Runners podcast with Rotokgolo

16/08/2026

23/07/2026

Pre-race address by the President Ramaphosa.

19/07/2026

The president of South Africa,Cyril Ramaphosa walked 5km at the 2026 Mandela Day Walk and Run today, being flanked by Gauteng Premier Panyasa Lesufi and the Gauteng MEC of Education and Sports Lebogang Maile. Prior to the 5km walk, the President officiated the start of the 10&21km race.

07/07/2026

A catch-up conversation with Phola Kula, focusing on her 2026 uprun comrades journey. Earlier this year we had an interview with her, as she outlined her plans to run a sub 9 hours - Bill Rowen medal. She managed to achieve her target while shaving off an hour on her 2025 finish, a PB. Her 2026 story is an inspiration for those who intend attempting Comrades marathon for the first time and those eyeing a PB.

Click on the link below to hear the rest of the conversation on our YouTube channel: Runners podcast with Rotokgolo;

https://youtu.be/zJiHEkmonHw?si=Vr0NQP-lNrFIQuKQ

20/06/2026

Some say a runner must eat full chicken and I say a runner must eat a wholesome lunch at Comrades halfway mark. I've kept a tradition of having pap/lekako & leg quarter at the halfway mark (Drummond) for few years now. This was my 6th Comrades run without gels and supplements, running on a normal diet (mageu, banana, orange, salt, potatoes, water) and not taking any fizzy drinks. I managed to run comfortably from Durban to finish at Pietermaritzburg, well within the set cutoff time.

17/06/2026

Ibrahim Seedat ran a few comrades barefoot and 2026 uprun was no surprise. He finished the uprun race in a time of 9:42:10 to bag his 26th medal. Kudos to him.

16/06/2026

Gerda Steyn cruised to her third Up Run victory and fifth Comrades Marathon title overall, with an impressive time of 5:44:53. This was well inside her own record for the women’s Up Run of 5:49:46, which she set in 2024. Like Kusche, Steyn also set a new Best Average Pace for the Up Run, with 4:01.24 per kilometre to beat the previous best of 4:04.28/km that she set in 2024. Steyn missed the first woman through the Cell C Hot Spot in Camperdown, which was taken by the runnerup Nobuhle Tshuma. The Hollywood Athletics Club claimed the Women’s Elite Team prize.

16/06/2026

George Kusche won the men’s race in 5:15:56, shattering Leonid Shvetsov’s 18-year-old Up Run Record of 5:24:49 (2008), and he also set a new Best Average Pace record for the Up Run of 3:40.99 per kilometre, bettering the 3:43.75/km set by Vladimir Kotov in 2000 and he was the first South African over the line for the 99th addition of the Comrades Marathon 2026

16/06/2026

This comrades marathon update by runners podcast is proudly sponsored by New Market Motor Co

Your 2026 Comrades Champions George Kusche and Gerda Steyn