Comrades queen Gerda looks for ‘inspirational story’ as she targets Olympics

Some might see winning the Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans as preparation for the forthcoming Olympic Marathon as overkill, but not Gerda Steyn who looks at those races as motivation and inspiration. 

Seyn smashed her up run record of 5hr 58min 53sec set in 2019 winning Sunday’s Comrades in 5:49:46.

She has been almost unbeatable on the SA road in ultra-marathons in the last half-decade.

Sunday’s was Steyn’s second consecutive Comrades win. Her Two Oceans ultra-marathon victory two months ago was her fifth in succession, also in record time.

Some coaches and running pundits would see going out to smash records with wins in two ultra-marathons in the months before competing in the Olympic Marathon — with the Comrades just over a month before the race in Paris on August 11 — as going out too hard.

Steyn sees the condition she is in from the Two Oceans and Comrades as her strength, and the challenge as inspiration.

“At the start of each year I sit down and write my goals down and my plans,” the 34-year-old said in her post-Comrades press conference.

“But as an athlete so many things can influence that — there are so many things that have to go correctly and according to plan for you to be at the level you plan for, and even to be at the start line of the races you set out to do.

“Therefore, to be here today after the Two Oceans and Comrades, I can’t say anything other than I’m so humbled and grateful for the year I’ve had, and to be able to build on last year, which I thought was the best year I’d had.

“This year I’ve set myself a different challenge and I’m sure it’s never been done before for an athlete to do the Comrades and Olympics in the same year.

“It’s a big challenge I’ve set and I was very fortunate to be selected to go to the Olympics again.

“I am fully committed to doing my absolute best to make everyone proud when I line up in the green and gold. I feel it’s completely possible. I’ve done similar time-frames before in racing so with that I feel quite confident.

“I write my own programmes and I’ve already sat down and written my Olympics programme. I know what I will be focusing on. The race at the Olympics is quite hilly too and I feel it will count in my favour.

“With the training I’ve done with the Two Oceans and Comrades I feel my stamina and long endurance ability are where I want them to be, so I won’t be focusing on that.

“Instead I will focus on speed, track workouts, on getting my legs strong and fast for the challenge of the Olympics.”