There’s no doubt that Bosman is in top form ... already

IT IS way too early in the year to start making calls, but there is every reason to believe Charne Bosman will star at the Comrades Marathon in June.

Last weekend in the first ultra of the year, the 50km Om Die Dam Marathon in Hartbeespoort, Bosman cantered to victory effortlessly.

Granted, the 2016 Comrades champion winning a race is nothing new given that her name is synonymous with victory.

But the fact that she did so while merely training against a classy field that included reigning Comrades champion Ann Ashworth speaks volumes of the form Bosman is in.

“I wasn’t going for a win,” the Murray & Roberts Running Club’s marquee signing reflected on her run this week. “It was my training run and I only went past the leading lady with 15km to go. I felt good on the day, I was very comfortable and I was surprised I won.”

Her time of 3:30:14 was some four minutes faster than the second placed Yolande McClean, her teammate at M&R, while Ashworth was a distant fourth – nearly 10 minutes behind.

Not that Bosman would have been aware of how the opposition fared as she solely focuses on her own run.

Now in her 20th year of professional running, the 43-year-old veteran is enjoying herself more now that she has made some key changes.

“The move to Murray and Roberts has been great for me. There was nothing wrong at Nedbank (Running Club) and I really enjoyed myself there. But it was time for a change and I was pleased that Murray and Roberts agreed that I join them. I just needed to take my running to a new level and they are very supportive.”

Another big change saw her reconnect with the man who helped her to her best two Comrades runs – the runner-up position in 2015 and the victory in 2016.

“I am back with Lindsay Parry now and I am happy. I worked with him