Comrades Sth Africa by Chris
/Comrades Marathon 88km ‘Down Run’ 2023
By Chris Truscott
I have been a member of Sydney Striders for going on 30yrs. Many newer members would have no idea who I am but there was a time I was a very active member. Alongside brother Pete, we attended every STaR and we were both on the committee for a while. My role was the social stuff and the awards dinners. At these awards nights, we would invite a guest speaker to attend and one year, some founding members suggested they could get Bruce Fordyce to accept. Not really knowing who that was, I was certainly guided by their advice about a man that had become synonymous with an event called the Comrades Marathon in South Africa.
It didn’t take too long to study up about this ‘marathon’. First thing that jumped out was that it wasn’t a marathon but rather an ultra marathon and it exceeded twice the distance of the regular marathon. In the months leading up to the awards night I came to understand the many overarching facts about the event. Starting and finishing between the two cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, changing each year which way you ran it. One was an UP run and the other obviously DOWN. And so by the time I met Bruce, ate dinner with him and watched as he took to the stage to commence his talk, I pretty much had what I thought was a great understanding about this event.........
Runcation happy snap with bruce fordyce out front of our hotel at 2.30am
I sit here a week later gazing out over Amakhala Game Reserve on the East Cape still reflecting on my new understanding of the Comrades marathon. Sure, this has been a bucket list race for me since hearing of Bruce’s epic feats of conquering the event throughout the entirety of the 80’s (did I mention that he won it nine times - eight of those consecutively). Of course I knew the essentials. Roughly 88/89 or 90km depending on exact start / finish locations, a few uphills on the way down but ultimately quicker right? It’s downhill.
And sitting here, I am roughly 20yrs down the track and have realised my dream of completing the Comrades marathon finally. What transpires next is an account of my day out last week and my new understanding of this iconic South African event.
Logistically, it’s just too hard. So far away, where to stay, how to get around, we’ll get mugged for sure, what happens with our 11yr old Jaden as Greta and I run this thing. Is it worth the effort? These were real thoughts and conversations. Luckily we were encouraged to contact Lance, the owner of a company called Runcation who are the experts in all things associated with SA running events and travel logistics. Our previous thoughts and concerns evaporated in the months leading into our trip as Lance assured us of the planning, and so as the alarm sounded at 1:45am on Sunday morning the 11th June, the three of us jumped out of bed ready to meet Lance, our good Rejoov mate Nadya Caminer, and the other Runcation crew downstairs for our 2:30am departure to Pietermaritzburg. And low & behold, who should we bump into in the foyer but none other than Bruce Fordyce. I casually strode up to him and announced that I was a Sydney Strider and it was his fault that I was standing here. He was generous with his time and after a few pics, we set off.
Lance made sure we were there in time that’s for sure. We drove the 88km and pulled up without delay into a servo 500m down the road from the start banner and the place looked rather quiet. I suppose being there 2hrs in advance will do that but we had coffee, a toilet and a warm van to wait out the 5-6 degree clear conditions. Jaden was busily messaging his mates back in Sydney and well prepared for a big day ahead watching Mum & Dad do their thing.
And so the time came to make the short walk up to our starting areas where we bumped into fellow locals Pat McNamara (Patty Mac), Kirsten Coggins and Charles Buxton. The vibe in the A group area was quite relaxed until right up to 15-20mins before the 5.30am starting time when everything suddenly became real and the countdown was on.
There is a traditional set of sounds and songs that occur before Comrades commences. The South African National Anthem is played then a very inspiring African song called Shosholoza which was fantastic to hear with the crowd chanting along. But then the PA system unfortunately starting cracking up so Chariots of Fire was hit and miss, the 2 x Rooster crowing tradition was stagnant but the starting canon unmistakable - we were off!
