The GEMS Spirit of Comrades Awards Gala, which has been a tradition since 1996, honours three remarkable individuals each year not only for their achievements in the race, but also for their embodiment of the noble values and Comrades spirit associated with The Ultimate Human Race. The award, which includes a one-ounce, pure gold medallion, is richly deserved recognition for those who showcase the inherent values of goodness in humanity, and inspire others to be equally selfless.

Reflecting on this spirit of humanity, Dr Vuyo Gqola, Chief Operations Officer at GEMS, says, “GEMS is proud to partner with the Comrades Marathon Association in celebrating the Spirit of Comrades. This partnership aligns with our mission to promote health and wellness, and embodies our commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, can pursue their dreams.”

Rigorous Selection Process

For these 2025 GEMS Spirit of Comrades Awards, the CMA received 368 nominations from Comrades Marathon participants, supporters and the general public. All nominations were rigorously reviewed by the CMA’s Heritage and Traditions Committee, and then a recommendation with winners was presented to the CMA Board for approval.

A number of additional awards also form part of the annual awards gala, including Top Journalist of the Year, Top Fundraiser of the Year and the CMA Chairperson’s Award, as well as Long Service Awards, presented to volunteers, sponsors or partners for longstanding commitment to the Comrades Marathon.

This year, a number of new awards have been added to the gala function. While there has traditionally been an award for the top individual fundraiser, the new Top Club to Raise Funds for Charity Award is presented to the registered running club with the highest number of individual members officially entered in the race and who each raise the minimum target as set by the CMA for one or more of the CMA’s six official charities, through its official Race4Charity fundraising platform.

Also new is the Top International Ambassador Award, which recognises exceptional performance in promoting the Comrades Marathon brand internationally, and the Comrades Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to an athlete who has delivered exceptional performances over an extended period of time, or has broken a significant milestone or barrier associated with the Comrades Marathon. Lastly, the new Hermes Award is presented to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution in spreading the message of the Comrades Marathon.

Richly Deserving Winners

Reflecting on the list of 2025 awards winners, CMA Chairperson Mqondisi Ngcobo says “We take pleasure in congratulating and honouring all of our GEMS Spirit of Comrades Awards recipients. Each of them is highly deserving of this accolade, and I know that their stories will inspire an even stronger spirit of humanity and camaraderie in every single Comrades Marathon runner, Member, volunteer, supporter, sponsor and partner.”

“The CMA would like to extend its sincere gratitude to GEMS for partnering with us to host this year’s inspirational awards function, and for its many years of support for both our event and our annual awards,” adds Ngcobo. “We also thank all the athletes, supporters, volunteers, staff and media who contributed the hundreds of nominations for these 2025 Awards. The overwhelming response we received to our call for nominations once again showcases the incredible spirit of humanity that is core to the Comrades Marathon community.”

Honouring the 2025 GEMS Spirit of Comrades Recipients:

FIRST RECIPIENT: Sphamandla Maduna

Our first recipient is Sphamandla Maduna, or Spha as he is affectionately known, a volunteer who became inspired to run the Comrades Marathon, even though he has cerebral palsy. This year he completed his first Comrades as a novice, running for Hollywood Athletics Club, finishing in a time of 10 hours 52 minutes and 46 seconds to earn a bronze medal. He has shown his ability to run the Comrades despite his disability, and his inspirational story of courage and overcoming adversity shows what can be achieved if you put your mind to it, and if you live by his motto: “Disability does not mean inability.”

SECOND RECIPIENT: Prince Nemutanzhela

Our next recipient’s heart-wrenching story begins in Tembisa, two weeks before the 2025 Comrades Marathon. After 22 years as a security officer, Prince Nemutanzhela was shot in a home invasion, losing his friend in the attack and seeing his wife also rushed to hospital with wounds incurred while protecting their children. His wife knew it was his dream to run the Comrades, and she encouraged him to still participate. So, he lined up at the start, a wounded novice from the Irene Athletic Club, and there was no one prouder to receive a medal after 11 hours 48 minutes and 41 seconds. Violent crime is a terrible scourge that affects all South Africans. He could have been a statistic, but instead he rose above it and became an inspiration.

