Conquering Comrades 2018

Runners from across the North Coast slew the dragon over the weekend as they conquered the 2018 Comrades Marathon on Sunday.

The Dolphin Coast Striders once again bagged local bragging rights with the two fastest times coming from their runners Vulindlele Zweni (7:23:04) and Thulani Silayi (7:24:59).

However the Tongaat Panthers Athletic Club was not far off the mark with Lungani Mkhize hot on their heels at 7:25:42.

The first local lady to cross the line in Durban was the Striders’ Michelle van Vriestand who came in at 8:54:37, followed by clubmate Jean Mackinnon who crossed at 8:58:26.

Overall, the Dolphin Coast Striders had 101 athletes represent them at this year’s Comrades.

Tongaat Panthers Athletics Club entered a team of 16 and, not to be left out, KwaDukuza Athletics Club had three runners, with their top time coming from Roshan Chalithar who finished in 9:59:12.

This year was also a very special marathon for the legendary Barry Holland, who completed his 46th consecutive Comrades.

He was neck-and-neck with Louis Massyn as the co-record holder for consecutive finishes.

“I started when I was 20 in 1973. I’m 66 now and have run every year since then,” Holland recalled.

Holland had said he was aiming for a time around 10 hours 50 minutes, and at 10:53:56 he will have been happy with his performance during his record-breaking run.

In terms of total distance covered over the years, Holland has now run nearly four times around the world – coming it at around 160 000km.

He laughingly said he could not count the number of times he has questioned why he does it in the middle of a marathon.

“But that is one of the hallmarks of a Comrades runner. The pain you endure to cross that finish line counts as a badge of honour.”

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