Mary bags a gold at the Comrades
It has been a lifelong dream for Mary Khourie, and this year she gave it her all to finish at the front of the pack during the 2019 Comrades Marathon.
Mary Khourie has been running for longer than she can remember, and it’s been a life-defining passion for just as long.
In 2015 she ran her first Comrades, finishing in the top 50 among thousands of runners. Since then she placed higher and higher with each run, missing her gold medal by just one position in 2017. With three silver medals to her name, she was determined to take that gold.
Starting with the Comrades elites right at the front of the pack this year, Mary set off at 5.30am with her sights set firmly on the finish. Six hours and 55 minutes later she finally had her gold. Mary placed 10th among about four and a half thousand runners in the Female Open category. The day saw about 20 000 runners competing, and Mary was right there at the top, ranking 167 overall, placing her solidly in the top 0,8 per cent of all runners.
For Mary, there was only one thing that could beat the intense sensation of camaraderie at the starting line right to the finish.
“Nothing in the world can compare with what I felt when I entered the stadium, knowing that I have earned my gold medal,” she said.
