Last year left bruises deeper than tired legs. This year carries the scent of redemption.
Four-time Olympian Irvette van Zyl will toe the line for her second Comrades Marathon carrying a suitcase packed with hard lessons, quiet confidence and a long-standing love affair with climbing roads that twist towards Pietermaritzburg like a stubborn serpent refusing to surrender.
The experienced marathon star, wife of former Olympic 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl and mother of two young boys, arrives at the 2026 Up Run determined to turn a painful debut into a story with a brighter ending.
“I have the pre-race jitters already but I’m excited,” Van Zyl said in an exclusive interview. “Last year I learned some hard lessons. Unfortunately my first Comrades wasn’t a dream. It was a bit of a nightmare.”
That difficult fourth-place finish in the 2025 Down Run still lingers like a stubborn headwind.
“I think going into this year that experience is going to help me hopefully a lot and I’ve hopefully learned all my lessons last year. Of course I’m going to make mistakes again but I’ll learn from them again. This year I made a lot of tweaks and hopefully it’s for the better. It showed in training that it’s for the better so I’m hoping it will show in the Up Run.”
Van Zyl has long built her reputation on conquering hills with the calm rhythm of somebody greeting an old friend. While many runners negotiate climbs like reluctant diplomats, she often attacks them with the enthusiasm of a child charging towards an ice cream truck.
“My preference is hills so hopefully it will be to my advantage, but I’ve never run hills like this before. I tried in training so this is going to be a good tester for me if I still love hills or I’m good in hills after this. I’m excited to see and excited for the challenge.”
Preparation has stretched far beyond climbing repeats.
“I tried mimicking a lot of longer hills and a bit steeper hills, played a bit around where I usually do one type of hill. I tried to play around a bit more with different kinds of hills this time.”
Fueling also became a major focus after last year’s painful education.
“Last year I really experienced that my fueling wasn’t right so this year I made a lot of changes to that. I hope the fueling and the changing of the hills will help me a bit better en route.”
The Hollywood Athletics Club star is chasing improvement, although her ambitions carry refreshing honesty rather than chest-thumping bravado.
“I want to improve on my fourth. Last year was a really hard fourth and I couldn’t enjoy any of it.”
Her biggest target may not even appear on the results sheet.
“Even if I don’t get better than fourth I really want to take in the Comrades and enjoy it as much as possible because last year I couldn’t take anything in. This year I have a different mindset. Take in the crowd and don’t be so serious too soon. Smile a bit because last year I tried smiling but there was nothing.”
Earlier this season, family responsibilities shaped much of her calendar.
“I haven’t been racing too much. My oldest is in Grade 5 so we’ve been studying hard for exams. I am a mother so I have to juggle that. Unfortunately I didn’t experience the Two Oceans because I’ve been dealing with a few variables.”
Van Zyl admitted she originally wanted her first taste of Comrades to come in an Up Run.
“Last year I jumped the gun because I really wanted to run that race, but last year was such a bad experience. Hopefully this year will be better and I’ll enjoy it a bit more. Hopefully I’ll be strong on the hills. It’s always been my preference to have uphills, although I’ve never run uphills like this before.”
Sunday’s route offers no promises and certainly no mercy. The road has a wicked sense of humour and the climbs can humble heroes with alarming efficiency.
Yet if grit could grow wings, Irvette van Zyl might already be flying towards Pietermaritzburg.
