Covid-19 had a detrimental affect on runners, says three-times Comrades champ Bongumusa Mthembu

Three-time Comrades Marathon winner Bongumusa Mthembu highlighted the mental toll the Covid-19 pandemic had on athletes and detailed why he believes runners will be in a better state for this year’s race.

After finishing fourth last year, Mthembu said he will be ready to compete for a chance to move one closer to Bruce Fordyce’s Comrades marathon of nine total wins on Sunday.

“My preparation went very well ... Thankfully we've [survived] Covid-19 and I believe we are better than last year mentally. We’re hoping to deliver an even more spectacular race,” he said.

He was speaking in a pre-race press briefing for the top contenders of the 2023 edition at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel in Durban on Friday.

Having finished 54th in his first Comrades in 2006, Mthembu has gone on to achieve legendary status in the oldest and largest ultra-marathon in the world, with nine top 10 finishes in his last 11 starts — including three wins.

Mthembu said his passion for the Comrades was not diminished by Covid-19. The virus had lead to a suspension of the race  dubbed the “ultimate human race”.

“Most of us, including the media, don’t take notice of what Covid-19 did to athletes. You can run or train but Comrades is a different race and if you're not mentally prepared then something will happen,” he said.

“This is the longest distance for a human body. At a certain point (of the race) your body will be finished and you will have to run with your mind and your soul. If your mind is not at 100% you will be affected.”

Mthembu was beaten to the finish line by Nedbank Running Club teammates Tete Dijana, Edward Mothibi and Dan Matshailwe, who had all came from the same training group in North West. Along with teammates Johannes Makgetla and Joseph Manyedi, the five ran as a team until the latter stages of the race and all finished in the top seven.

Dijana said he expects that he will be closely monitored by his fellow runners this time around, as the defending champion.

“I think it will be a different race than last year. Last year no-one knew who I was but now they do and they will be following any move that I make. I think it will be an interesting race indeed,” he said.

Before winning last year’s edition, Dijana had finished 47th in 2019, before Comrades took a two-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

Referring to his win last year where he came out ahead of then-defending champion and teammate Mothibi, Dijana said: “I made my move in the last 10km and just said ‘let’s battle each other’ but he (Mothibi) didn’t respond.”

Mothibi — who has an impressive Comrades record in his own right, having never finished below fourth in his previous races — said he was hungry for another win after finishing runner-up to Dijana last year. He said winning the 2019 edition had been life-changing.

“Comrades is very close to my heart. It’s where I made my breakthrough because as much as I was competing — and I was good — before 2018 the win in 2019 changed my life, so my focus is to compete,” he said.

Matshailwe said he will have a different approach this year but warned he will be ready.

“To the athletes, I want to say I'm up for this and I'm ready for this one. This year will be a different approach and I still want to do more at the Comrades,” he said.

“When you talk about Comrades you’re talking about something very close to my heart, this is so personal. It’s not just about money but about how it changed my life, physically and mentally. It changed my life a lot.”

He emphasised the importance of patience when running the 87.7km race.

“Patience is very important because otherwise you will make a wrong move. You must wait for the right move while having fun before you smash Comrades.”

The 96th Comrades will be another down run — for the 48th time. It will start at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and finish at the Hollywood Kingsmead stadium in Durban, which will make the race slightly shorter than the 89km to Moses Mabhida stadium that had been the finish for every down run since 2016.

The race starts with 18,976 runners, who will receive a medal if they finish in 12 hours.