Bruce Fordyce (South Africa)
The King of the Comrades, Bruce Fordyce won the extremely tough ultra-marathon an unbelievable nine times. The sight of the slight, blonde-haired runner pulling away from the field in the second half of the world famous race had much to do with the boom in popularity that the Comrades enjoyed. It also played a big role in turning the Comrades into a race for professional and amateur runners alike, capable of attracting a considerable number of competitors from abroad, including some of the world’s best ultra-marathoners. Fordyce proved that he could compete internationally too, winning the London to Brighton Marathon on three occasions and setting a world 50-mile record in the process. Nowadays he is often seen at endurance events – the Dusi, Comrades and the like – participating to raise money for charity.

Tegla Loroupe (Kenya)
Former world marathon record holder Tegla Loroupe developed into one of the finest distance runners in the world because she had to run almost 10-kilometres to and from school every day. Her first big impact in the marathon came in New York in 1994 when she became the first African woman to win that city’s famous marathon. In 1998 she set a world record in the Rotterdam Marathon and bettered that mark in 1999 in Berlin. In 2000 Loroupe won Olympic gold in Sydney and she can also include gold in the World Half Marathon Championships in her list of successes. Despite her outstanding achievements, it would be easy to miss Loroupe: she stands just 1.49 metres (4 foot 9 inches) tall.

Frith van der Merwe (South Africa)
When Frith van der Merwe ran a time of 6:32:56 in the Comrades Marathon in 1988, it was considered a fine performance. It was to prove, however, only a pale imitation of the fireworks to come in 1989. In that year Van der Merwe ran an incredible 5:54:43 to totally obliterate the women’s record, whilst also finishing fifteenth overall. Only once since has an athlete come within four minutes of Van der Merwe’s brilliant run. In the same year she took part in the Two Oceans Marathon (56 kilometres) and cut a huge 13 minutes and 53 seconds off the previous record. During the course of her run she established world records for distances of 30 miles and 50 kilometres. For good measure Van der Merwe won the Comrades for a third time in 1991.

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	Tegla Loroupe's record includes a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics and victories in the New York and Rotterdam marathons

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