Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 12

ROAD RUNNING
Doing the Double...
Now the big question that everyone is asking is, have
three of the biggest favourites for the 2019 Comrades
title left their title hopes in Cape Town? Will they be
able to recover in time? A look at how the rest of the
field finished tells a tale of very saw legs after that Ou
Kaapse Weg brutal descent, yet Bongmusa, David
and Gerda all looked strong at the finish. So have they
really blown their Comrades chances?
All three are superb Comrades athletes, their records
speak for themselves. Gerda has run the race four
times, finishing 56 th on debut in 2015 with an 8:19:08. A
year later she was 14 th in 7:08:23, and in 2017 she was
fourth in 6:45:45. Then in 2018, having won the Two
Oceans, she took the runner-up position at Comrades,
behind that phenomenal time of Ann Ashworth over a
longer course. That is a remarkable improvement by
Gerda in the space of just four years. And in this time,
besides winning the Two Oceans twice, she set PBs
of 33:36 for 10km, 1:12:35 in the half marathon and
2:31:04 in the marathon, run in New York late last year.
Gerda is known for training at higher intensity rather
than mega-mileage, preferring to do a huge amount
of cross-training such as high mileage on the Watt
bike. And when she is based in the French Alps or at
Afriski in Lesotho, training at over 3000m, she also
regularly hikes at high altitudes. “Don’t underestimate
the power of a very long walk at high altitude,” she
has said in the past. All of this reduces the pounding
on her legs, and in light of that, chances are very high
that she has not left her Comrades in Cape Town.
...or End of a Dream?
Bongs came flying through the latter stages of
the race, as did David. Both have run a number of
Comrades, and clearly this has made them strong. A
thought was raised on social media by Alec Riddle,
a 6:05:21 Comrades runner: “Could the jarring
training and racing on the Comrades course have
played into the hands of the Comrades runners at
this year’s Two Oceans Marathon?” An interesting
question. Comrades Coach, Lindsey Parry believes
not necessarily. “I’ve seen those comments, I just
think they were (a) the best prepared athletes on the
day, certainly Gerda was in ridiculous shape, and (b),
they ran tactically better than the rest, waiting until
after Ou Kaapse Weg to chase. Having run both, I
don’t really feel much of a difference in the two routes,
but probably going down more sensibly is where they
were better than the rest.”
Bongmusa is at this time arguably the best ultra
athlete in the world – an opinion shared by many
who work in the ultra environment. He prepares
meticulously, and he has every reason to feel that he
has not left his Comrades in Cape Town. After all, the
time difference between his 2018 Comrades win and
his participation at the World 100km Championships
was not much different. At the World Champs, he
ran cleverly and started to attack in the latter stages
of the race, going on to lead for a long time before a
stomach issue slowed him down and forced him to
settle for third place.
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Meanwhile, David also looked really strong
on the line, laughing, waving and greeting
Bongs with the biggest grin. These are not
signs of spent athletes, but rather athletes
who have much left in the tank. All three
are very experienced athletes and will have
factored in the necessary calculations when
preparing for both races. Bongs is a strong
hill runner, David is light and has speed, and
Gerda fancies the ‘Up Run.’ David knows
that Polly Shortts was his nemesis in 2017,
and he has prepared accordingly. These
three have to be favourites for podium
positions, and even a win at Comrades.
In the meantime, one thing is for sure: All
three athletes have pushed the boundaries
of what many have believed is wise in the
world of ultra-running.
Bongmusa Mthembu (right) on Ou Kaapse Weg
with 2016 winner Lungile Gonqa
Really Fast Half Marathon
The Two Oceans Half Marathon was once
again a fast race, even though the leaders
had to contend with running in the dark
much of the way. Line honours went to
Elroy Gelant in 1:03:20, his fastest time
on the course in three attempts, but more
importantly a win after two second place
finishes in 2015 and 2016. Elroy’s time
was just four seconds slower than the
best time recorded on the current course,
which has been in use since 2012. He
was followed home by Lesotho’s Jobo
Khatoane (1:03:31) and four-time winner
Stephen Mokoka (1:03:37)
Namibian Helalia Johannes dominated
the women’s race to record a fifth win
as she also smashed her own course
record, the 1:11:56 she ran in 2011. Her
time of 1:10:30 is also a new Namibian
national record, and she finished just
under four minutes ahead of second-
placed Betha Chikanga (Zimbabwe),
who clocked 1:14:29. Third went
to another Zimbabwean, Fortunate
Chidzivo, in 1:15:39.
It was a fast race in other categories, too, as veteran Hanlie Botha posted the fastest half marathon time for
the year in SA in her category with a 1:20:20 finish, and Zhandre Loubser-Kuhn did likewise in the women’s
junior category with her 1:34:46.
Helalia Johannes
ISSUE 118 MAY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
end she came home in 3:31:24, just 52 seconds off
the course record of 3:30:36, set in 1989 by Frith van
der Merwe. This is the closest any female runner has
come to matching Frith’s time, and the manner in
which Gerda finished – strong, fresh, smiling, waving,
even high-fiving the crowd – spoke of ‘a lot left in the
tank.’ The record is clearly hers for the taking.