THE RECORDS
Marathon title earlier that year in Port Elizabeth with a new South African record of 2:30:35 . In Cape Town , she seemed intent on pushing the pace right from the start , and broke clear of former winner and former course record-holder Helen Lucre after just one kilometre . She passed the marathon mark in 2 hours 38 minutes , just eight minutes outside her still new marathon PB , and then astonished onlookers as she posted the 16 th fastest time on the day for the final 14km , amongst both male and female participants .
In one of the most incredible displays of running ability ever seen in South Africa , and the world , Van der Merwe passed through 30 miles in 3:01:16 , and 50km in 3:08:39 – both new World Bests – and she reached the finish line 22 nd overall in 3:30:36 . With an average pace of 3:45.64 per kilometre , Van der Merwe finished more than 33 minutes ahead of second-placed Lucre , who was still 8km form the finish as the winner crossed the line , and obliterated Monica Drögemöller ’ s one-year-old course record of 3:44:29 … and all this amidst a sweltering heat wave that had hit the Cape .
Later that same year , Van der Merwe would go still faster over 50km , clocking 3:04:30 at altitude in Verwoerdburg , but on a point-to-point and substantially downhill course that cannot be considered for record purposes , and in 1990 she lowered her national marathon record to 2:27:36 . However , even those achievements paled in comparison to her incredible 5:54:43 in the 1989 Comrades Marathon , where she finished 15 th overall , to cap what must rank as one of the greatest years for a female athlete of all time !
And Another Local 50km Best
She duly crossed the line in 3:07:20 to claim not only the World Champs title , but also the World Record time , having sliced a minute and 19 seconds off Frith van der Merwe ’ s 30-year-old World Record . Further celebrations followed when fellow Brit Helen Davies came home second in 3:09:16 , and with Julie Briscoe ’ s ninth place rounding off the team effort , it meant double gold for the Brits as they also took the women ’ s team competition .
Speaking after her run , Dixon said , “ I ’ m really pleased with how it went . The 50km is something I ’ ve had my eye on for a while , as I thought I could break the British record . I knew I was in good shape , so I went for it , and to come away with the win and a world record is amazing . I can retire from ultras now and go back to the marathon !”
Record Shattered
By April 2021 , Des Linden had racked up an impressive list of accolades and highlights in her running career . In 2018 she won the Boston Marathon in 2:39:54 , amid driving rain and galeforce winds , and she had made two Olympic teams for the USA , finishing seventh at the 2016 Rio Games in 2:26:08 . She had raced a total of 20 marathons , with a best time of 2:22:38 run in Boston , in 2011 , but she had never gone beyond the marathon mark .
While Frith van der Merwe no longer holds the women ’ s IAU World Record for 50km , another South African woman does hold a World Best over the distance , in an older age category . In 2015 , Nancy Will clocked 4:12:55 at the 50km mark on the way to finishing first in the grandmaster ( 60-69 ) age category in the Two Oceans Marathon .
Glorious Debut
Great Britain ’ s Alyson Dixon lined up for the IAU 50km World Championships in Brasov , Romania in 2019 quietly confident that she could handle the extra 8km in her first race beyond the standard marathon mark . She had already represented her country numerous times , including running the marathons at the 2016 Olympic ( finishing 28 th ), 2017 World Champs ( 18 th ) and 2018 Commonwealth Games ( 6 th ).
Having run her marathon PB of 2:29:06 in the 2017 London Marathon , her most recent marathon outing had seen her take 16 th place in the Boston Marathon in 2:35:43 , following which she had headed to the French Pyrénées to do a month of altitude training . With a meticulously planned build-up to the World Champs , she started the race with the intent of going for a podium position , and when the starting gun was fired , she immediately took the lead .
In spite of the warm conditions , by normal European standards , Dixon ran comfortably and passed the marathon mark in 2:37 , but had no idea how well she was actually doing until a member of the Team GB coaching staff shouted at her that she was not only leading , but on course to break the IAU World Record .
That changed in April when she tackled the 50km distance for the first time at the specially arranged Brooks 50km & Marathon event in Eugene , Oregon . A small field of just 13 runners ran a looped course in a public park , with the main focus being Des ’ effort to break Alyson Dixon ’ s IAU World Record of 3:07:20 . “ I had a healthy fear of the distance and I hadn ’ t raced in a really long time , but I felt like I just wanted to crush that record , because I thought it ’ s so attainable . But also , you have to absolutely respect the distance ,” recalls Linden . “ It ’ s like when you do your first marathon … You have no idea what it ’ s going to feel like after 20 miles . It ’ s managing what you think is the right pace and also respecting what ’ s been done in the past , and finding the sweet spot .”
Running the whole way with male pacer Charlie Lawrence , Linden settled into a steady rhythm and passed the half marathon split right on time , at 1:15:47 , and the marathon mark at 2:31:12 . After that , it was all new territory , and she admitted that the hardest part was the final loop . “ Coming around that marathon mark and mentally heading away from the finish for a few miles and just looking for that last turnaround … I just wanted to head in the right direction , so it was a total grind at that point .”
She didn ’ t let that challenge derail her , though , and she crossed the makeshift finish line in 2:59:54 , more than seven minutes faster than the existing World Record . “ I knew we were going to be close to three hours , and we were crunching the numbers out there . I was thinking , I ’ ve gotta break three hours , or else I ’ m going to have to do this again , like , soon !”
Linden is currently the first reserve for the US women ’ s marathon team for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics , having finished fourth in the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials . When the pandemic started shortly after that race , her plans to race the New York City and Boston marathons evaporated , as did plans to come to South Africa to tackle the Two Oceans Marathon , which prompted Linden , her agent , Josh Cox , and her sponsor Brooks to create their own race .
Looking ahead , though , Linden says her immediate plans are still focused on the marathon distance . “ The game plan is to get back into the major marathons . It ’ s what is exciting to me , and I love competing at that level . If it gets too far away from me , then I ’ ll shift and make sure I ’ m enjoying what I ’ m doing and having fun competing or chasing down different goals .”
Images : Getty Images & courtesy IAU & Nancy Will
10 NEDBANK RUNIFIED 50KM | 23 May 2021