COMRADES GLORY FOR STEYN & WAY

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June 12, 2018

The 2018 Comrades Marathon 2018: What a race...and what a team of athletes from the Green Dream Team! The Nedbank Running Club (NRC) once again proved that when it comes to South Africa’s greatest ultra race - the Comrades Marathon – they are in it to prove why they are the best running club in the country.

With 3 top finishes in the men’s race and another 3 in the women’s field the Green Dream Team was clearly shining at the historical 2018 Down Run, which this year was measured at 90.184km compared to 89.208km. On top of some great individual performances the NRC also made their mark in the team prizes.

Women’s race

Two Oceans Marathon champion Gerda Steyn proved that a Comrades win is on the cards in the near future when she placed 2^nd in this year’s race. She crossed the line in 6:15:34, behind the winner from Team Massmart - Ann Ashworth - who took the win in 6:10:04. Steyn said she ran her heart out and left everything she had on the road. She gave her best and vowed to be back until she wins the Comrades Marathon, which she describes as one of the best races ever. “I would like to thank everyone for your amazing support. Thank you for believing in me. I am delighted with my time of 6:15 and could not have asked for a more incredible year so far. It was seriously tough out there today but I can assure you that I left everything I had on that road today! I will be back each and every year for as long as these legs can run. Well done everyone.”

Teammate Charné Bosman finshed 5^th overall and led for almost the whole first two hours, before Russian Nina Zarina broke away. At 2:52 Steyn caught Bosman and the two exchanged smiles and a few words. Bosman, who has been second, first and third in her last three Comrades runs, was struggling slightly, and eventually finished in a time of 6:33:08, earing her 10^th Comrades medal and the title of second Veteran lady. After the race she said: “Comrades 2018 was not easy! The thing that kept me going was that 5^th gold so that I could get my Comrades Green Number. I will be back in 2019 for the greatest race in the world.”

Another good performance came from the NRC’s International team with Sarah Bard from the USA placing 8^th in a time of 6:49, securing three out of the Top Ten women’s positions for the NRC.

Men’s race

In the men’s race an outstanding performance was produced by Steven Way (GBR) from the NRC International Section. He clocked a 5:35:27, finishing 3^rd, trailing only 18 seconds behind the 2^nd placed Joseph Mphuthi. Way’s brilliant performance was followed by teammates Edward Mothibi and Marko Mambo who took 4^th and 5^th place respectively, scoring three out of the 5 top positions in the men’s field for the NRC. Mothibi finished in 5:36:32 and Mambo in 5:37:49.

Comparatively speaking, the men's race was not as fast as the women's, but exciting nonetheless. Way, who said that he trained on a treadmill to get hill training in, since there are no hills near his home, charged over the last 5 km but he failed to catch 2^nd place finisher Mphuthi by 18 seconds as they took the first two veteran places in 5:35:09 and 5:35:27 respectively.

All in all a great day out for the athletes from the NRC, with 23 positions in the top 100 men and another 10 in the top 100 women.

RESULTS

COMRADES MARATHON (93rd)?PIETERMARITZBURG TO DURBAN, 10 JUNE?(DISTANCE: 90.184 KM.)

MEN

3. Steven Way (NRC INTL/GBR) 5:35:27

4. Edward Mothibi (NRC) 5:36:32

5. Marko Mambo (NRC/ZIM) 5:37:49

12. Geoff Burns (NRC INTL/GBR) 5:49:04

15. Fritjof Fagerlund (NRC INTL/SWE) 5:53:39

17. Professa Mthethwa (NRC) 5:57:11

19. Mike Fokoroni (NRC/ZIM) 5:59:14

Veterans