By Farai Diza
Eager bodies, sweat and tears were the mainstay of a mild Sunday morning as road runners from all spheres of society converged for the 2016 Comrades Marathon hoping to showcase their "Super Human" moments.
Both men and women - seasoned and newbies - cut off their 'winter' sleep and braved the chilly weather as they assembled to the start off point before the 89km downrun race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban got underway at 5am.
The womens race got off to a pacy start as last years winner, Caroline Wostmann, made her intentions clear from the onset. The Johannesburg athlete made the gruesome race seem so easy with her charming smile.
With last years runner up Charne Bosman hot on her heels, Wostmann maintained her composure constantly waving to the cheering crowd but effects of the soaring race saw her struggling with about seven kilometers remaining.
She seemed in pain as she constantly switched between walking and running which gave Bosman the chance to sneak past her claiming pole position. Wostmann came second.
The mens race also provided some intriguing moments with renowned trail runners such as 2012 victor Ludwick Mamabolo and Two Oceans champion Chris Fokoroni of Zimbabwe all eager to claim the stake.
But it was David Gatebe who pumped up the crowd as he showed amazing resilience without showing any signs of fatigue for most of the race. He unleashed his surge for top honours with 15km's remaining by sustaining his unbelievable pace.
Gatebe romped home in a record breaking time of 5:18:19 shattering the 2007 record of 5:20:49 previously set by Russian Leonid Schvetsov. Shvetsov has since been implicated in a doping scandal.
Gatebe pocketed R500 000 for his efforts - R400 000 for the victory and a bonus R100 000 for being a South African winner put up by the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa.
Mamabolo was second in 5:24:05 while Musa Mthembu finished third, 6 minutes behind the winner.
Eager bodies, sweat and tears were the mainstay of a mild Sunday morning as road runners from all spheres of society converged for the 2016 Comrades Marathon hoping to showcase their "Super Human" moments.
Both men and women - seasoned and newbies - cut off their 'winter' sleep and braved the chilly weather as they assembled to the start off point before the 89km downrun race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban got underway at 5am.
The womens race got off to a pacy start as last years winner, Caroline Wostmann, made her intentions clear from the onset. The Johannesburg athlete made the gruesome race seem so easy with her charming smile.
With last years runner up Charne Bosman hot on her heels, Wostmann maintained her composure constantly waving to the cheering crowd but effects of the soaring race saw her struggling with about seven kilometers remaining.
She seemed in pain as she constantly switched between walking and running which gave Bosman the chance to sneak past her claiming pole position. Wostmann came second.
The mens race also provided some intriguing moments with renowned trail runners such as 2012 victor Ludwick Mamabolo and Two Oceans champion Chris Fokoroni of Zimbabwe all eager to claim the stake.
But it was David Gatebe who pumped up the crowd as he showed amazing resilience without showing any signs of fatigue for most of the race. He unleashed his surge for top honours with 15km's remaining by sustaining his unbelievable pace.
Gatebe romped home in a record breaking time of 5:18:19 shattering the 2007 record of 5:20:49 previously set by Russian Leonid Schvetsov. Shvetsov has since been implicated in a doping scandal.
Gatebe pocketed R500 000 for his efforts - R400 000 for the victory and a bonus R100 000 for being a South African winner put up by the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa.
Mamabolo was second in 5:24:05 while Musa Mthembu finished third, 6 minutes behind the winner.
