The Comrades Marathon may be famous being the world’s oldest, biggest and longest ultra-marathon, and that in itself is iconic and commendable. However, one man would always consider the marathon as a defining moment.
Dr Glen Legodu, a lecturer at the UFS Education Faculty teaching Agricultural Science, competed in his third Comrades Marathon this year finishing in 8:02:25. In his three attempts, Dr Legodu has achieved the Bill Rowans medal (2023 = 8:57, 2024 = 8:54 and 2025 = 8:02) with his 50 minutes improvement this year.
Missing his initial target of eight hours by a few minutes.
“The Comrades Marathon is hard, and can break your spirit if you are not strong enough, proof being the many people who just quit during the race itself, I remain greatly respectful to people who gets to line up at the start let alone those who finish it,” he said.
He recalled how many sacrifices he had to make in order to improve his performance each year.
“We sacrifice so much of our family time, and finances, and lose hours of sleep making sure that you are battle-ready for Comrades, and for that, I wish to thank my lovely wife for her support and encouragement during my preparations,” he added.
For him, this year’s Comrades seemed to be more challenging as so many people experienced cramping and injuries on the road. Dr Legodu expressed that he is impressed by all who completed the race by encouraging others to attempt competing, as it is “character building”.
He will be back at the starting line in 2026 with intention to achieve his sub 8 hour finish.
Compiled by Gypseenia Lion
