Former Onderberger George Kusche ran the fastest Comrades up run in history on Sunday, June 14. He won the ultra-marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 05:15:56, annihilating the previous up record by eight minutes, 53 seconds.

Kusche grew up in Malalane, and completed Grade Seven at Lanies in 2011, after which he attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool. He is the son of former Malalane dentist Dr Susan Kusche and former Malalane businessman Alf.

He ran his first Comrades last year and finished 12th in 05:41:23.

He started the 2026 Comrades conservatively, trailing in the pack to conserve energy on the brutal hills.

“This was part of the plan. My goal in the first half was to stay calm and use as little energy as possible, and then in the second half to empty my tank,” Kusche told Lowvelder.

At 57km, Kusche surged ahead of the chasing pack to move into second place, trailing leader Mbuti Mollo by four minutes and 25 seconds.

At 67km, he was still in second place but narrowed the gap to under two minutes as Mollo began to struggle.

“The acceleration was something I decided on the moment. I knew there were some fit runners in the race and that to drop them would take something bold.”

With 10km to go, Kusche overtook a fading Mollo on the final major hill, Polly Shortts. “My race plan was a huge gamble. It could have blown up in my face, but it did not. I managed to remain relatively strong until the end.”

By 84km (2km to finish) he had extended his lead to nearly four minutes over the rest of the field. The win had been secured.

Piet Wiersma finished second in 05:19:36, and Mollo third in 05:21:31.

“My initial emotion when crossing the finish line was relief; that the suffering had ended. The last 20km were very tough. I did not know how far the chasing pack was behind me. I was afraid of being caught, so I pushed as hard as I could until the finish,” Kusche said.

The previous up record was set by Leonid Shvetsov in 2008. That year, the up race was over 86.94km, just 1.16km longer than the 2026 Comrades. In 2008, Shvetsov’s pace was three minutes and 44 seconds per kilometre; on Sunday Kusche’s pace was three minutes and 41 seconds per kilometre.

“Comrades is part of my life now and I want to compete as long as possible. It is not fun; it is tough and gruelling – a hard race. I would also like to do some of the big local and international marathons. But Comrades will always be my main race of the year.

“I look back at my childhood in Malalane with fond memories. I still have lifelong friends from those days. Laerskool Malelane is an excellent school. We walked to school barefoot and played touch rugby at break time,” Kusche said.

“All the Lowvelders and Malalaners who have flooded social media with congratulations – I want to thank you for the support. Anything is possible. It might take longer than you think, it might be harder than you think, but anything is possible if you put your heart into it.”

At primary school he competed in athletics and rugby and he represented the Mpumalanga U12 rugby team. At Affies he decided to concentrate on athletics and cross-country. While there, he qualified for the Junior World Athletics Championships, competing in the 800m with a time of 01:47.

After high school he moved to the United States to study, where he completed a BSc in Actuarial Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2021, and an MS in Statistics from Northern Arizona University in May, 2023.

While studying, he competed in track and cross-country at NCAA D1 level, the highest US university level. He returned to South Africa in 2023.

He had a nine-month break from athletics and decided to move to road running in 2024 as it “is easily accessible. All you need is a road and a pair of running shoes.”

His first ultra was the Irene 48km in March 2025, which he won in 02:50:05.

The rest is history – a new Comrades legend has been crowned.

Msawenkosi Buthelezi of Barberton Mines was the first male Lowveld resident to cross the finish line. He was 24th overall in 05:38:56.

Lovers Hlatshwayo of Nedbank LVCC was the second Lowveld man, finishing 155th in a time of 06:39:53. Thuso Kekana of City of Mbombela Marathon Club was the third, 217th overall in 06:49:52.

Legogote Villagers’ Donné Green was the best of the Lowveld women, finishing in 07:27:17. She claimed 53rd place overall.

Virginia Segwana of Bella’s was the next Lowveld woman home in 72nd place in 07:43:08. Sandra Mashaba of Kruger Park MC was 207th in 08:37:52, and the third female Lowvelder home.