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Three-time Comrades Marathon champion Tete Dijana will be looking to win his first up-run on Sunday when he lines up for what is billed as “the ultimate human race”. Dijana, who claimed victories in the 2022, 2023 and 2025 down-runs, has never won an up-run. Victory on Sunday would see him complete the collection of both up and down races and also move level with four-time champion Alan Robb.As he prepares for his third up-run on Sunday, Dijana insists he is not under pressure to win the race and admits that running from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is not his favourite.“My pressure is to defend the down-run,” Dijana told his Hollywood AC club’s media department. “I’m not an up-run specialist, and everyone is right [about it].”I trust my training ... I will just flow with the race.— Tete DijanaWhile many also see the race as a rivalry between Dijana and Piet Wiersma, the Dutchman who won the 2024 up-run, Dijana said he doesn’t see it that way.“I trust my training. All international and national athletes [are rivals for the title], I will just flow with the race,” he said.“There is no pressure. [Hollywood] trusts that I can do it. They supported us as a happy bunch through tough times, and they made sure we didn’t stress about something beyond our control.”Dijana will also come up against his friend and former up-run champion Edward Mothibi, while he will also face Russians Nikolai Volkov and Vasilii Lorytkin, Britain’s Alex Milne, Joseph Manyedi, Gordon Lesetedi and world 100km champion Aleksandr Sorokin of Lithuania, who will make his debut.Meanwhile, the Comrades Marathon Association confirmed a combined prize purse of more than R8.2m and incentive bonuses with a total purse of about R5.8m up for grabs across the top-10 positions.This includes a staggering R925,000 prize each for the first man and woman over the line, while runners-up will receive R464,000 and third-place finishers will get R334,000.
