Intsika celebrates Shelmith Muriukis historic Comrades Marathon milestone.

Muriuki claimed third place in the gruelling 89km down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban’s People’s Park, clocking a time of 6 hours, 7 minutes, and 56 seconds—behind winner Gerda Steyn (5:51:19) and second-placed Russian Alexandra Morozova (5:55:56).

In recognition of her groundbreaking achievement, Muriuki received R315,000 from the Comrades Marathon Association.

Her club, Intsika, further honoured her inspiring performance by awarding her a cheque of R212,000 at the Sunday night celebration. 

Until now, no black woman had ever finished in the top three of the iconic race, making Muriuki’s podium finish a historic first.

The City-to-City 50km ultra-marathon champion from Pretoria to Johannesburg now holds the distinction of being the first black woman to earn a top-three finish in the Ultimate Human Race.

The 41-year-old is a shy athlete who prefers to do the talking on the road; however, the spotlight was on her in a celebratory dinner.

Speaking with SABC Sport, she said the honour will serve as a motivation to aim for bigger things in life.

“I feel wow, I have achieved things before, but never appreciated before, so I feel good.

The appreciation gives me motivation to keep on pushing, and I feel good, and by God’s grace, I am looking forward to more big achievements,” she said.

Shelmith Muriuki had never competed in a race longer than 56km before taking on the Comrades Marathon.

Her previous longest distance was the Two Oceans Marathon in April, where she finished second behind Gerda Steyn in 3 hours, 37 minutes, and 51 seconds. No Kenyan athlete has accomplished what she did at Comrades, as the country is traditionally known for its dominance in standard 42.2km marathons rather than ultra-distance events.

“The number of kilometres I ran in training each week gave me the confidence to go beyond 58km,” she said.

“I believe many black runners will now feel inspired and believe it’s possible to reach the podium too. In Kenya, we’re used to the marathon distance, but I wanted to break that barrier and step into the ultra-marathon world. I hope this opens the door for more African athletes to follow.”

Muriuki believes she has what it takes to win the Comrades Marathon one day. She explained that her goal this year was not to win, but rather to gain experience and keep up with Gerda Steyn.

Yes, I believe I can win the Comrades in the future. This time, I just wanted to understand the race and focus on chasing Gerda without overextending myself.

“I’ve learned so much from watching her over the years. The key now is to run at least three-quarters of the race alongside her. It’s not about who wins, but I’m excited to compete with her again,” she said.