Gerda Steyn, the favourite for the women’s Comrades Marathon title, is focusing on her mindset and preparation in Dullstroom.
THE SMILE ADORNED her face as it always does. Even when the subject of discussion switched away from her beloved running to the controversy of doping in the sport, Gerda Steyn remained her jovial self.
Of course, South Africa's most loved road runner spoke with conviction against it. Many athletes would have taken offence at the question, though; they would have deemed it an insinuation. Not so Steyn, who remained unflinching, clearly confident in the knowledge that her incredible achievements on the road are all deserved thanks to hard work, dedication, commitment, and an incredible understanding of the need to take care of herself, alongside her desire to inspire.
She has seen the devastation brought about by the fall of many superstar athletes adored by millions in the past to know just what cheating in sport can do. Still, she understands why some might look at her incredible achievements with a degree of cynicism. After all, aren't the dopers said to always be ahead of the testers?
It is the eve of the Comrades Marathon, which Steyn is once again expected to win – for a fifth time – and I am talking to the Hollywood Athletics Club superstar at a hotel on the Durban promenade. Win on Sunday and Steyn becomes the second most successful female athlete in Comrades history after Russia's Elena Nurgalieva, who has won eight times. She will be joint third on the all-time list of Comrades winners, with just Bruce Fordyce and Nurgalieva ahead of her.
