Steyn celebrates the spirit of “Blue Number Club’

SUCH have been Gerda Steyn’s remarkable achievements on the road that you'd be forgiven for thinking anything less than a record-breaking run would be considered minor by the darling of South African running.

- MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

While victories and records mean a great deal to the “Smiling Assassin” from Bothaville - they are, after all, the stuff of legacy - the Hollywood Athletics Club star has dominated the country’s ultra-marathon scene for over half a decade by valuing the same milestones that social runners strive for.

Take the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon Blue Number Club (BNC), for example. Open to runners who have completed the 56km race ten times, the BNC is a dream for many but achieved by few.

Steyn is yet to run the “world’s most beautiful marathon” 10 times, but thanks to her six victories, she has long since become a member of this exclusive club. To say it means the world to her would be an understatement.