Having just returned from Cape Town to support the RMB UTCT 100 miler (166km) event, when ‘my’ athlete finished in 33 hours and 18 minutes, at 01:00 in the morning, I noticed something. The race began at 17:00 on Friday. The winner, Fotis Zsimopoulos, was rightly welcomed back onto the field at 13:00 on Saturday, after finishing in time of 20 hours and 48 minutes. He arrived to roars of support, cheering, television cameras and raucous crowds. And man did he deserve it!

Most people who run with me know my thoughts about Comrades, and why my last one was in 2017. As a dedicated trail runner, I love solitude and my own company, so running with masses of people is not my idea of fun.