ROAD RUNNING
Watch This Space …
There was a remarkable performance in the 2024 Comrades Marathon record that went largely unnoticed , but it points to the record-books being rewritten quite substantially in 2025 . – BY STUART MANN
I
was recently contacted by Iain Morshead from the Fordyce Fusion team , asking me the following Comrades Marathon-related question : “ One of our athletes is an outstanding soon-tobe 70-year-old woman who ran an astonishing 9h08 on the Up this year . We have approached the CMA to establish what the record is , but they have so far , not been able to assist . Given your insight into Comrades statistics , are you perhaps able to identify the existing women ’ s 50 + and 70 + records ?” This is exactly the kind of stat that fascinates me , so naturally I was happy to oblige .
The 69-year-old athlete in question is Jennifer Kellett from Australia , who ran a phenomenal 9:08:47 at this year ’ s Comrades . So just how good is that time in comparison to the rest of the field ? Well , the only other 60 + woman to beat her time was 61-yearold Janine Goes from Dolphin Coast Striders with a 9:01:48 , and you need to go all the way back to 57-year-old Deidre Maree from Stella AC for the oldest woman to crack a sub-9:00 Bill Rowan .
Record Research
So , what is the fastest ever time for a 70 + lady in the history of Comrades ? From the full results
Jennifer after setting a new World Best and Australian Record at the Sydney Marathon records that I have , the fastest time prior to 2024 was Jacqueline Millett from the UK , who ran a 10:41:38 in 2023 . However , American runner Suzanne Koonce slipped in somewhat under the radar at this year ’ s event , with a new fastest time for the ‘ great grandmasters ’ women of 10:29:26 .
Kellett therefore looks well placed to better that mark if she returns to run the Comrades again , given that she was well over an hour faster . If anything , her form has actually improved since her Comrades run this year . She recently ran an eight-minute PB at the Sydney Marathon ( 3:26:22 ), which was also new World Best for female athletes aged 69 , as well as an Australian Record for the 65-69 age group . She then broke both of those records again at the Chicago Marathon in the USA , with a 3:23:19 finish .
Kellett places credit for her late blossoming distance running career with the coaching skills of Morshead and the Fordyce Fusion team . She says that she prefers to “ run by effort rather than by speed ,” and that “ the speedwork helped a great deal .” The bad news for anyone wanting to give Kellett a run for her money is that she says , “ I know I can get faster yet .”
Record Pending ?
Kellett has confirmed that she will be back for the 2025 Comrades Down Run , and she must be odds on favourite to add another record to her collection . With the 70 + women ’ s record transferring ownership from the UK to the USA in recent years – and looking likely to go to Australia in 2025 – it might be time for patriotic South Africans to buy their grannies a pair of running shoes this Christmas . After all , you never know what talent might be sitting on the couch watching Generations , Muvhango and 7de Laan !
Jennifer Kellett ( 69 ) finishes her first Comrades in 9:08:47
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This article first appeared on The Running Mann ’ s blog at https :// runningmann . co . za , and is republished here with the permission of the author , who is a regular columnist for this magazine .
ISSUE 174 | www . modernathlete . co . za
The fastest finishing times for women aged 50 and over at Comrades 2024
Images : Marathon Photos & courtesy Jennifer Kellet