Steyn finished fourth overall, winning the national title, in her only previous appearance at the Cape Town Marathon.
Running her first standard marathon on SA soil in four years, Gerda Steyn says her preparation is going well as she gears up to compete at the Cape Town Marathon next month.
Though she is better known as an ultra-distance runner, having won the 89km Comrades Marathon four times and securing six successive victories at the 56km Two Oceans (breaking the women’s records at both races), Steyn is also a very capable standard marathon runner.
She has run under 2:29:00 six times over the 42km distance since 2019, and she represented South Africa at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and in Paris last year.
Steyn also broke the national marathon record twice, clocking 2:25:28 in Siena in 2021 and 2:24:03 in Valencia in 2023.
Though the SA record now seemed beyond her reach, with Glenrose Xaba having clocked 2:22:22 to win the Cape Town Marathon last year, Steyn was looking to put up a fight against a strong international field in the Mother City.
She was set to face the likes of Kenyan athletes Winfridah Moseti and Angela Tanui, as well as Ethiopian athlete Mare Dibaba, who have all run under 2:20:00 in their careers.
In her only previous 42km race on SA soil since she emerged as an elite athlete, Steyn finished fourth in Cape Town in 2021, clocking 2:26:25 and winning the national title.
While next month’s race will not incorporate the national championships, she will line up as South Africa’s best prospect in the women’s contest.
Latest result gives Steyn confidence
Competing at the Hollywoodbets 10km race in Joburg on Saturday, Steyn finished second in 35:52 on a tough course at altitude, and she believed this performance indicated her preparation was going well.
“I’m quite pleased with the result today, not in terms of time or pace, but just in terms of how I raced and how I felt,” she said.
“It shows me that I’m on the right track going into the Cape Town Marathon. The course in Cape Town is also challenging, however not quite as challenging as today, but I know because I competed well today my training is on track and it gives me confidence going into the second half of my training schedule.
“It makes me excited again and reminds me how wonderful it is to race on home soil.”
Uplifted on SA soil
Though she often based herself outside the country in preparation for big races, Steyn said she would be in South Africa until Cape Town Marathon race day on 19 October.
“I’ll be back here now until the race, so that really makes it a lot less complicated for me in terms of travelling and taking time away from training to incorporate the travel,” she said.
“And to train on home soil is always a wonderful feeling, the whole environment, being back here is always so encouraging and uplifting for me.”