My personal lead up to this event was quite straight forward and consistent. Weekly mileage of between 90 - 120km, a few 50-60km long runs building in some hills around Centennial Park but otherwise, training as usual. I was told repeatedly that the Comrades down is brutal on the quads, tough on the legs, it disables most who go out too fast, be careful, watch out, don’t be too confident and so on and so on. In fact of all my years of running, my expectations leading into an event have never been more managed than with this one. Even as I touched down, and spending the first week with both Lance & also Nadya from Rejoov who was running her back to back, the pre race hype and strategy continued. By race day I wasn’t sure whether I was totally psyched up or out! Luckily a casual 5km Parkrun out front of our hotel in Durban the day before with just 1200 others helped get me even more geared up for it.
durban park run with over 1000 runners on average every saturday
My plan was originally 4:40 pace but because of all the conversations and course study I had done, I revised this to 4:50’s. The goal was to enjoy most if not all of it and finish well. A sub 7hr 30min and silver medal would be a bonus if I was on for it. Oh, and to make sure that I took out line honours in the Truscott household - becoming harder these days with the longer events. Unfortunately Greta ate something dodgy early in the week which played havoc right up to the race and as such she had to contend with loading up to have enough energy & fluids whilst still taking antibiotics even on race day.
What I didn’t realise was that she had decided or was caught up in the B back starting pace, to head out at a faster per km clip than me. So when I pulled off for a wee at roughly 8km, she snuck by - both of us oblivious to one another. She was now in front as the first tiny signs of daylight broke. Patty Mac soon slipped ahead of me also. I was quite proud of myself with the restraint I was showing. 4:50’s, that’s it. I do that, I break 7:30. Simple. Eat, drink and cruise along. Problem was, I was too hydrated and had to stop again for a wee.
I ran with gloves on, arm sleeve warmers & thermal top careful not to throw them away after hearing that the big downhill at Polly Shorts tends to end with a chilly section. This downhill went for quite a while and the first thing that was starting to strike me was that these hills really were quite a lot more pronounced gradient wise than people had made out from my many many attempts to find out pre race. Even the first few kms included a steady 1.5km climb similar to our own Paddo Hill in Centennial Park.
The sun arrived and started slowly warming my upper body (my legs are always ok) as I continued to look around and soak up the atmosphere that was gradually building alongside us with locals making their way out of their homes. Hard to believe that 20,000 line up for this 88km run but it’s mind boggling to see the level of support and almost cult like status this run has on the population both local and across the country. Not a single South African is oblivious to Comrades.
runcation / consports seconding point at the 29.5km mark so happy to see jaden
I wanted to give Jaden and Lance the heads up ahead of the first ‘seconding’ support station (our very own area and one of three en route). Jaden’s face came up on my phone and I was immediately relieved, happy and excited to see him and a lot more confident that everything was going to be ok and he was in good hands. “I’ll be there in 4-5km bud”. Lance then chimed in that Greta was 400m ahead of me. Too many people ahead to spot her but I was certain that it was a tracker mistake. She’s way back surely.
Nope. She was in front but It was also then that she decided to have her own pit stop and I ran past not seeing her in a complete reversal of what had occurred just 90mins earlier. Through the 29.5km station giving Jaden a hug to the bewildered faces of those wondering how Greta and I were avoiding each other so easily. We never once discussed running it together. We like our own independence with events and this experience was certainly going to be unique to us both.
“See ya bud. Say hi to mum if she turns up”. And I was off again and past the highest point of the course at Umlaas Rd where it flattens out a bit across Camperdown, Cato Ridge & Harrison flats, before we hit the second of the ‘Big 5 hills’ - Inchanga, a 3km climb of similar gradient to our own Loch Ave in Centennial Park. We then started descending into Drummond and the halfway mark. I was still very mindful of preserving my quads for later in the run so I continued to take this very easy and it was great to be feeling so good through the crucial halfway mark that signifies distance left being shorter than distance covered (yep it’s an obvious observation I know but one I have always looked forward to in these ultras).
couldn’t wait to see jaden at 2 spots 29.5km and 62.7km .. so relieved to find him along the busy road
I was fortunate to join a small pack of locals from the Pirates running club in J’Berg who were aiming for a silver medal after several previous attempts and as such were very helpful in explaining the course ahead, in plain language. Yep of course they asked if I needed a small piece of yellow sandpaper to help me get to the finish but as the laughter died down, advised me to keep exercising the same restraint for a little while longer. The main guy who broke off the front, Mark, had just run a 2:50 marathon and was of similar age so I was happy to cruise along with him snapping pics & videos along the way. Believe me, there’s times when a 7km training run around Malabar feels hard. So to have a day like this unfolding was almost divine intervention. But I was not counting those chickens just yet as I have always sunk into a bad energy deficit / hole in pretty much all my ultras over 50km. I was still nervous about this even as I passed that same mark feeling great. I am certainly now a massive advocate of munching away on small baked or roasted potatoes. These were available the whole way and it just worked. I had practiced in my longer runs so the stomach was fine and along with the Tailwind and aid station hydration, I was in control.
