Gerda Steyn ready to tackle Nelson Mandela Bay roads

2019 Ultramarathon princess Gerda Steyn is raring to take to the streets of Port Elizabeth when she takes to the start line of the Nelson Mandela Bay SA Half Marathon Championships on Saturday morning. 

Steyn was speaking shortly after the press conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Conference Centre on Friday afternoon. 

“It’s such a privilege to be here, I am really happy and excited, I think everyone is surprised to see me here. 

“It was quite a short notice decision for me, I was just having some good time off, relaxation and recovery after the two main races this year, Comrades and the Two Oceans,” Steyn said. 

Steyn, who won the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons earlier this year, is the second-fastest athlete in the field with her 72:35 Half Marathon PB behind the 71:54 of Lebo Phalula.

Steyn spent much of the last two months, however, the Gauteng North athlete, who is a Nedbank Running Club athlete, said she wanted to test herself at this race. 

“I am really excited to be here, I don’t know what to expect tomorrow, but I am very relaxed about it, I did try to sharpen up a little bit in the last two weeks, but even so, I was still in recovery mode, spent some time on my bike, swimming and other activities,” she said. 

Steyn admitted that she was not in the best shape to do a half marathon as it required to have a fast race. 

“I can admit that I have not done the exact preparation in order to run a fast half marathon, it does require a lot of speed work, which changes the way I usually train. 

“There is good competition in both the local and international fields, as mentioned in the press conference earlier, some of the SA favourites Irvette van Zyl and Nolene Konrad are out, so the SA podium is something I will definitely be looking at. 

“Internationally, the ladies are strong, they coming from Ethiopia, Kenya and all over, I’ll just have to see what we can do and hopefully the home crowd to also drag me along,” Steyn added. 

Competing in the metro for the first time, Steyn said that while perfect weather conditions would be ideal, she was aware of the famous Bay wind. 

“It is really exciting for me to be competing here, I have heard the weather is going to be good tomorrow, hopefully, the wind won’t be too strong, I’ve heard that even on a good day, there is wind in Nelson Mandela Bay but it's the same for all of us,” she added. 

Credited as the fastest and richest half marathon in South Africa the event boasts a generous racing purse and lucky draw prizes including a brand new Datsun Go!

With R700 000 for the elite field to compete for, Mike Mbambani, Eastern Province Athletics Sponsorship Liaison, said many of South Africa’s top athletes had already confirmed their participation.