Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 54, January 2014 | Page 18

Living Legend

Legend of the
Liquorice Man
Those who saw it still talk about the day a man wearing a full-length Liquorice
Allsorts Man suit finished the 1997 Comrades Marathon in 22nd position in an
incredible time of 5:56:31. That man was Percy Dunn, owner of 13 Comrades silver
medals, and he was doing it for Madiba. – BY SEAN FALCONER

T

After 1990, Arthur sent Percy to train with coach
Bobby McGee’s training group, with top young
athletes like Darren De Reuck and Colleen
Lindeque, and Percy soon began showing real
improvement. For the next five years he focused
on shorter distances, going on to run a 31-minute
10km and a 2:21 marathon, and he says that laid
the foundation for his 1997 Comrades heroics.

he crowd in Durban couldn’t believe their
eyes, nor could the millions watching on TV. Charl
Mattheus had just won the Comrades in 5:28:37
and the top 20 men were in, now everybody
was waiting for the leading woman, Ann Trason
of America, who was about two minutes away
from her second win, when suddenly a man in
a colourful full-length lycra costume, complete
with head-dress and facial make-up, came flying
in to finish. Now running a sub-6:00 Comrades
is considered such an achievement that the
Comrades Marathon Association even gives
runners a special medal nowadays – and here was
Percy Dunn doing it in a fancy dress costume!

Percy finishing in
1997 and causing
an uproar!

“Strangely, it never crossed my mind to stroll the
thing in 11 hours, but with hindsight, the charity
got far more exposure thanks to my fast time.
It’s fantastic that people still remember the suit
and my time, but I want them to also remember
that it was done to raise awareness for the Nelson
Mandela Children’s Fund, so I am really glad it can
get some more publicity now, as we celebrate the
life of the great man himself.”

ON THE RUN

Percy (52) grew up in rural KwaZulu-Natal and
worked in construction after school, then for
local government in Durban until he was headhunted by the Foreign Ministry in 1991. From
1996 to 2010 he served as a diplomat in Egypt,
Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and now works as a
Johannesburg-based consultant in the petrochemical industry. At school, he was a top sprinter,
then turned to middle distances, and won nearly
every race. However, he was also a talented soccer
player, representing KZN at schoolboy level, then
played competitive amateur soccer for 11 years
after school, and it was while playing for Stella FC
in Durban that Percy got back into running.
“Two of my team mates, Noel Parsonage and Craig
Banfield, ran the Comrades on just their soccer
fitness and a little extra running, finishing in about
10 hours and nine hours respectively, and neither
missed any soccer training or matches, so I took
on the challenge. I was clueless, though, so I

18

ISSUE 54 JANUARY 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

“In early 1997, I was approached by the head of
HR at B eacon Sweets, Rod Le Roux, to run the
Comrades for them to raise awareness for the
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. It was only after
I said yes that they told me about the suit. In fact,
Rod got his PA to break the news to me!” laughs
Percy. “I thought these people are clueless – you
don’t run Comrades in a suit! Turns out they tried
to get Bruce Fordyce to run in it the year before
and he turned them down, although he still ran
next to Darrel De Wet who wore the suit, but I
got them to send the suit to me in Cairo and after
I made some modifications, I decided to give it a
go.”

Images: Lauren van der Vyver & Courtesy CMA

“That 1997 run was flawless. When I finished, I
felt I could start again!” says Percy. “The previous
year had been a real slog, even though I ran 6:19,
but 1997 was a breeze, despite the fact that I was
still doing interviews the night before, even lying
in a puddle of water for a photograph! Then right
before the start, I realised I had no pacing chart,
so I just started my watch and never looked at
it again. My support crew was supposed to meet
me at intervals along the route, to look after me
and touch up my make-up, but I ran so fast that
I kept missing them by five to 10 minutes. I was
just running so comfortably and the people along
the route loved the suit. I believe it was divine
intervention, because none of my other times ever
beat that 5:56.”

FOR THE KIDS

Percy today,
catching up with
the Ed at the
Comrades Expo.

approached Arthur Fredericks, then a six-time
finisher, for help, and we trained together
daily. I owe that man a tremendous debt
of gratitude, as he guided me through my
first two Comrades in 1989 and 1990.
The guys at the club were shocked by
my 6:38 and 6:31 times, but they didn’t
know about my training with Arthur – I
was even doing long runs on Saturday
mornings, then playing a full game in
the afternoon!”