Gerda Steyn’s blow-by-blow tale of her historic run – including ‘rumblers’ during training.
Gerda Steyn is perhaps the greatest women’s marathon and ultramarathon runner South Africa has produced. Her record speaks for itself. In 2019, she broke the Comrades up-run record with a time of 5:58:53, becoming the first woman to complete the up-run in under six hours.
She currently holds the women’s national marathon record, achieved in Italy last year, with a time of 2:25:28. More recently, on 17 April this year, she broke another record. Steyn set a new women’s record in the Two Oceans Marathon, over 56km, with a time of 3:29:42 and became the first athlete in 22 years to win three consecutive titles.
Her success is remarkable and built mainly on a meticulous training routine and diet. A peek into her Saturday routine is a testament to this.
“These friends of mine have this tradition, on a Saturday they run, they have a rumbler and a coffee; that’s why they call themselves RRC. Everyone thinks [RRC] is ‘something running club’ but it’s actually: run, rumbler, coffee,” says Steyn, laughing. “A rumbler is a rum inside a Castle [beer],” she explains.
Because the Two Oceans Marathon…