Locals up there with Fordyce
is a long-time resident. He ran his personal best marathon at Buffs, when he finished second to Shaw in 1983. Since then he has returned on many occasions,
It was a man from Mthatha who provided perhaps the biggest surprise when he won a gold medal by finishing ninth in 1980 with a time of 5:56. Tammy Bilibana, a Washie 100 winner, went on to capture six Comrades silver medals.
So brutal can the Comrades be that one of South Africa’s top runners and a past Two Oceans winner, Mluleki Nobanda of Libode, has twice failed to finish the race, which makes the successes noted even more outstanding.
There have been many other memorable performances from locals and runners who were forerunners of the sport in the region.
Kenny Wilkinson ran 21 Comrades with 15 silver medals, while a man who dominated the marathon scene for many years, Herman van der Wilt, was the third veteran on two occasions and fourth on yet another. More recently, Zakhutini Retyu from Queenstown has been impressive with five silvers from seven starts and a best of 6:24:29.
Of the local women, only Jean Rayner has been able to run a silver-medal time, finishing seventh overall on the only occasion she ran the Comrades. She is a former SA Marathon champion, and on the back of this one Comrades performance she went on to represent South Africa at the World 100km Championships in Winschoten, Holland.
In 2011 Steph Smith came very close, missing her silver by just 44 seconds and coming in 20th. Smith is still young and could yet challenge if she concentrates on the Comrades next year. Tammy Kelly ran a personal best 7:47:08 in 2005.
Many locals are a part of Comrades folklore for different reasons. It is a history to be proud of, one that should be built upon.