Johannesburg - Given her scintillating run at the Two Oceans Marathon back in April, it is only logical to expect Gerda Steyn to smash the next marathon she participates in.
Her record-breaking 3:29:42 run in the 56km Mother City ultra served to confirm the Bothaville-born runner’s standing as the country’s best female road runner by far – Steyn also being the proud holder of the national marathon record (2:25:28) as well as the Comrades Up Run one (5:58:53).
Following her feat in Cape Town, expectations were that she would have a go at Frith Van Der Merwe’s long-standing Comrades Marathon Down Run record in August. But Steyn opted to give the Ultimate Human race a skip and go run the New York City Marathon instead.
Given the rest she’s had since April, there is every reason to anticipate a fresh Steyn to be on fire in the Big Apple race on Sunday afternoon (November 6).
Could she improve on her national marathon record?
“I am not thinking about a specific time really. The NYC Marathon is both tactical and also quite a difficult route. Of course, I still want to run a fast time and I am sure that I can still improve on my personal best time, but I am approaching the NYC Marathon almost like a championship- type race where the race is often less about your finish time and more about strategic racing and positioning.”
Hello from NYC! 🌁 It's great to be back here!! Getting ready to go #TCSNYCMarathon 🏃🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/DdgZM0vHMH
— Gerda Steyn (@gerdarun) November 3, 2022
Steyn knows what she’s talking about given she has run the famous Abbotts’ World Major twice in 2018 and 2019 and boasts a 2:27:48 Personal Best there.
She has an 11th position finish and is keen to break into the top ten this time around.
“I want to run a strong race and improve on my previous NYC Marathon results. I think in 2019 I was a little bit conservative at the start, lost touch with the front group early on and was never able to catch up again. I finished in 11th place so I would really like to improve on that.”
And she has an idea on what it would take to do just that.
“I will definitely use the experience from 2018 and 2019 to hopefully run a smarter and stronger race. In 2019 I qualified in NYC for the Olympics and it was also a personal best time for me, so I was delighted with that. But this year my goals are different because the 2024 Olympic qualifying window is not open yet. So I am just focused on running as best as I can. I want to walk away feeling like I have done myself proud and that I ran to the best of my capabilities. I know that a course like this suits me better as an athlete because I train a lot on hills and have done many other hilly races as well.”
Given that here at home she always lines up for a race as a favourite, how does Steyn feel about toeing the line with the world’s top runners at events such as this one?
“The start list is packed with some incredibly fast and talented athletes but NYC is a world major and such an iconic marathon so it is not unexpected. But I just need to go out there and run the best race I can.”
And South Africans will know only too well that Steyn’s best is often record-breaking stuff and will no doubt be cheering her on from the comforts of their home watching on the television.
“I just want South Africans to know that I appreciate the amazing support and I know that I am never alone because their support is what carries me to the finish. I will do my absolute best to represent Mzansi well.”
@Tshiliboy