Comrades favourite Gerda Steyn still doing it her way with a ‘short’ 50km run
Gerda Steyn defies conventional running wisdom by achieving success in both the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons with a unique training approach, including a ‘short’ 50km run, challenging the belief that longer runs are essential for elite performance. Picture: Gerda Steyn/Facebook
Image: Gerda Steyn/Facebook
It’s no secret that Gerda Steyn is rewriting more than just the history books as she goes, but also what we runners consider conventional wisdom.
First, it was believed, most famously by Bruce Fordyce, that no top runner could go all out at the Two Oceans Marathon and then still perform at the same level at the Comrades Marathon.
This theory is based on logic as Two Oceans is early April, and Comrades early June, and there simply is not a lot of time for the body to recover.
Or so we thought.
Elite Comrades Marathon Training: Steyn’s Unique Approach to Success
Besides Steyn, who has completed the double on four occasions, there have been exceptions to the rule, like Caroline Wostmann in 2015, and Frith van der Merwe way back in 1989. On the men’s side, Derek Preiss achieved the feat in the mid-70s, and Stephen Muzhingi did it in 2012.
As far as Steyn is concerned, tough, she has often faced criticism for her training or schedule - but she seldom fails to achieve her goals.
While for many novices, a 50km training run in the lead-up to Comrades is plenty, elite runners are generally expected to be closer to a 60km run in preparation between five and six weeks before the race.
Again, Steyn has other ideas ahead of the race on June 14.
“Longest run before Comrades in the bag,” said Steyn on Facebook over the weekend after her training run in France.
“Not many people believe me when I say that my longest run is “only” 50km, but that is my recipe, and why would I fix something that is not broken? I love a long run and would happily do more of them, but long runs are not the only ones that count.”