Ballito’s Barry Holland makes it 45 Comrades in a row!

Dolphin Coast Striders (DCS) chairman Barry Holland has now run more consecutive Comrades Marathons than any other athlete in the history of the event.

Holland, who is 65 this year, ran his 45th consecutive Comrades and holds the record for the most consecutive finishes as well as jointly holding the record for the most completed with two other athletes.

Of course, all of this pales beside the fact that his wife Debbie beat him across the finish line this year.

Last weekend saw the 96th annual Comrades Marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and the Striders made a typically strong showing.

The Comrades is often called the ultimate human race and this year it was again an uphill event, making it no easier for athletes sweating their way from the coast up to Pietermaritzburg.

It is the world’s largest and oldest ultra-marathon race and typically sees entrants from more than 60 countries taking part.

The Dolphin Coast Striders saw 91 athletes running under their banner this year. Duane Dicks was the first Strider across the finish line, crossing in a time of 7 hours 11 minutes to earn him a coveted silver medal, the only Strider to earn silver this year.

Holland completed his 45th Comrades in a time of 10 hours, 54 minutes while Debbie crossed the line four minutes ahead of him.

He told The Courier that his worst Comrades was in 2013, where the Bergwind had a seriously negative effect on the race.

“The medical tent looked like a war zone that year,” said Holland.

Conversely, his best Comrades were the two that he finished in under seven hours.

“When you are halfway through the marathon you definitely start asking yourself why you decided to do this again.”

Holland said the Comrades was all about focus and camaraderie.

“Comrades running is very mental – it is your head that gets you through the last 30kms, not your legs.”

He said that he would not have made it in under 11 hours this year without Warwick Taylor and Nikola Ramsden, who started and finished the race with him.

Meanwhile, Debbie said she is calling it quits after completing her 20th Comrades this year.

“I was so tired by the end I could not even enjoy the fact that I beat Barry,” she said.

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