My name is Gerda Steyn, I am a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. I started running in 2014 with the aim of making friends and adding a healthy activity to my lifestyle.  Little did I know that running would become such an integral part of my life.  I fell in love with the sport and unearthed a talent that I never knew I had. Since 2014, I have made many changes and the biggest one being a change in career from being a Quantity Surveyor, to becoming a professional athlete.

I have represented South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games as well as Paris 2024. In 2019, I set the Comrades Marathon Up-run record in a time of 5:58:54, becoming the first ever woman to run the up-run under 6 hours. I set the Comrades Marathon down-run record in 2023 with a mark of 5:44:54, and in 2024, I bettered my own up-run record to a time of 5:49:46. I have won the Two Oceans ultra marathon 5 consecutive times breaking the course record three times in a row. Until recently I was the South African marathon record holder with a time of 2:24:03.

I have been very fortunate in my career and learned from early on that enjoyment of the sport has to come first.  Throughout my career I have received so much support and encouragement from the entire running community and therefore I feel the need to share my experience and help runners to OWN THEIR RUNNING!