At the 2005 Comrades Marathon 89 Km, the world’s biggest and most famous ultramarathon, Mark Bloomfield had the opportunity to talk with Bruce Fordyce, a nine-time champion, as well as the worldrecord-holder at 50 miles.
Mark: Good to see you again and thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to do this interview with me for UltraRunning.
Bruce: It is a pleasure to be interviewed by the first Comrades Ambassador to the U.S. I am really pleased that the Comrades Marathon Association has appointed you to tell the Comrades story in the U.S.
and to encourage more Americans to run Comrades.
Mark: Not only did you teach me to finish with dignity but when I ran my first “up” race, you tried to intimidate me by suggesting that with 80 km completed, I could meet my destiny if I would run up Polly Shorts,
a horribly steep hill. I did and cursed that dead farmer, Polly Short, and you. Did you know that in the U.S. you’ve been described as the Bill Rodgers, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods combined in South Africa?
Why are you called the Comrades King and a South African icon? What ultra records do you hold?
Bruce: That American characterization made my day. I only wish I had the financial success of those fellows; others will have to figure out who I am. All I can tell you is I’m a proud South African; I love sports,
especially running. I’m excited to be part of building a new post-apartheid country. I guess I’ve been called the “Comrades King” because I’ve won the race nine times, more times than anyone else. I set several
records: two on the Comrades “down” run, with my best in 5:24:07 in ’86 and three Comrades “up” records. I was the first runner ever to break five and a half hours on the “up” run. I set the world record for 50 miles
(4:50:21) when I ran the London to Brighton race in 1983. (The total distance is actually 54 miles.) I also have the world’s second-fastest time of 4:50:51 set at the 1984 AMJA U.S. 50-mile championships in Chicago
on an out-and-back course. This is a U.S. all-comers records and also a world best time for a course that starts and finishes at the same spot. For a couple of years the 6:25 I ran at the 100 km in Stellenbosch, South
Africa in 1989 was also a world record on the road. My Comrades “down” record in 1986 and my 50-mile world record at London to Brighton in 1983 still stand.
Mark: The reality is that you are one of the world’s finest-ever ultrarunners. As a well-known athlete, you stood up against apartheid when it was dangerous to do so. You’re a qualified archeologist, keen
ornithologist, ardent philatelist, connoisseur of fine wines, gifted raconteur, and one of South Africa’s priceless assets. Why is Comrades a special race for South Africans? Why it should be for Americans?
Bruce: It is special for South Africans because it is one of our unique athletic events. It is part of our folklore. I first thought of running Comrades when I was eight years old. Any South African can run and
finish Comrades. Many dream about doing so, and many run Comrades once in their lifetime. It is a national treasure. Nelson Mandela presented awards to the runners on several occasions. There were
some 14,000 runners in this year’s Comrades, perhaps a million people out on the road watching the runners, 100,000 people in the stadium at the finish, and maybe as many as three million people watching
the race on television on a continuous 12-hour broadcast. A 23-year-old South African male won the race. A Russian physician from Siberia with a two-year-old was the first woman to finish, along with you and
me and all but 1,500 runners who started at 5:30 in the morning. Remember it was the Americans who started the running boom in the 1970s with (Frank) Shorter and Bill Rodgers. American runners usually
stop at the marathon distance. Comrades offers them a next step up. If you’ve done New York, Chicago, maybe Boston, you might like to try an ultra. If you do one ultra in your life, it should be Comrades.
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