Respect to all who lined up for Comrades 2025, but unfortunately not all who started made it – sorry guys and girl.
Well done to Chad Andrews who got his monies worth, staying out on the road for 11 hours and 56 minutes. Christine Clark was a bit quicker at 11 hours 42, while Ian Benson was out there for his second slowest run at over 11 hours. There was a time when 11 hours was the cut off and Benson wasn’t happy when it was extended, but we think he has changed his mind now. Ian now has 38 medals to his name so you can be sure he will be aiming for No 40 in 2027 – which will mark the 100th run.
Andrew Hall and Ian Wilson now both have a back-to-back up and down to their names; well done guys. So too does young Regan Turnbull, although he went under 9hours – but not in Dabs Colours – so he and young Mr. Wilson will need to visit the Club Secretary and beg for forgiveness and buy a nice blue Dabs shirt like Chad.
Also once a member of Dabs but now living abroad was young (but not as young) Stuart Rawlinson who ran his slowest Comrades yet in a time of 7 hours 6 minutes, to earn a third Silver medal, as his dad Dave did many years ago.
Quicker by 3 minutes than our man Chunky Chad was the 74 year old Louis Massyn, who became the first person to complete 50 Comrades. Incredible. That puts him in the same ultra-elite league as our canoeing legends: Charlie Mason, who got to 50 Umko’s in 2017; Lyle Wheeler, who reached 50 Dusi’s in 2021 and Giel van Deventer, who made it 50 Bergs, also in 2021. Legendary stuff – but just finishing one or two Umko’s, Dusi’s, Berg’s or Comrades is special, so well done to all our Canoeing Comrades. Beers well-earned, Respect and Cheers!