For 72-year-old Holland, Comrades has been a lifelong journey, and he has become an icon of the race.Half-a-century later, he will return next month, having created a legacy at the popular annual race in KwaZulu-Natal.
“It resonated so much with me that I decided I had to be part of this thing,” Holland recalled this week.While runners must now be 20 years old to participate in Comrades, the age limit was 18 back then, and when he was of age, Holland started training. “If I had not crossed their path, I would not be sitting here today. It’s purely by chance,” he said.
Though he started out with Savages, Holland later moved to Johannesburg and joined Jeppe Quondam Athletics Club, which he represented at Comrades for 38 successive years.Having moved back to Durban, he has run for Dolphin Coast Striders since 2015, and he will represent the club again next month as he aims to become the first person to complete the Comrades Marathon 50 times.
With the Comrades Marathon Association coming to the party, Holland and his family have also been given their own starting pen, which will include invited runners from Dolphin Coast Striders and Jeppe Quondam, at the back of the D seeding group.He expects another Comrades legend, Louis Massyn, to ultimately break his record for most finishes but Holland will be proud enough to become the first to 50.
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