ROAD RUNNING
The Unlikely
CHAMPION
Prior to the 2018 Comrades Marathon , if you ’ d asked the pundits who they thought would win the women ’ s race , they ’ d likely have gone for either Two Oceans champion Gerda Steyn or the defending Comrades Marathon Down champion , Charne Bosman . Ann Ashworth was tipped for a top five , and just maybe a podium finish , but clearly Ann Ashworth didn ’ t read the script … and when you speak to her , you soon realise that she writes her own story . – BY MANFRED SEIDLER
As Ann Ashworth crossed the finish line in Moses Mabhida Stadium to win the 2018 Comrades Marathon and fell into the arms of her coach , John Hamlett , her first words were , “ I didn ’ t believe I could win this , only you did .” Now looking back on her magnificent win , she admits , “ I didn ’ t expect to be in the lead , and leading from the front just as we left Pinetown was immensely stressful . I had no idea where Gerda was , and kept on expecting her to come back at me , and in those final 10 or so kilometres I was really racing hard and running scared . Only once I crossed the line did I accept I had won , and the relief was monumental .”
NEW TO ALL OF THIS
Actually , 2017 was hard in many other ways , too . In the build-up to Comrades , Ann had comfortably won the 50km Loskop Marathon , and all of sudden she was not merely a contender for a top 10 gold medal , suddenly she was being spoken of in terms of a top 5 or podium placing – and there were even some whispers of a win . “ The pressure was enormous , I was fielding calls from the media , and runners were all asking me if I was chasing the win . It all became too much ... Then I picked up an injury leading up to the race , and on race day , with the manic start , my hamstring tore . Dream over .”
An emotional roller coaster ride followed all the way to the win in 2018 , and if you go back and look at the expression on Ann ’ s face as she crossed the line , you will see elation , but also massive relief . However , what few people realise is that just three weeks prior to the big day , Ann had almost pulled out of Comrades . “ I just broke down on one of the runs while in training camp in Dullstroom . I couldn ’ t anymore . I was a wreck . My body had completely broken down and I had become anaemic .”
For the record , Ann won the women ’ s title after spending 6:10:04 on the road , coming home more than five minutes ahead of Gerda ( 6:15.34 ). That achievement is still more notable when you remember that the 2018 route was some 900m longer than the previous Down Run , thus Ann ’ s time equates to a 6:06 on the old route . And even with almost a kilometre added to the distance , her winning time still places her ninth on the all-time list of fastest women ’ s Down Runs .
Training in Dullstroom
Even more impressive is that Ann bounced back to win in 2018 after a disastrous 2017 Comrades , where she stepped off the road within the first kilometre of the race with a hamstring injury . “ It was devastating , because I had put so much work into the race , and a kilometre after the start that was it . Gone . It took me a long time to recover from that , and I have to praise the efforts of my coach , with whom I have an almost father / daughter relationship , and my husband , David , for helping me get back .”
12 ISSUE 109 AUGUST 2018 / www . modernathlete . co . za