Runner Smashes 86K Record After 12th Place Finish Last Year

A patient runner who played it smart just demolished one of ultrarunning's most legendary records.

George Kusche hung back with the chase pack for 43 kilometers at South Africa's Comrades Marathon, watching early leaders surge ahead. Then he struck. The South African runner powered through the field in the race's brutal second half, finishing in 5 hours, 15 minutes, and 56 seconds to shatter Russian runner Leonid Shvetsov's 2008 record by nearly nine minutes.

The victory tastes especially sweet after Kusche finished 12th in his 2025 debut. This time, he let the race come to him.

Over 21,000 runners lined up at 5 a.m. on June 14 for the 99th running of the world's oldest and largest ultramarathon. The race's motto, "Ska Fela Moya," means "Never Lose Hope," reflecting the journey every finisher must make to complete the point-to-point course from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

The course gains 1,750 meters of elevation and features five major hills. Early race leaders Mahau Rasogo and Samuel Cijimpi Moloi both dropped out before the halfway point. Mbuti Mollo took over the lead but struggled in the final kilometers, weaving dangerously along the road as Kusche closed in.

Kusche made his decisive move on the Inchanga climb, breaking from the chase group to enter the top five. He caught Mollo with less than 10 kilometers remaining and pulled away on Polly Shortts, the steepest climb in the race's final stretch.

The record breaking didn't stop there. Gerda Steyn claimed her fifth Comrades victory and fourth consecutive win, finishing in 5:44:53 to break her own 2024 record by nearly five minutes. She waited until the final 20 kilometers to surge, opening an eight-minute gap on second-place finisher Nobukhosi Tshuma of Zimbabwe.

Why This Inspires

In a field stacked with talented runners, the top five men all finished faster than the previous course record. The depth of competition pushed everyone to new heights, proving that great athletes elevate each other.

Kusche's transformation from 12th place to record breaker shows what patience and smart racing can achieve. He didn't panic when others surged early or worry about his debut disappointment.

Both champions honored a race founded in 1921 by World War I veteran Vic Clapham to commemorate South African soldiers, carrying forward a century of perseverance and hope across 86 kilometers of African roads.