THIRD RECIPIENT: Pogiso Maroku

Our final recipient of the Spirit of Comrades Award is Pogiso Maroku, a member of the South African National Defence Force and runs for the Pretoria Military Marathon Club. In his first Comrades in 2024, he showed the true spirit of Comrades while demonstrating that, as a soldier, you don’t leave anyone behind. With the clock ticking down to the final cut-off and 10km still to go, he came upon a struggling fellow SANDF runner, the grandmaster and Double Green Number-holder Peter Johnstone, and decided to stay with him. Together with another runner, Lukanyo Mncono, he helped Peter reach the finish to claim his 27th medal. Even though it was Pogiso’s first Comrades, it was more important for him to help his fellow SANDF member to finish the race, and this while he was struggling with a knee injury himself. Thankfully, he also made it over the line in 11 hours, 56 minutes and 20 seconds, just a few seconds behind Peter and Lukanyo.

Additional Awards

The GEMS Spirit of Comrades Awards Gala also celebrates a number of other annual awards by the CMA.

CMA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Louis Massyn

This new award is presented to an athlete who has demonstrated sustained exceptional performance over an extended period of time, or has broken a significant milestone or barrier, which in some way is associated as iconic in the history of the Comrades Marathon. Our first recipient of this award, Louis Massyn, has done both. Louis ran his first Comrades in 1973, and he says simply, “I was hooked.” He went on to finished the race 47 times consecutively up till 2019, then added three more from 2023 to this year. That means that in 2025, he completed his 50th Comrades Marathon, making him the first athlete to reach this significant milestone, and this at the age of 74! Louis’ lifetime commitment to The Ultimate Human Race is beyond extraordinary, and what makes this award even more special is that it was made on his 75th Birthday!

CMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Bob Norris

The Comrades Marathon Association acknowledges and appreciates the important and enduring work of the media in covering the Comrades Marathon, and this award is presented to the journalist who has covered the race most extensively during the year, as independently verified by Newsclip Media Monitoring. Bob Norris has been writing for the Daily Dispatch for 45 years, has a weekly community radio slot, and was also formerly a columnist for SA Runner magazine. He was bitten by the Comrades bug in 1977, on the 31st of May, a.k.a “Comrades Day,” when he was listening to radio coverage of Alan Robb claiming his second victory. Bob decided he also wanted to run the Comrades, and ran his first in 1979, going on to obtain his Green Number in 1994 in his final run. After a lifetime of writing about all things running, including many articles on the Comrades Marathon, Bob still says: “Comrades is an integral part of life.”

CMA TOP CHARITY FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR: Mahesh Ratanjee

The Comrades Marathon Association is exceedingly proud of and passionate about its official charity initiative, Amabeadibeadi, which benefits six officially-recognised charities. This award is presented to an individual who has made an exceptional effort to raise funds for one or more of these Comrades charities, and raised the most funds for the year. This year’s winner, Mahesh Ratanjee, scooped the same award last year, when he raised nearly R200,000 for his charity of choice, the Community Chest Durban and Pietermaritzburg. This year, he added another R320,000 raised, which earns him the honour of Top Charity Fundraiser. Tragically, Mahesh and his wife lost their daughter some years ago, and he says this is what motivates him to run the Comrades Marathon for a greater purpose, to provide care for children through the Community Chest’s Early Childhood Development programme. Mahesh has completed four consecutive Comrades Marathons since 2022, and has dedicated all four runs to charity. He is a true superhero to all the underprivileged children who will benefit from his fundraising efforts.

TOP CLUB TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITY AWARD: Run Zone Athletics Club

This award has been introduced for the first time this year, and is presented to the registered running club with the highest number of individual members officially entered in the race and who each raise the minimum target as set by the CMA for one or more of the CMA’s six official charities, through its official Race4Charity fundraising platform. This year the club that walks away with this prestigious award, is Run Zone Athletics Club. Over the past eight years, Run Zone has grown into one of the largest community clubs in South Africa, and this year, the club had 310 members finishing the race. Between them, the club’s members raised R176,267 for the Race4Charity.

TOP INTERNATIONAL AMBASSADOR AWARD: Tiago Dionisio

This award has been introduced for the first time this year as an award on its own, to be presented to an ambassador who has delivered an exceptional performance in promoting the Comrades Marathon brand internationally. Tiago Dionisio is an economist based in Lisbon and the Comrades International Ambassador in Portugal, and he has completed 850 marathons and ultras, including 23 Comrades Marathons since 2001. Tiago is also passionate about raising funds for charity, and he has twice cycled from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg in 10 days and run the Comrades on the 11th day as part of the Unogwaja Challenge.* This award recognises Tiago’s selfless contribution to the Comrades Marathon over many years.

