The gruelling race of 13000 triumphs

30 May 2016 - 09:23 By Prof Ross Tucker

The Comrades Marathon is part of South African sport's DNA. I'm watching David Gatebe crush the men's down run record as I write this.While he was thriving, Caroline Wostmann was surviving, struggling to run in a straight line, coming together with a TV motorbike when she lunged left for a drink with 10km to go, and generally illustrating why the race is called a challenge of the human spirit.She'd end up second behind Charné Bosman, but right at the summit of Comrades folklore for the way she staggered and walk-ran in defence of her lead until the 88th kilometre.For many, the biggest appeal comes not during the elite race, but in the five minutes before the final cut-off gun. It's then that we are reminded that the very first Comrades was run to commemorate soldiers killed in the war, and many runners bring out their best re-enactments of a battlefield situation as they crawl, hobble and stagger towards the finish line.There was also a time when Comrades became a significant contributor to the GDP of eastern Europe.After a period of Bruce Fordyce dominance in the 1980s, German, Russian, Polish and Belarussian athletes took 10 out of 16 victories on the men's side, and 17 out of 20 wins on the women's side. That included 10 wins for someone named Nurgalieva, as the Russian twins (a descriptor most people know, such was their omnipresence in the race) cleaned up every year.The Russians are now gone, along with their likely doping. Cynical, I know, but even in track and marathon running, where athletes race frequently, we know that the Russian athletes were heavily doped. When competition is far more sporadic, and the athlete can disappear for months in a country where they can't be tested before arriving at the start line, you have a stage for major doping. I've little doubt that many of the records and names on the Comrades winner's lists are dirty. However, we may never know.I suppose the same might be wondered about the current crop, who are Southern African. Sport has earned itself an unprecedented level of mistrust. I hope, and lean towards the Comrades being less affected than most sports, simply because of how "open" the race is, and, ironically, the lack of professionalism around SA road running. It takes some sophistication to dope with EPO or blood transfusions, and I hope we lack it. I'm less confident about steroids and stimulants, which are so much more easily available, but I hope that the scourge of global sport hasn't infiltrated this race yet.We no longer lack titles - five South African champions in a row on the men's side, a double on the women's side, as well as a first 1-2 finish since 1983. That augurs well for the future of road running, at least if you buy into the theory that success inspires future success. It can, but only if you create the means to channel and capture that inspired talent.Otherwise it's like opening the tap full blast and forgetting to put a bucket there - it's just wasteful.One problem with the Comrades, particularly when it inspires athletes, is that it draws our best athletes to the ultra-distances much sooner than they perhaps should be. I've always felt that South Africa should have produced a dozen track and marathon champions like Josia Thugwane and Hendrick Ramaala, but the lure of the money and prestige of Comrades means we never see them on those stages. Is that a bad thing? I'd say so - I'd love to see Comrades contested by half a dozen SA legends in their mid-to-late 30s, having already won major track races, marathons and Olympic medals in their 20s and early 30s.We have an ultra-marathon preoccupation though, for better or for worse. The final Sunday of May every year remains a highlight, no more so than yesterday, from records, to survivorship, to 13000 triumphs...

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