Local tipped to win Comrades

The descent from Pietermaritzburg to Durban is something South African runners have taken a liking to, although not many of them have been able to win a down-run Comrades Marathon in recent times.

Ludwick Mamabolo, the 2012 winner, was the first local down run winner since Sipho Ngomane in 2005.

But locals have fared even worse in the up run, where there has only been one South African winner in 21 years - Claude Moshiywa last year. Mr Price Athletic club's Cuan Walker puts this down to a South African inability to endure the steep climb.

The elevation in Pietermaritzburg is 596m above sea level, compared to Durban's 46m.

"The down has always been favoured because it works to the South Africans' speed advantage," Walker said.

"You often see that guys start fast and are often able to hang on to their top 10 spots because of the momentum they create during the race.

"Endurance is required for the up run and, unfortunately, South African runners have been caught short in that regard.

"Maybe it is an issue of not knowing how to pace themselves properly."

Ray de Vries, who is Zola Budd's representative, said Eastern European runners' genetic make-up and their high-altitude preparations give them an advantage.

Aside from the 2011 up run, won by Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi, six of the past nine up runs - since Jetman Msutu's 1992 win - have gone to Eastern Europeans.

American Alberto Salazar, in 1994, was the only other interruption to the long period of Eastern European domination.

Sports scientist Dr Ross Tucker said there was a threshold in which performances started to get impaired in terms of altitude.

He said the heart and lungs were often the difference between athletes doing well in the down run compared to the up-run, where there is a different demand on the body.

"When running downhill, the heart rate and breathing process are lower compared to uphill. The challenge is on the muscles and the joints and South African runners are able to withstand the demands of the down run, whereas they are not as physiologically ready for the up run."

Nine-time Comrades winner Bruce Fordyce said his body was able to withstand the demands of the marathon, but added that he did not understand why South Africans struggled with the up run.

He said that it is imperative for local athletes to persevere with high-altitude training.

"Genetically, my body type was well suited for it and it is for the smaller guys who are stronger. I had a very good training programme for the up run where I did a lot of hill work. Most importantly, I tended to start slowly and pick the pace up," Fordyce said.