Durban - HOBBYIST and author Steve Camp has penned the official definitive history of the Comrades Marathon with co-author Brad Morgan.
Camp, the acting executive director of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Foundation, who writes for relaxation, also has about 22 other titles under his belt, ranging from children’s stories to military history books.
The Comrades book, In Your Stride: 100 Years of the Comrades Marathon, was completed at the end of 2021 in time for the centenary of the iconic sporting event.
“The world’s oldest and greatest ultra-marathon, the Comrades Marathon, is a South African institution internationally recognised for the body-sapping challenge it poses and the camaraderie it fosters among its thousands of participants from all over the world,” said Camp.
“Researching its history was fascinating. The race was born from an idea by World War I veteran Vic Clapham, who wanted a living memorial to those South African soldiers killed in the Great War. Clapham, who had endured a 2 700km march through sweltering German East Africa, wanted the memorial to be a unique test of physical endurance.
“The constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to ‘celebrate mankind’s spirit over adversity’. First run in 1921, the Comrades Marathon has been held every year since, except from 1941-1945 when it was stopped during World War II, and in 2020-21, owing to the Covid pandemic. “Thirty-four runners entered the first race; it peaked at more than 20 000 athletes.”
Yesterday’s race had just over 15 000 athletes.
“Writing books is a hobby of mine,” said Camp. “After a day in the office, I find it relaxing to spend time researching, delving into archives, paging through old newspapers, talking to the experts and hunting down pictures and illustrations.”
Camp is one of only a handful of people to have competed in all five of South Africa’s “Big Five” events: 10 Comrades, 17 Dusi Canoe Marathons, 14 Cape Town Cycle Tours, 19 Midmar Miles and one Cape to Rio Yacht Race. He has also run seven Two Oceans.
He is also part of an elite group of international runners to have run a marathon on all seven continents – the Great Wall of China, London, Inca Trail, New York, Sydney and Antarctica
Camp has reached the summits of four of the world’s highest seven continental peaks: Mt Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro and Kosciusko.
He was a member of South African teams that competed in multi-day expedition adventure races in Ecuador and Vietnam (Raid Gauloises), and in Patagonia, Argentina (Discovery Channel Eco Challenge). He also led the sixweek African Powered Paragliding Expedition, flying a motorised paraglider from Kilimanjaro to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and completed the Roof of Africa Rally in Lesotho on a motorbike.
Earlier this year he circumnavigated Mauritius in a canoe with his son Stuart; and paddled the 346km length of the River Thames from source to sea with his daughter Sarah.