George Kusche broke an 18-year Comrades up run record on Sunday, 14 June 2026, winning the 99th edition of the ultimate human race in 5:16:06 over the 85.777km from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
The 27-year-old, who runs for the Nedbank Running Club, took down the up run mark of 5:24:49 set by Russia’s Leonid Shvetsov in 2008.
The self-coached data scientist had finished 12th on his Comrades debut last year, a race in which he was sick around halfway and still made it to the line.
How George Kusche broke the Comrades up run record
Kusche made his move on the climbs and never surrendered the lead, holding form through the closing stretch into Pietermaritzburg.
The Netherlands’ Piet Wiersma, the defending up run champion, came home second in 5:19:36, while South Africa’s Mbuti Mollo completed the podium in 5:21:31.
The winner admitted the effort pushed him to a new limit.
“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Kusche, who added that he committed early to a risky pace.
“I knew I was taking a gamble,” he said.
His doubt lingered deep into the race, even as the gap behind him grew across the final kilometres of the route.
“I couldn’t believe with still 2km to go that I was going to win the race,” Kusche said, describing the disbelief that carried him toward the finish.
He credited his winter preparation for holding the pace together when his body began to protest in the last few kilometres.
“The speed training I did during the season really helped. I felt I was going a bit slow in those last kilometres, but when seeing the times, I was surprised to see my kilometre splits were still pretty quick,” Kusche said.
What George Kusche won in prize money
The record run earned Kusche in excess of R2 million across stacked prize categories. He banked R925,000 for the win, R242,000 as the first South African home, R605,000 for beating the best time and a further R550,000 for the fastest average pace per kilometre.
Gerda Steyn delivered the other half of a South African double in the women’s race. She became only the second woman to win the Comrades five times, clocking 5:44:53 to break her own record of 5:49:46 set on the up run in 2024.
Attention now turns to the 100th Comrades Marathon in 2027, a centenary edition that will carry added weight after a record-breaking day.
Kusche heads into that milestone race as the new up run benchmark holder, with his 5:16:06 the time every challenger will chase.
