By Stephen Granger
South African Olympian, Gerda Steyn, flew into Cape Town earlier this week to prepare for her first-ever standard marathon on African soil at Sunday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, setting up a mouth-watering contest against another of Africa’s top athletes and an unexpected opportunity to join with two of her all-time heroes of the sport.
It’s hard to imagine that Steyn, who has delighted running fans throughout the country with her effortless running style over ultra-distances, has yet to race the classic 42,195 km distance in the country of her birth, but a combination of her early career focus on ultras, the significant international opportunities which have come her way and her particular approach to training and racing have kept her from lining up at one of the country’s top marathons – until now.
“I’m over the moon about finally being able to race a top marathon in Africa,” said Steyn. “It’s not been my style to use marathon races as training to prepare for ultra-marathons. I think it is important to give of my best in every race. But this one I’m so excited about.
“It’s amazing to think I’ve never run a standard marathon in South Africa. Of course, I’ve run ultra’s and I cut my teeth on Comrades and Two Oceans. But it’s very different to running a 42km. I had always wanted to race a marathon on home soil, and there is no better time than now. It’s very, very special for me.”
Steyn’s commitment to Cape Town is New York’s loss, with the Big Apple having played host to Steyn’s marathon aspirations in recent years. Steyn improved her marathon best by 6 minutes to 2 hrs 31min in New York in 2018 and improved by a further four minutes the following year.
“I had thought of going back to New York – they have been good to me and always want me to race their marathon. But after COVID, things are different and countries are now looking after their own. Everything about running Cape Town Marathon this year, in front of people that are supporting and cheering for me, seems perfect.
“I don’t want my fans to think that I only run hard overseas! I want to be as serious here as in any international race anywhere in the world and I’m determined to put up a good performance on home soil. And what better place to do it then in gorgeous Cape Town?”
While several other athletes in the field on Sunday have completed the marathon in under 2 hrs 30 min, notably Ethiopian Nurit Shimels, who returns to the race after placing a close second in 2019 to Kenyan Celestine Chepchirchir, it’s the Steyn vs Karimi contest which dominates the women’s competition.
Steyn is looking forward to a great contest with some of her fellow-African marathon elites, and Kenyan Lucy Karimi’s presence in the field will ensure that she gets just that. Karimi is one of her country’s most consistent elite marathoners and boasts a personal best time a minute quicker than that of Steyn’s.
Earlier this year, both Steyn and Karimi set life-time marathon records within weeks of each other, with the Kenyan racing to third position in 2:24:24 in a strong field in the Geneva Marathon in Switzerland, shortly after Steyn had raced to a South African marathon record in placing 9th in Italy.
Ranged against the South African is Karimi, who has won no fewer than eight of her sixteen marathons and boasts a personal best time a minute faster than that of Steyn, following her 2:24:24 third place in a marathon in Geneva, Switzerland, in May this year.
Karimi’s consistency and confidence suggest the Kenyan will be a significant threat to Steyn. “I feel no pressure on me because I have trained very well and I’m coming to win!” said Karimi at the 30 day race launch. “I’m looking for a fast race in Cape Town. Gerda will have more pressure than I will as she will be running in her home country with greater expectations.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever raced with Lucy,” reflected Steyn. “But from what I have heard and read, I know she will be a very strong competitor. Her personal-best time is about a minute faster than mine and I know that she has an excellent record in winning international marathons. But I’m pleased to have such a tough rival because that makes the race. You need strong competition to push you forwards and faster.”
And Steyn will be looking to run forwards and faster than any woman in the history of the Cape Town Marathon. “The course record of 2:26:44 will certainly be in my mind. Won’t it be amazing if I can get the record back for South Africa?”
Steyn’s 15th position at the Olympic Marathon in August was the top marathon performance by a South African at the 2021 Games but Steyn’s standards are high and she feels she might have achieved more. “Looking back at the Olympic marathon, I think there was definitely room for improvement. In hindsight, I think I could have been more aggressive and stayed with the lead group for longer. If I was to do it again, I would certainly adopt a more aggressive approach.
“However, being more conservative in Japan meant that I was able to recover more quickly and get back into solid training for Cape Town Marathon. So perhaps what I might have left behind in Japan could benefit me on Sunday.”
Steyn has been pleased with her training, most of which she undertook from her Pretoria base and she demonstrated her form and fitness with two recent third places against strong competition in the SPAR 10km Challenge Series. “I was keen to reconnect with South African road-running, but I didn’t taper for those events at all – they were simply part of my training for the Cape Town Marathon. I didn’t run personal-best times, but I was happy to make it onto the podium in both Durban and Pretoria.”
The possibility of strong wind-gusts on Sunday does not worry Steyn. “Perhaps because of my ultra-distance background, I find I do well when the conditions get tough. I was able to run strong marathons at London last year and in Italy and Japan this year, even though the weather conditions were not great.”
But while Steyn seemed unperturbed by the wind, she was blown away when she heard she would be lining up on Sunday with two of her childhood heroes. “Oh wow! I didn’t realise that Elana (van Zyl Meyer) and Zola (Budd Pieterse) will be running the marathon. Those women are my absolute heroes and I’ve looked up to them all my life. To be running in the same marathon with them will be awesome.”
Van Zyl and Budd, super-stars of the 1980s and 1990s, will be running the marathon in support of Endurocad Running Academy’s Young Women Empowerment Programme as part of a ‘pack’ of global celebrities. Others in the pack include former South African running great, Blanche Moila, American philanthropist Rhonda Vetere and Endurocad’s Nolene Conrad.
While spectators will not be allowed at the finish or alongside the route, Steyn will have strong family support at the race. “I’m so pleased that my mum will be down from the Free State to see me run and fingers crossed that Duncan (her husband) will be able to make it to Cape Town. He is trying his best to get flight out of Dubai. We’ve been apart for six weeks while I was in Pretoria, so I’m really hoping that he makes it!
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