INSPIRATION
around me . I felt so out of place and was a nervous wreck . My goal that year was to run top 10 at Two Oceans . Unfortunately , I didn ’ t make it and finished 14th in 4:15:44 , but I was still very happy with that ,” she says . “ The year 2016 was actually the year of 14s , because I ran the Dublin Marathon in Ireland and finished in 14th place . I then went on to do Comrades later in the year , and ironically , finished in 14th position again , in 7:08:23 !”
Experiencing Highs and Lows
In early 2017 Gerda picked up a stress fracture injury in her tibia , which temporarily put the brakes on her running . “ I was on crutches and could not do Two Oceans , and it was heartbreaking to watch the race on TV ,” she says . However , instead of being depressed about the injury , Gerda used the time while recovering to focus on cross-training , like cycling and swimming , and by the time she returned to running , she found that she was fitter and stronger than ever before . That saw her go on to earn her first gold medal at Comrades when she finished the 2017 race fourth in 6:45:45 .
“ After recovering from my injury , I felt everything changed for me . It was a huge eye-opener , and I had to re-evaluate everything . In hindsight , I gained so much knowledge from my injury . Even though it was the hardest part of my career , I didn ’ t regret the experience . It was all part of the building blocks for what would come later .”
Ethiopians and Kenyans coming every year to run it . My first marathon was an incredible experience . I ran a time of 3 hours and 11 minutes at my first attempt , which was a fairly respectable time , since I had only been running for a couple of months , and I managed to beat all my friends who were training with me at the time . They were pretty impressed , and I realised that I would be able to improve much more if I stuck to running .”
After that Dubai Marathon , Gerda decided to tackle Comrades , and she used the Dubai Marathon as her qualifier , which gave her a B seeding . “ It was incredible , because all the people from abroad living in Dubai couldn ’ t stop talking about the ultras in my home country . So , in 2015 I got a late entry for the Comrades , and I finished in 56th place amongst the women , in 8:19:08 . It was an incredible experience !”
Gerda was now convinced that if she put in a bit more effort , that she would improve and come back even stronger and fitter , so she decided to run another marathon , with the goal to break three hours . In November 2015 , she achieved that , dipping under the three-hour mark by a couple of seconds . Next she decided to join the Nedbank Running Club , where 1991 Comrades winner , Nick Bester , started coaching her ahead of the 2016 Two Oceans .
“ It was still early days for me , and I remember how nervous I was at the hotel before the race , when I saw all the elite athletes
And what a year 2018 turned out to be ! Gerda describes it as an incredible year , probably the best so far in her career . That was when she won her first Two Oceans Ultra in 3:39:32 . “ I remember it like it was yesterday . What made it special for me was that I was really not expecting it . I thought I might have a chance of winning , but that was never my number one goal . Until then I didn ’ t have a gold medal in Two Oceans , so that was my goal . But that win was just something else . To be able to lead a race and not get nervous , trusting yourself and believing that you can actually do it , was incredible . That race convinced me that I can be a winner ,” says Gerda .
Gaining More Self-belief
Gerda thus lined up for the 2018 Comrades with confidence and excitement , and after a great run crossed the line in 6:15:34 to take second place in the women ’ s race . “ Even though I didn ’ t win Comrades that year , I had proven to myself that I can be successful , and that it could happen again in the future . Coming second at Comrades that year was absolutely wonderful . Many people would donate a kidney for a second place in Comrades ! But that race reminded me to not think that winning would just come easy . I realised I would have to put in 110 % and not think that things will just happen ,” she says .
“ When I looked at a person like Frith van der Merwe , I realised that she had a very fast marathon time . When she broke the Two Oceans and Comrades records , her shape was 2:27 for the marathon . That is what I started to focus on . If I wanted to come close to her times , I needed to be in my best marathon shape . That meant speeding up in the shorter distances , and I improved my time at the New York Marathon by finishing 11th in 2:31 .”
Then came the 2019 Two Oceans , which Gerda says was a completely different experience . “ There was a lot of expectation coming in as the defending champion , but the route was different , and it was a new challenge . There were also a lot of very strong competitors who were unknown over the distance , and I was just very fortunate to be able to defend my title and improve my time to 3:31:28 .”
Images : Roger Sedres / ImageSA & courtesy adidas & Gerda Steyn
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