--- title: "Gerda Steyn finds calm in Dullstroom ahead of Comrades Marathon title defense" description: "South Africa's ultra queen retreats to high-altitude quiet to sharpen her mind for the 89 km test — chasing a fourth Comrades title." url: https://sportopod.com/en-US/cluster/calm-before-the-storm-gerda-steyn-slowing-things-down-in-b564104d published: 2026-06-13T21:12:23.247+00:00 updated: 2026-06-13T21:12:23.247+00:00 author: "Kostadin Stamboliev" publisher: "Pineido" site: "Sportopod" language: en topics: ["basketball"] --- # Gerda Steyn finds calm in Dullstroom ahead of Comrades Marathon title defense > South Africa's ultra queen retreats to high-altitude quiet to sharpen her mind for the 89 km test — chasing a fourth Comrades title. Gerda Steyn is not chasing extra miles in Dullstroom. The three-time Comrades Marathon champion is hunting something far scarcer: mental stillness. As the overwhelming favorite for the women’s title, she has intentionally decelerated life to a crawl in the sleepy high-altitude town, prioritizing the psychological chess match that will define race day. Dullstroom, perched above 2,000 metres in Mpumalanga, offers thin air and quieter streets than any treadmill in Johannesburg. Steyn’s retreat is a deliberate counter to the noise that surrounds her as South Africa’s undisputed ultra queen. While her competitors log chaotic taper miles, she is engineering boredom — walks, gentle jogs, and hours of nothing — to ensure the neural wiring that cracks in the final 20 km stays cool and unbroken. The numbers already tilt heavily in her favour. Steyn set the women’s down-run record of 5:44:54 in 2023, slicing nearly ten minutes off her own mark, and her 2022 up-run win proved her versatility. But a fourth title would shift the conversation from dominance to dynasty. Only four women have achieved that, the last being Elena Nurgalieva in 2013. Steyn isn’t running from history; she’s simply refusing to let its weight hit her before the start line at Pietermaritzburg City Hall. There are no clipboard-carrying psychologists or elaborate media statements from her camp. The strategy bleeds old-school wisdom: if you can’t find peace on a highveld dam under a winter sky, you won’t find it at Drummond when your quads scream. As a rival coach once muttered after Steyn dissolved the field in 2019, “She doesn’t beat you with her legs — by the time the race arrives, she’s already won up here,” tapping his temple. That lesson is now being re-taught in Dullies. The 2024 Comrades Marathon drops the gun on June 9, returning to the down run. Steyn will walk to the line as the woman to beat, and if the quiet hours in Dullstroom do their job, she’ll be utterly untroubled by that fact. For the rest of the field, the scariest sight isn’t her stride — it’s the serene smile of someone who has already run the race in her head and never once panicked. ## Why this matters Gerda Steyn’s pursuit of a fourth Comrades Marathon title is the defining storyline of South Africa’s most beloved ultramarathon. The race is a 89 km cultural institution that stops the nation, and Steyn’s dominance echoes the all-time greats. Her choice to prepare not with heavy mileage but by controlling mental state — isolating in Dullstroom’s altitude silence — offers a masterclass in elite endurance psychology. It reveals that at the rarest level, the legs are merely servants to a mind sharpened far from the spotlight. ## Frequently asked ### Why is Gerda Steyn training in Dullstroom for the Comrades Marathon? Dullstroom provides high-altitude quiet above 2,000 metres, allowing Steyn to escape media noise and focus entirely on mental preparation. The tranquil environment helps her rehearse the calm required to manage the race’s extreme physical and psychological demands. ### How many times has Gerda Steyn won the Comrades Marathon? She has won three times — in 2019, 2022, and 2023. She missed two editions during the pandemic, making her actual win rate even more impressive. ### What is the distance of the Comrades Marathon? The race annually alternates directions, covering roughly 89 kilometres (about 55 miles) between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. ### When is the next Comrades Marathon? The 2024 edition is scheduled for June 9, returning to the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. ## Sources & Citations - [Calm before the storm ... Gerda Steyn slowing things down in ‘Dullies’ before Comrades Marathon](https://www.iol.co.za/sport/athletics/calm-before-the-storm-gerda-steyn-slowing-things-down-in-dullies-before-comrades-marathon-90cdb9df-ac22-4871-b317-ec2e5ad5b81d) — NewsData.io (2026-06-08) --- Cite: Gerda Steyn finds calm in Dullstroom ahead of Comrades Marathon title defense. Sportopod, 2026-06-13. https://sportopod.com/en-US/cluster/calm-before-the-storm-gerda-steyn-slowing-things-down-in-b564104d