ROAD RUNNING |
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The Comrades Marathon was first run in 1921 , and this year ’ s edition was the 97th running of the now iconic ultra . In all those years , the race has seen some of the world ’ s greatest ultra-distance athletes take line honours in the roughly 90km race , including worldclass female athletes since the event was opened to women in 1975 , but the Comrades has yet to see a black female athlete win the world ’ s biggest ultra . To date , only five South African black women have managed to claim a gold medal at Comrades , for finishing in the top 10 of the women ’ s race . Nokuthula Hlengwa became the first to achieve this feat when she finished ninth in 1993 ( although she was still awarded a silver medal , as only the top five women received gold in those days ). Then Sarah Mahlangu claimed a seventh position in 2002 , and Fikile Mbuthuma followed by coming home eighth in the 2016 edition . In 2022 , Galaletsang Mekgoe made history with her fifth place , becoming the country ’ s first black female athlete to finish in the top five .
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Coming home to claim gold at the 2024 Two Oceans |
twice in a row is phenomenal . Plus , the race requires an athlete to dig deep in order to be among the best athletes in the world ,” she says . “ I hope this performance will inspire other black women out there to believe that nothing can stop them in achieving their goals in life . It ’ s a matter of putting in the hard work , and the results will follow .”
Entering the Comrades
Last year , Mbhele made the decision to run her first Comrades after a splendid 3:27:39 to finish second in the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi 52km race in Dundee , in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal , which was also her debut Ultra-marathon . Hailing from Umzikhulu in the Harry Gwala District in the south of KwaZulu-Natal , she says her love for the Comrades was ignited from the young age due to the great support in that area for the race . “ I decided to run the Comrades Marathon because in our community , and surrounding places in our district , it is very popular . Most of the people are familiar with it , and follow the race very well ,” says Mbhele .
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Images : Action Photo SA , Anthony Grote & courtesy Xcel Running Club |
However , the fifth woman to join this select group can claim another accolade that none of her compatriots can . In 2023 , Jenet Mbhele finished 10th to claim the last gold medal for that year ’ s race , and this year she improved her finishing position to eighth , thus becoming the first black female athlete to claim two consecutive gold medals . ( Mekgoe had come the closest to this achievement , having finished fifth in 2022 and 11th in 2023 .) |
Taking It All In
The 29-year-old Mbhele , who runs for the Xcel Running club , says she is still digesting this milestone achievement , even though she is not someone who usually places great focus on records . “ I ’ m very pleased with the way I performed in this year ’ s Comrades Marathon . Before the race , I was certain , based on my preparation , that top 10 was on the cards again , but I ’ m not the kind of a person who looks up at the records and stuff , so I didn ’ t know about the back-to-back record ,” she says .
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The preparation that Mbhele is highlighting is that she managed to reign supreme in the hilly , tough Harry Gwala Half Marathon in a good time of 1:23:24 in March . That performance was followed by a resounding Two Oceans Marathon debut of 3:41:08 , where she finished fourth in the women ’ s race to add another ultra-marathon gold to her collection . However , she does admit that her Comrades achievement still stands out from the rest of a highly successful year .
“ To be the first black woman to secure a back-to-back Comrades gold medal is something exciting , and I think it shows that there are bigger performances coming my way . Comrades is such a big race , with top competition , so to be able to finish in the top 10
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“ On race day , most people stay glued to their televisions , anticipating what will happen . That is how big it is to people , and that made me to fall in love with the race from a very young age . To add to that , in our district we have runners who have performed excellently in the race . Fikile Mbuthuma , who comes from my area , is widely known after doing well in the race in the past , plus Bongumusa Mthembu is the people ’ s favourite considering his achievements ,” continues Mbhele . ( As mentioned earlier , Mbuthuma earned a gold medal in the women ’ s race in 2016 , and Mthembu is a three-time winner of the men ’ s race .)
“ The time I started running , the only thing that was on my mind was to run Comrades in the future , without knowing the actual distance for it . Then coach sat down with me to advise me what I should do to reach the level where I get to run the race . I ’ m glad the coach didn ’ t rush the process , as I have set the right foot with the good performances , even though I ’ m still new in the ultra distances . I ’ m still willing to learn more , and achieve more good results in the future ,” she concludes .
Humble Rural Roots
Mbhele ’ s path to the top tier of professional road running began in 2012 , but was made more challenging by the fact that she was born in the Harry Gwala District , but she credits her uncle ,
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Jenet claimed a second gold medal at the 2024 Comrades Marathon |