From the word go, Onalenna Khonkobe sprinted off the line so fast, that pundits didn’t think he’d make the halfway mark, yet 67km into the race and halfway down Fields Hill, the youngster handed over the lead baton to his Nedbank RC teammates who never looked back. It was a plan that worked well for the team, and this year, not only is Khonkobe coming back for a serious attempt at victory, but the Nedbank RC has beefed up, setting 6 Comrades Marathon camps around the country.

Last year the Nedbank running club had one camp under the watchful eyes of Coach Dave Adams and all 6 runners in the camp ran away with golds, including a podium 1-2-3 finish. Nick Bester, former Comrades Marathon winner and National team manager of the Nedbank RC is very excited about this year’s race and the green dream team assembled. “I can say for sure that in terms of the elite teams, we have the most professional set up and are the most prepared for Comrades Day,” said Bester whilst visiting the runners in the Dullstroom Camp.

“Last year we only had one camp, but a lot of the athletes who weren’t in the camp and who saw the success of what proper planning does and focus, decided to do camps this year and we now have 6 fully supported camps around the Country. Things like this aren’t possible without support and we must thank our valuable sponsors Nedbank, Bavaria, Biogen, FutureLife, Nike and Thirsti Water for all the support and product to ensure that our athletes have the best of the best in terms of financial support, shoes and nutrition,” said Bester.

Besides the main camp consisting of Comrades winners Tete Dijana and Edward Mothibi with teammates Dan Matshailwe, Joseph Manyedi, Johannes Makgetla, Galaletsang Mekgoe and Adele Broodryk, the other Nedbank RC Comrades camps are situated in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, Klerksdorp and Lesotho. “As much as the race is about the runners, we also have a huge team that play a vital role behind the scenes from the coaches to the managers, the sponsors, the seconding teams, our social media teams and even the families,” said Bester. “When a Nedbank running club athlete wins the race, it’s a victory for every one of us in the team.”

Besides the local and African (Lesotho and Zimbabwe) athletes in camps, the Nedbank running club will also have a very strong international contingent from all corners of the globe and Bester is confident that several of them have a chance at not only a top 10 finish but also potential winners. “We have a very good squad that has assembled to join our local athletes such as Jo Fukuda from Japan and Alex Milne from Great Britain in the men’s race and of course Dominika Stelmach from Poland who finished 2^nd last year and who is ready for a good one next week.”

If anyone was a betting man, they would be foolish to bet against another clean sweep by the mighty Nedbank running club green dream team. Word from the main camp now in Dullstroom is that the athletes are ready and there is a whisper in the air about the possibility of a new course record, given that the finish of the ultimate human race has now returned to the Kingsmead cricket stadium. Coach Dave Adams is confident that his athletes have what it takes to repeat the feat of last year. “All the training has gone well,” said Adams. “The guys did their last hill session at the Kgaswane mountain resort next to our camp in Rustenburg and are now doing the finishing touches in Dullstroom ahead of the big day next Sunday.”

The 2023 Comrades Marathon takes place on Sunday, 11 June at 05:30 at the Pietermartizburg City Hall with the finish, 87.7km later at the Kingsmead cricket stadium in Durban. For more on the Nedbank running club 2023 Comrades Marathon green dream team, you can download the elite athletes’ profiles on www.nedbankrunningclub.co.za