Durban -The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA)has announced that 2023 marks 100 years since the first woman, Frances Elizabeth Hayward, ran and completed the race unofficially.
The association said Hayward’s completion of the race was unofficial due to the rejection of her entry, as no female runners were allowed to participate in the Comrades Marathon until 1975.
The CMA said Hayward was born on August 14, 1891 in Wiltshire, England.
“Her father was part of a fairly affluent woollen mill-owning family and she grew up in a large English home and received a good education. At the age of 20, she worked as a church embroideress at the County Home in Stafford.”
The CMA said that on January 3, 1914, Hayward departed from Southampton for Cape Town on The Galician, part of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company.
“During this period it was highly unusual for a woman to travel alone, yet she was undeterred and the excitement of the colonies drew her to South Africa. She found herself restless in Cape Town and wanted to travel and see more of South Africa. So in September 1921, now qualified as a clerk, she boarded a steamer headed for Natal and travelled alone to Durban and got a position as a typist.”
At the age of 30, the association said, the intrigue of the Comrades Marathon had caught Hayward’s attention and she sent a letter to Vic Clapham and applied to run in the 1923 race.
“Her entry left Clapham and the Athletics Association in a state of confusion as they had never had a woman applying to enter any male athletics events before. After considerable debate they refused to accept her entry. She sent an immediate response to the association and Vic that she was undaunted by their decision and would therefore run unofficially.”
The CMA said on the third running of the race in 1923, she lined up outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall with the 68 men who were competing that year.
“Dressed in a dark green gym suit and leather soled plimsolls, she started her journey along the road to Durban. Despite the general consensus that the distance would be too great for a woman, she was well supported by her fellow competitors and spectators alike. Hayward crossed the line in 11:35:00, in what would have been 28th position in a field of 30 finishers that year.”
The CMA said that Hayward’s run was not officially recognised due to the rejection of her entry.
“She received no silver medal (as all finishers were awarded silver during the 1920s), but the citizens of Durban were so impressed by her performance that they pooled together and presented her with a silver tea set and silver rose bowl as congratulations.”
