When Nobuhle Nobukhosi Tshuma broke into a dance on the finish line of the Comrades Marathon, it wasn’ t just a celebration of completing the gruelling 85,7km course in second place. There was so much more encapsulated into those few jubilant steps.
Not only had she finished in her best time ever – 5 hours 53 minutes and 36 seconds – and become the first Black woman to reach the up run podium, but it was proof that her legs still had life in them.
Just three months earlier, Tshuma had crawled across the finish line of the Two Oceans Marathon in third place after her legs gave way a few metres from the end.
Also captured in that joyful dance was a triumph over many years of adversity, from losing her mom at a young age to running away from home in Zimbabwe, not having food to eat some nights and battling tough circumstances just to be able to train. Those challenges even extended to being stuck at the airport for two days just prior to this year’ s Comrades Marathon without cash or food.
But that’ s part of what has built the mental toughness needed to excel at the Comrades.
Speaking about the time after losing her mom when she was just a teenager, Tshuma recalls:“ 2008 I was supposed to go to high school. I didn ' t go to high school because of the situation. The background was hard. There our situation was very bad. So, that ' s why I ran away from home, because I was living with my grandmother. Sometimes there ' s a time that we were even sleeping without eating anything because life was tough.”
Tshuma moved to South Africa to start a new life and was taken under the wing of a woman who became a mother figure, teaching her how to be a hairdresser and looking after her.
“ Later on, around 2013, I was gaining a lot of weight. I think it was happiness, and then you are no longer struggling, you are now sleeping, eating well, and stuff. So, I gained a lot of weight,” she explained.
Tshuma’ s solution was to go jogging at the Makhulong Stadium in Thembisa, where she is still based. There she was spotted by a local coach who noticed her natural talent.
“ He said:‘ This girl can run. I want to train t his girl … She can be our next Caster Semenya.’”
It turned out it wasn’ t on the track that Tshuma would find her success, but on the road. Years later, she married fellow runner( and 2023 Two Oceans champion) Givemore Mudzinganyama and gave birth to three children.
Life has still been tough though – living in Thembisa and later training with New York Marathon winner and four-time Olympian Hendrick Ramaala in Johannesburg.
“ It was not easy. It was a very, very difficult journey. You know when it ' s winter, after training you are tired, you have to go and queue for the taxis. Sometimes, you don ' t even have money, but you want to sacrifice to go for training. So, it was not easy.”
Help came from the Hendrick Ramaala Foundation in the form of groceries provided to the athletes in the group.
In the build-up to Comrades, Tshuma also spent time training in Kenya. She credits her husband for making that possible.
“ Givemore is someone who ' s humble. He ' s a very caring husband. He ' s understanding,” she explained.
“ I went out to Kenya almost from January until now [ to train ] for Comrades. He was living with the kids, taking care of the kids, although every day he must make sure that he gives me a call that I ' m okay. So, I just want to thank him for that. I just want to respect him. He’ s someone who ' s different from other people.”
After the training stint in Kenya, comparing how she felt prior to the 2024 up run, when she finished fifth, to this year, Tshuma knew she was in for something special on Comrades Day.
“ That thing gave me confidence … because I knew that I was on another level of fitness. In Kenya, I was training with some elites... It gave me motivation … So I knew that 2026 Comrades Marathon, I ' m going to make history, when I was checking my fitness from Two Oceans. And then I knew the Comrades Marathon I will surprise a lot of people,” she explained.
It was help from an unlikely source that ensured she wouldn’ t be collapsing before the finish line this time around, with Tshuma confirming her nutrition intake was completely different to the Two Oceans.
“ I just want to say thank you to Gerda [ Steyn ]… She knew what I did at Two Oceans. Because at Two Oceans, we ran together until 30 km. She was seeing me not taking nutrition. So, she was like,‘ Buhle, take your nutrition. Buhle, take your nutrition.’ She reminded me a lot, so I just want to thank that lady for that. Gerda, she ' s someone else, you know. I respect that lady.”
Nobuhle, Givemore and their three children, Nhlanhla, Tapiwa and Riaan
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Tshuma is full of praise for her rival, who claimed her fifth Comrades victory in an up run record time of 5:44:53.
“ I saw she was very strong. So, I ' m happy for when I reached the finishing line, we gave each other a hug, which was an emotional moment. I respect Gerda for that … She gave me that morale of pushing hard, not giving up, working together. So, I ' m proud of you, Gerda, that you ran the record … It was a good day for everyone. So I want to say Gerda, she ' s a star. She ' s our champion. We need to respect her.”
As for becoming the first Black woman to grace an up run podium, that’ s something Tshuma is perhaps most proud of.
“ Yoh, I don ' t know what to say. This is a big achievement. I just want to say I ' m proud of myself. It shows if you work hard, you can achieve this … You know our culture, especially us Black people, they don ' t allow a woman to go out [ for a training camp ]… I just want to say, guys, if you are married to a runner, give the lady a chance to go and work out outside there.
You ' ll see some surprises because this shows if you put more effort, more hard work, more discipline, more focus, being patient, you can achieve better better better than what you think you can.” www. modernathlete. co. za 21