Will it be all down to Zondi?

Brian Zondi considers himself a better downhill runner than uphill - and that's ominous for the other contenders in Sunday's Comrades Marathon.

The 32-year-old Harmony athlete goes into the race supremely confident, having finished second in last year's "up" run in his first attempt at the gruelling distance.

"I surprised even myself by doing so well last year because I am essentially a downhill runner," explained Zondi.

"That performance has given me a lot of confidence going into this year's race and I can't wait for it to start. I am 100 percent ready to race."

Zondi said that his preparations for Sunday's 89,3km trek from Pietermaritzburg to Durban had gone according to plan, with altitude training forming the basis of his build-up, which began as far back as January.

"Everything has gone perfectly for me," he enthused. "Apart from the normal little jabs of pain, which are nothing serious and are part of being a long-distance athlete, I have had no injuries or illnesses at all."

Last year, the Comrades distance held no fears for Zondi, even though he had never raced anything further than 56km - Cape Town's Two Oceans Marathon, in which he has a best finish of third place in 2003. "I had no problems with the distance because I put in a lot of mileage in preparation for the race," he said.

Because the "down" run favours the faster, lighter athletes, however, Zondi says he has included a lot of speed work in his build-up to this year's epic.

"The 'up' and 'down' Comrades are two different races and you have to prepare differently for each one," he says. "So this year, I included a lot of speed sessions and I'm happy that I have a good balance between speed and stamina."

And when the established "down" run exponents start cranking up the pace in the latter stages of Sunday's race, Zondi is confident he'll be able to match them stride for stride.

"Tactics-wise, I am hoping to do the same as I did last year, which is to stay with the (leading) bunch up to around the 70-75km mark, and then make my move," he warned.

"Obviously that will depend on how I am feeling at that stage, and how strong the others are, but that is the plan I feel will work best for me."

He intends to feed off those with a few "down" runs under their belts.

"Naturally I must concentrate on my own race, but I can use the experience of others around me to my advantage," he said.

"There is so much that I can learn from guys like (previous 'down' winners) Andrew Kelehe, Fusi Nhlapo, Sipho Ngomane and so many others."

He regards Russians Oleg Kharitonov, the winner last year in 5hr 35min 19sec, and Leonid Shvetsov, runner-up on debut in 2001 and returning this year for the first time since then, as big threats.

Zondi sees himself atop the Comrades podium - "maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but definitely in the future; it is my dream to win it one day".

n Russian Tatyana Zhirkova, winner of the last "down" women's race in 2005 and third last year, yesterday withdrew from Sunday's race, citing a serious injury. Zhirkova is one of only three women to have run Comrades in under six hours.

Born: November 24, 1974

Club: Harmony, Gauteng North

Marital status: Married

Children: 2

Occupation: Professional athlete

Comrades debut: 2006 (2nd in 5:37,32)

Best performances:

42,2km: 2:14,07

(2000 SA Marathon Championships)

50km: 2:50,38 (2001 City-to-City Marathon)

56km: 3:11,34 (2005 Two Oceans Marathon)