* This Challenge was inspired by the youngest ever winner of the Comrades Marathon, Phil Masterton-Smith, who won in 1931 aged just 19, and who was known by the nickname Unogwaja (Rabbit). In 1933, he couldn’t afford the train fare from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg to run the race, so he cycled there over 10 days, then ran the race and finished in 10th position. Sadly, he lost his life a few years later during World War Two.

HERMES AWARD: Steven Maliszewski

This award has also been introduced for the first time this year and is presented to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution in spreading the message of Comrades. Steven Maliszewski is a 12-time Comrades finisher, running club coach and volunteer from Texas, who has recruited numerous international friends and fellow runners to Comrades along the way. Most importantly, he has been spreading a message of hope by tirelessly raising funds for the Ethembeni School, which lies on the Comrades route and provides education and care for children with physical disabilities and visual impairments. These funds help provide mobility aids, learning tools and opportunities for the children, and without fail every Friday before the race, Steven visits the school and presents the principal with another cheque. Since 2012, he has raised R1,5 million for the school.

CMA CHAIRPERSON’S AWARD: Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase

This special award honours an individual whose touching story has inspired and motivated others, and the 2025 winner is Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase. Born in Rwanda, he witnessed the atrocities of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, and at the age of 20, he embarked on an uncertain journey that led him to settle in South Africa. Beginning his new life here as a car guard, he fought his way to university, obtained a degree in Physics after being awarded a scholarship, later started a career in banking, and ultimately became a successful businessman. He also authored the book: Witnessing – from the Rwandan Tragedy to healing in South Africa. Certainly not daunted by challenges, this year he set out to tackle the Comrades Marathon, finishing in 11 hours, 58 minutes and 45 seconds.

Before the sad passing earlier this month of 1982 Comrades Marathon winner and former CMA Chairperson, Cheryl Winn, she described this as “One of the most amazing Comrades stories I have ever heard.” Thus, in honour of her memory, the current CMA Chairperson, Mr Mqondisi Ngcobo, has selected Pie-Pacifique as winner of this award, as he is a true example of the spirit of endurance.

LONG SERVICE AWARDS: Lauretta Dunn, Biddulphs and Form-scaff

Also known as the Green Name Awards, the Long Service Awards are presented to volunteers who have demonstrated long-standing commitment to the Comrades Marathon. The CMA also acknowledges longstanding service providers who have been part of the Comrades Journey for many years, and who have made their own contributions in terms of value-added services to the Comrades community. The 2025 GEMS Spirit of Comrades Awards thus presented the following deserving recipients with their embroidered Green Names:

• Lauretta Dunn has diligently served the interests of the Comrades for 45 years as a volunteer. Her passion for running started in the early 1980's when she volunteered at the Comrades Expo and met many inspiring runners, which motivated her to pursue her dream of competing in the Comrades Marathon. While she did not finish her first run in 2000, she returned the next year to earn her first Comrades medal, going on to earn three medals from six starts. She says running the Comrades Marathon is “a profound test of mental and physical endurance,” but she has proven through more than four decades of dedicated service to the race that it is also a profound test of dedication and selflessness.
• For 41 years, Biddulphs International has been far more than just a supplier to the Comrades Marathon. It was the late Tony Howell and his passion for Comrades that brought Biddulphs into this lasting partnership, and the company’s involvement originally began with staff who were keen runners and fans, but eventually led to Biddulphs becoming the official tog bag supplier. What started as a simple service has grown into a masterclass in race logistics, and today, Biddulphs deploys approximately 100 dedicated staff and 28 vehicles on race day to ensure the flawless, secure transport of nearly 10,000 runners' tog bags from start to finish. The Biddulphs team also manages crucial logistics for charity accommodation and volunteer supplies.
• For the past four decades, Form-scaff has proudly partnered with the Comrades Marathon, supporting the iconic event with essential scaffolding structures at both the start and finish. The dedicated team at the Durban Branch, led by Branch Manager Luke Pillay, and together with their sister company SGB-Cape, has consistently ensured safe pedestrian bridges, PA towers, advertising towers, and seating stands.