Those 6km from Drummond are broken into three hills, the third being Botha’s Hill and the next seconding station which was good timing. We passed Arthur’s Seat & the wall that houses thousands of participant names who have and are still running every year. We then passed the very loud and supportive Kernsey College which gave me a further uplift. I was super impressed with the community support so far and thought about our own Sydney marathon vying for major status. If we had this support along the route, it would be a foregone conclusion to be awarded the major tag.
Onwards I ran, with 10km of mostly uninterrupted downhill running into Pinetown. I was still averaging around 4:45-4:50 so even at 60km after showing so much restraint, I still held back from kicking it down. Down through Hillcrest, Kloof and the much talked about steep 3km Fields downhill into Pinetown. Only two more climbs to come (apparently). First of these is Cowies Hill. Can’t remember how far this was. I was so used to running up by then I didn’t really care anymore that we were running a DOWN year. Next was the 45th cutting uphill after which signalled we had less than 10km to go.
By this stage, I had already started to wind the pace up. Approx 16km out I decided to start my fast finish gradually bringing the pace down to mid 4:30’s as a start and as I saw the 10k to go sign, I wondered if I could run a sub 40min (yep I know how I sound but stuff it, I’ve had so many shockers, I need to boast a little about this one). The last 10km are not overly aesthetically appealing with a lot of it on a freeway but it didn’t matter, I counted down the kms and at the 5km to go marker, I spotted Patty Mac in the distance. His bright yellow Australia singlet and long locks flapping in the freeway breeze was unmistakable. It was all I needed to close this run out so I took flight and bowled down the wide concrete expanse after him but also I just wanted a beer.
And of course there were still uphills right to the end. A sharp incline onto said freeway, a longer gradual rise soon after and even with 2km to go there was another. That bloke back at the 45th cutting that said “this is it mate - no more hills” was clearly smoking the good stuff. But nothing was going to hold me back now I had sight of Kingsmead cricket stadium and complete confidence in the closing few kms.
I felt like my last km was done in 3:30 but it was just on 4min pace, nonetheless I cantered into the stadium after catching and pulling away just enough from Pat with approx 2km to go. The atmosphere inside was just as I imagined and actually as per the remainder of the 88km, electric. Lance had Jaden ready and waiting on the inside fence for me to high 5 which sealed the amazing experience and just 200m around the grass later, I crossed in 7:05:19 and a silver medal. I was elated to achieved the two main objectives. Run well and cross under 7:30hr if the first was happening. Nailed both and so now the celebrations could begin.
Jaden was there to greet me the little champion. He really does lift to a new level with these long days of supporting us and for that, he could ask me to buy him anything for the rest of the trip. I had time for a quick physio rub, grabbed a beer and headed to the same spot on the fence just in time for us to see Greta also streaming around the finish lap. She had absolutely smashed it considering the stomach bug that took her out all week. 7hrs 44mins with that to deal with was incredible and from my perspective, the run of the day from our camp. Tough to award when you have Patty Mac on debut at 7:06, Nadya who completed her back to back with an unbelievable 2hr PB over last year of 9:09, then Kirsten and Charles also nailing their debut. We also had a few more in our group who were making there way through thereafter. Hein in just on 10hrs and Dave, Michael and Lee who were not far after that. It was now certainly party time all round. No one was disappointed and I think Lance now had a new appreciation for us newbies from just across the ‘other ditch’. We came in prepared and executed accordingly. Definitely not to say if I am ever to go back, I would treat the race with any less respect. It is the respect that gets you to the end in one piece and it’s the training, determination and a little bit of luck coupled with seamless organisation and logistics supporting you that will get you a PB there.
And so there you have it. We drank a few beers in the sun, we celebrated the next day with a long lunch, we parted ways with mates for the next exciting destinations on our Sth African itinerary and yes we wore our newly acquired medals all day the next day.
Would I recommend that you do Comrades. It depends on where you’re at with your running journey and what elements haven’t been achieved yet. In the world of ultra running, it certainly is a pinnacle event to tick off and beyond that, if you really want to be picked up, swept along and dumped at the finish by the most amazing human tidal wave of support to be experienced, then start the planning now.
I may just be there with you..........
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