"The way we treated our athletes is what made the club successful" - Three decades of Mr Price Comrades gold medals

Since its inception, Maxed Elite, the oldest commercial running club that is still operational in South Africa, has been a dominant force on the track, cross country and roads. But it is the Mr Price backed club’s unparalleled Comrades Marathon success that has set it apart. The Durban-based club has won at least one gold medal at every single Comrades since Shaun Meiklejohn won the 1995 edition of The Ultimate Human Race in it’s signature red vest. 

2012 Comrades champion Ludwick Mamabolo alongside 3-time Comrades champion Bongumusa Mthembu in the colours of Mr Price. Photo Credit: Supplied.

It makes the club which is now called the Maxed Elite Running Club, the most successful club in Comrades history, boasting over 100 gold medals and a total of 20 winners. Cuan Walker, who served as the club’s elite manager in the mid 2000s, witnessed much of this success firsthand as the man responsible for recruiting some of their very best talent. Walker describes how he joined the club and the first athletes who bought into the vision of a dominant Mr Price ultra distance running team. 

"I joined Mr Price in the year 2004," the now 40-year-old Walker tells #TheTopRunner. “I was recruited by Gwen van Lingen just after I left school. She asked me to focus on the elite athlete program," explains Walker, who also works as a commentator for some of the country’s biggest road running events.

Walker and Ngwenya pose with former SA Marathon record holder Gert Thys (back) alongside nutrition sponsor 32GI at the Comrades Marathon pre-race expo. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"Before I came on board, Mr Price was known for bringing Russians to the Comrades Marathon but that changed when I came in. I started to sign black long distance runners including the likes of Fusi Nhlapo, Joseph Ikaneng and Walter Nkosi. Nhlapo had just won the Comrades for Liberty Nike in the previous year. I'm not saying the club never had black athletes before I joined, as it did have. But they were mainly track athletes.”

Walker’s recruitment of local homegrown talent helped shift public perception that Mr Price’s marathon and ultra marathon team was only interested Eastern European athletes. The success was immediate as the likes of Mncedisi Mkhize, Frans Chauke and Leboka Noto all earned gold medals at the 2006 Comrades Marathon to usher in a new era which culminated in Ludwick Mamabolo’s victory in Mr Price colours during the 2012 Down Run. Walker believes that they were successful because of how they looked after their athletes.

"I think the way we treated our athletes is what made the club successful. For example, we had athletes speaking different languages and from different cultures, so I had to make sure that I accommodate all of them. I used to visit them at their homes to see how they lived and how they did things on a daily basis. We made athletes feel as though they are part of the Mr Price family.”

Walker, Ngwenya and manager Craig Fry pose with 2003 Comrades Marathon champion Fusi Nhlapo. Photo Credit: Supplied.

Walker enjoyed many special moments throughout his 13 year stay as the club’s elite athlete manager. But he reveals that his most memorable moment was seeing Elena Nurgalieva winning the 2006 Comrades edition in a then course record time of 6:09:24. 

"There are so many moments I shared with the club but the year Elena won both Two Oceans and Comrades in 2006 was very special for me. Mr Price decided to give her a R1 million incentive for winning and breaking the record. That moment stands out as the best for me.”

But the rise of more commercial running clubs in the country, has seen Maxed Elite lose it’s stranglehold on Comrades dominance - especially in the last decade when outfits like the Nedbank Running Club have increasingly called the ultra distance shots. Martin Ngwenya, who has served as the clubs’ elite manager since 2017, argues that athletes are spoilt for choice when it comes to running opportunities these days. 

Walker and Ngwenya pictured with their strong 2017 Comrades team including gold medalists Charles Tjiane, Teboho Sello, Mncedisi Mkhize and Prodigal Khumalo. Photo Credit: Cuan Walker.

"Back in the day, the best athletes were running for Mr Price. Athletes were fighting to be recruited by the club. So it was easy for the club to get the desired results. Nowadays, things have changed because there are lot more clubs coming up which offer athletes good money. The competition in the ultra space is well balanced now. That's why it looks like Mr Price has dropped a bit in terms of performance," he explains. 

While he remains confident that Maxed Elite will continue to make an impact on the Comrades Marathon just as they did last year when they claimed third and fifth position in the mens race, Ngwenya is prouder about the number of lives the club has touched. Having been a top runner himself competing in the red of Mr Price, Ngwenya says the club’s greatest achievement is in the countless lives they have changed through running.

"Many Comrades runners that managed to do well through the guidance of the club ended up improving their lives. They were well taken care of by the club in those days. And even if athletes have more choices on which clubs to join these days, we still do take care of our athletes well.”