As Gerda Steyn stormed to victory in the Comrades Marathon on Sunday, her margin of victory was just as impressive as her record time.
Breaking her own ‘up run’ record, Steyn crossed the line in five hours 49 minutes and 46 seconds (5:49:46). Steyn was over 15 minutes ahead of second-placed international athlete Alexandra Morozova who clocked 6:05:12.
Steyn’s pace per km of 4:05 is the equivalent of a 20:25 5km parkrun - only she did it for around 17 times the distance!
Third place in the women’s race went to American Courtney Olsen in 6:08:09, 18:23 behind Steyn.
Pre-race contender
One of the pre-race contenders Carlo Molinaro was the second South African home as she took fourth in 6:12:01, 22:15 behind Steyn.
For comparison, men’s winner Piet Wiersma of the Netherlands won the race in 5:25:00, winning by just 44 seconds ahead of South Africa’s Dan Moselakwe (5:25:45).
Wiersma averaged 3:47 per km which works out to a 37:50 10km pace.
Completing the men’s podium was Ethiopian Degefa Lafebo in 5:27:48, some 2:48 behind Wiersma.
In fact, just 12 minutes separated Wiersma and the 10th-placed finisher in the men’s race which was Zimbabwe’s Givemore Madzinganyama (5:37:09). Madzinganyama’s average pace was 3:56 per km.
On the women’s side, the 10th-placed runner finished a full 38 minutes behind Steyn as Yulia Ryzhankovan crossed the line in 6:28:22. Ryzhankovan’s pace per km average was 4:32 per km.
