Adnaan Mohamed
Three proven Comrades Marathon champions. Three very different motivations. One famous road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
The men’s elite race at Sunday’s Comrades Marathon has the ingredients of a modern classic, with defending Down Run champion Tete Dijana chasing history, 2024 Up Run winner Piet Wiersma hunting unfinished business and 2019 champion Edward Mothibi quietly building confidence inside a formidable Hollywood Athletics Club squad.
For Dijana, preparation has followed a familiar script.
The three-time Down Run champion says an injury-free training block and altitude camp in Dullstroom have laid a solid platform for another assault on the title, with the biggest adjustment coming in mindset rather than methodology.
“The preparation went well and injury free,” Dijana said.
“Our training stays more or less the same because the hills are always there, but mentally you have to approach it differently and put more emphasis on strength.”
Hollywood’s backing has also given him confidence throughout the campaign, although the defending champion is not buying into suggestions that there is no pressure.
“I’m defending. I have to deliver and make history for myself,” he said.
Alongside him is Mothibi, whose move to Hollywood has strengthened an already imposing purple challenge.
The 2019 winner says he has largely trusted the methods that brought success in previous years, with extra focus placed on improving speed to match a younger generation of contenders.
He believes some of his biggest rivals are the athletes he trains with every day.
“Tete is part of our Happy Bunch,” Mothibi said. “I know how fit those guys are because I train with them. Those are the competitors I understand best.”
Mothibi also praised Hollywood’s athlete-first approach, saying the club creates an environment free from unnecessary pressure while giving runners every opportunity to perform.
Standing in their way is Wiersma, whose remarkable rise has transformed him into one of the race’s biggest stars.
The Dutchman insists being labelled defending champion feels strange after winning the last Up Run rather than last year’s Down Run, though he believes this could be the strongest preparation of his career.
“I’ve done the best training of my life,” Wiersma said.
After overcoming illness earlier in the season and maintaining a carefully controlled routine, he arrives convinced he has given himself every possible chance.
His respect for Dijana and Mothibi remains evident despite the changing club colours.
“Before the race and after the race we’re friends,” he said.
“During the race we don’t show each other mercy, no matter what colours we’re wearing.”
Perhaps the strongest insight into Wiersma’s mindset comes from his description of unfinished business.
He has finished second by seconds, won while narrowly missing the course record and again fallen agonisingly short of victory.
Now he believes the depth of this year’s field could produce something special.
“With a field this strong, there’s a very high chance the course record will be broken,” he said.
For Wiersma, Comrades has changed his life, providing the platform to pursue professional running full time after shelving plans for a PhD.
Living and training in Kenya has also reshaped his perspective.
“The mindset there is incredible,” he said. “People wake up every day knowing they have to do everything right because it affects what happens months later.”
By sunrise on Sunday, predictions will count for little.
The road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg has a habit of humbling favourites and elevating dreamers.
If Dijana’s pursuit of history, Mothibi’s experience and Wiersma’s relentless ambition unfold as expected, the 2026 Comrades Marathon could produce another chapter worthy of its legendary status.