Lifestyle/Community
No rocky road in Comrades for these ladies
JACK MILNER
JACK MILNER
Taryn Greenblatt, Tali Zulberg and Gabi Dennill, all completed the race and earned themselves bronze medals in the process. They are all feeling “a little tender” but proud of their achievement.
Taryn, 32, performed best of the trio, completing the 87,7km gruelling race in a time of nine hours, 13 minutes and 59 seconds. She finished in 2 337th place overall, but in position 186 in her gender and 112 of 1511 women in her category. It was her first Comrades.
“Why do I do it? It was just to achieve something. My husband has done it and I’m sure he’s going to want to go back each year. But for me, I’m done,” said Taryn, echoing a common refrain when bodies are still smarting from the hammering.
“It’s been on my bucket list but I’ve got my medal and that’s it. They say you want to go back and do the down run the next year, but not for me. It was hot and hard. I just walked Polly Shorts from bottom to top.”
Tali finished the race in 09:28:54 to finish in 2 750th position overall, 227th out of 3 453 starters in the women’s race and in position 136 in her category.
“Yes, I’m sore and tired but I suppose I love the camaraderie of it all. I love the group I train with and I suppose you go back to beat your previous times. I will definitely be back next year. In fact, I am looking to get a green number,” for the magical 10 runs, said Tali.
She has completed three events and will need another seven for her to get a green number. But she really takes this event seriously.
“We do about four regular 42km marathons and three ultra-marathons every year. This year we ran an international marathon in Rotterdam. Again it’s all about the camaraderie. We choose an international marathon and go together as a group.”
In last year’s down-run Tali completed the race in a faster time – 08:49 – but this year she was also hit by another problem which affected her time. “I had hip issues a few weeks back and that may have made me a bit sluggish.”
Gabi, at 29, is the youngest of the three and she completed the race in 09:42:11 to end up in 3 183 position overall, 281st in her gender and 160th in her category.
