Gerda Steyn paid tribute to the crowds for lifting her to her historic Comrades Marathon victory on Sunday as she smashed the 34-year-old best mark for the Down run.
Steyn clocked 5h 44 min 54 sec to take nearly 10 full minutes off the extraordinary mark set by Frith van der Merwe in 1989.
“I felt I was being carried by people screaming and shouting for me. That definitely made the load feel [easier] ... The support that I received, not only today but every day, I can’t put it in words,” said Steyn, who smiled, waved and blew kisses at fans who lined the 87.701km route from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
“It felt today like I had an entire country screaming my name from start to finish. I can’t say in words how that made me feel.
“I wanted to run today not just for me but for everyone who is watching and everyone who perhaps has been inspired by this because I wanted [people] to see that running is just awesome and the fact that we’ve got the Comrades Marathon in our country, it’s massive and magic.
“And so I run in that way and I acknowledge the crowds and I want to inspire them to become part of this.”
Steyn now owns SA’s four top women’s distance records — marathon, Two Oceans and the Comrades Up and Down, and she said she is planning on improving them all.
Feeling good
But in the build-up to Sunday’s race she insisted she was prioritising the victory over the best, though she admitted afterwards that everything worked out perfectly for her on the day.
“I woke up feeling good. I was dreaming about this day for such a long time, and the day that I wake up knowing that I have done the preparation, the training and waking up and it was beautiful weather.
“So I felt like it was all lined up for a good time but still I didn’t want to talk too much about the record. I didn’t want it to [distract] me from my main goal of winning the race.
“And the Comrades, it’s long, you can’t think about these times.
“But of course I wanted to produce the best result that I can produce as an athlete. And that meant today it was the record and it went according to plan and for that I’m very very grateful.”
Mother-of-two Adele Broodryk, who improved her podium position from third to second after crossing the line in 5:56:26, also feasted on the crowd support, especially from her children and husband, Duncan.
Pay attention
“Having those two little ones again at the finish line and having them along the route this year made it extra special, just giving me that extra bit of energy. It’s those little moments in life that mean the most.”
But she admitted that at one point she had to pay more attention to the race.
“At one point Duncan said to me: ‘You should start focusing now.’
“I think I was having too much fun. I stopped and high-fived my children and the rest of the children on that side I high-fived.
“But that’s also how I engage and I just go on that energy from the crowd. That’s what fuels me so much.
“And then one point I’m just, ‘OK, let’s focus now’, because I saw I am also on the record pace. It was so much fun. From the get-go I loved it.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.