cheering me on, but they knew that I would be pushed for time, so we agreed before the race that it would be a very quick stop for big hugs. It was also so nice to reach the Bedfordview tables – very special people! And the supporters at the cut-offs cheering me on, many calling me by name, they make you run a little faster!”

The pacing charts, statistics and predictions all say that Brigitte should not have made it, but she proved that anything is possible if you hang in there and believe.“ I never once thought about giving up. I wasn’ t tired, or sore or feeling sick, it just all came together, and I just loved it. Running your first Comrades is undoubtedly one of the best days of your life … but I have already entered 2017 to claim my back-to-back medal! If 2016 is anything to go by, she will get it, too.

( Timed by ChampionChip) Free T-shirts to the early entrants

EARLY BIRD ENTRIES AVAILABLE Information soon on www. omdiedamultra. co. za Put the Old Mutual Om Die Dam Ultra Marathon on your 2017 race calendar now, and train for the challenge.

IAU GOLD LABEL STANDING 2016

Hosted by Hartbeespoort Marathon Club

* The 50km and 21km events are timed by ChampionChip. No chip. No result. No prize.

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