Ballito Comrades runner Barry Holland completes record number 49

Ballito’s Barry Holland extended his all-time Comrades completions record to 49, while Tongaat’s Elston Naicker became likely the fastest Comrades finisher of Indian descent in history.

They joined more than 100 North Coasters in crossing the finish line of the iconic marathon on Sunday, which was again a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

At least four earned silver medals (sub-7:30) while the Dolphin Coast Striders were best represented at the race with 93 finishers. The Tongaat Panthers saw six members across the line this year.

Holland (71) followed his pre-race strategy to the letter, finishing as predicted in just under 11 hours alongside running partner Warwick ‘Wozza’ Taylor, who earned his 24th medal on the day.

Last year was Holland’s most difficult race ever, but he bounced back to form for an ideal run and now looks to 2024 for magic number 50.

It was a special race for Naicker, who believes his blistering time of 6:03 was the fastest for a runner of Indian descent in history, breaking Poobie Naidoo’s mark of 6:07 in 1986.

The Courier has attempted to verify the record, but it appears there is no record-keeping delineated by race.

After combing through 40 years of results and judging on name alone, however, it appears that Naicker’s record is accurate.

Naicker is an operator for Tongaat Hulett, often working seven days a week including night shifts.

This naturally makes training difficult, but he was determined to beat his time of 6:27 in his first Comrades last year.

“My training was definitely more structured this year. I joined the Nedbank Running Club, but have been coached privately by David Ashworth who deserves a lot of the credit for getting me to this stage,” said Naicker.

Despite an increase of around 250km in road training, Naicker had only run one marathon – his Comrades qualifier – since last year’s race.

“I was worried going into it because the entire week I was feeling dizzy and drowsy and nobody could work out what was wrong with me. I had stomach issues throughout the race and had to stop three times,” he said.

Nevertheless, he was able to keep up an unbelievable pace to finish 68th overall. “When I finished I couldn’t really believe it. After struggling at 45km in, my plan was just to get to the finish, but luckily my body held up well.

“I was very excited when people starting telling my I had bettered Naidoo’s record, but I was out there just to break my own. I hope to go sub-six hours next year.” The other silver medal finishers were Isaac Silayi (7:08), Tyrone Pullen (7:16) and Lihle Gema (7:21), all of whom represent the Dolphins.

Other recognisable finishers were Ward 6 councillor Tammy Colley, KwaDukuza head of electricity Sibusiso Jali, and last month’s ‘Dolphin of the Month’ Siboniso Mpanza, who finished his 21st Comrades.

There are too many other names to mention, but a full list of results is available at results.finishtime.co.za Both the men’s and women’s races were run in record time by defending champions Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn respectively

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