At an age when most are hunting around the house to find their reading glasses or trading recommendations for hip replacement surgeons with their peers, 64-year-old David Gamede is still running Comrades times that the rest of us would dream of. This year he strolled home in 7:11:19 to comfortably win the Grandmaster prize. This was Gamede’s 5th Silver medal from 7 attempts and he is the only person to have run 4 Silvers over the age of 60.
I was keen to have a chat with the man who only ran his first Comrades in 2018 at the age of 56 and hear his inspirational story.
From Ladysmith to Comrades
Although he only started his Comrades career very late in life, Gamede’s running journey began in Ladysmith in 1990. Two years later he ran his first marathon — the Durban Marathon — in 2:47:11 at the age of 30. After moving to Durban in 1993, his running improved dramatically and by 1994 he was comfortably clocking sub-33 minute 10km time trials.
However, his running career was derailed with a promotion that required a move up to Johannesburg. This resulted in inconsistent training, an Achilles injury and a long layoff. Running disappeared from Gamede’s life until 2009 and only got firmly back on track when he joined Boksburg Athletic Club in 2010.
He set his sights on a Comrades debut in 2015 but suffered another false start when a knee injury forced him into a DNS. It took another three years before Gamede finally got to hear Chariots of Fire on the Comrades start line outside Pietermaritzburg City Hall. He marked his arrival as a Comrades runner in Durban in an impressive debut time of 7:31:01.
Five Silvers from Seven Starts: The Near Misses
Gamede has five Comrades silvers from seven starts with a best time of 7:04:45 from the 2024 Up run. However, I was keen to focus on the two very fast Bill Rowans – his 7:31:01 debut and a 7:32:24 in 2025.
Gamede explained that 2018 was a pure rookie error. “I knew nothing about pacing for a silver medal. My then coach miscalculated my pacing strategy based on the 2016 down run distance. In 2018 the race was extended by a further 2km to finish at the Moses Mabida Stadium. My pacing plan did not take this change into account that is why I missed the Silver Medal by a minute and one second.”
However in 2025 it was more a case of self-sacrifice. Gamede is a certified Athletics South Africa coach and was pacing five athletes from his coaching group in their first attempt at Silver. Unfortunately the group was just not up to it on the day but he refused to abandon them and stuck with them to the finish.
Training as a Grandmaster
The next logical topic to broach was his training regime. Gamede told me that he trains six days a week and rests on Sundays. His weekly schedule includes two to three threshold or anaerobic sessions, track and tempo work, two Zone 2 runs, Saturday long runs of at least 50km during peak training, short hill repeats, steps and twice-weekly strength sessions in the gym.
He says one of the biggest mental shifts was learning to enjoy hills. Living in hilly Malvern in Durban helped. “They do not frighten me,” he says. “I relish them.”
Life Away from Running
With a six day a week training program, Gamede told me that he likes to “rest religiously on Sundays.” And he’s not joking. One of the first things I noticed when looking at his profile picture after contacting him on WhatsApp was that he was a man of the cloth.
Therefore, I asked him, “Can you tell me a bit about your call to faith and how this relates to your approach to running?” He told me that his call to ministry came in 2000 at the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, better known as the AFM. Then, in 2006, he decided to resign from his corporate job to enter ministry full-time.
In 2015, he established Gospel of Truth Ministries where he is also currently the principal of Gospel of Truth Ministries Theological College, an online Bible Training School, as well as an ordained Bishop. The college offers studies in five languages and serves students in several countries. However, is it a labour of love as, “The Lord forbade me from charging tuition fees.”
For Gamede, the commitment to ministry is lifelong. “As a minister I will preach and teach till I die. There is no retirement in the service of Christ,” he says. That commitment is also one of the reasons he continues to train as hard as he does, “I am determined to keep my body strong and healthy and running became my natural choice of exercise.”
As for his personal life, Gamede is 64 years old, married to Khumbuzile for 39 years, father to three daughters and grandfather to six. He has also authored two self-published books.
The 2024 Grandmasters Win
When asked about his favourite Comrades memories, Gamede excitedly describes his 2024 PB and Grandmaster win as one of his most memorable running experiences. The photo of him running with the Grandmaster lead bike (which accompanied him from the top of Polly Shortts to Scottsville) is his all-time favourite running photo.
This year’s Grandmaster win brought another unforgettable moment when the Comrades Marathon Association invited him to the 2026 Champions’ Awards Breakfast at the Elangeni Hotel. “To be among those elite runners and to receive my category win medal in that hall was an experience I will never forget,” he says.
Boksburg AC
Gamede credits Boksburg Athletics Club for the pivotal role it has played in his Comrades career. He describes the club as compassionate, friendly and deeply supportive, particularly of athletes in need. Gamede spoke with immense gratitude to the club for sponsoring his Comrades journey since 2019 and appreciatively said, “I wear my blue and white stripes with great pride. I owe my five Silver medals and 2 Bill Rowans to Boksburg AC.”
The Green Number Goal (and then some)
Gamede needs three more Comrades finishes to earn his green number saying, “I can almost see the green bib on my breast.” I pointed out that he was now the joint second oldest runner to earn a Silver and asked, “Do you think you could still run a Silver in two years’ time to equal Callie Beneke’s record who ran a 7h23 as a 66-year-old in 2003?” Without skipping a beat Gamede confidently replied, “I would like to be the first septuagenarian in South Africa to earn a Comrades Silver Medal. There are still six more silvers in my legs.”
What Running Has Given Him
When chatting to an elder (especially one that runs a lot faster than you do), I thought it appropriate to get slightly philosophical at the end of our interview by asking the wisdom imparting question, “How has running changed your approach to and outlook on life?” It’s clear that running has shaped Gamede’s resilience and outlook, “The pain that accompanies training for Comrades has taught me vasbyt, resilience and tenacity.”
And there is no stronger character witness than Gamede’s affirmation about how much the sport has meant to him, “Running literally saved my sanity and life. If I can endure the literal physical and mental anguish of training, then I can do all things.”
Final Reflections
Gamede ends the interview the same way he approaches running and ministry: with gratitude. He thanks God for good health, his wife and children for their support, Boksburg AC for backing him, his coaching group ‘Team C16’ for helping him grow and his training partners Christina Silale, Brigitte O’Connor and Tebogo Seemela.
Gamede’s story is one of consistency, faith, support and long-term commitment. He started Comrades late, is one of just 15 men who’ve run a Silver over the age of 60 and has now managed it more times than anyone else. Gamede is not content to rest on his past achievements and continues to set ambitious goals for the years ahead.
With a lot of silver in his trophy cabinet there is no one better placed than David Gamede to give running advice to those with a bit of silver in their hair, “Age is but a number. This is a cliché, I know, but a good one nonetheless. Take the number out of your head and let your heart do what it does best: run.”
READ MORE: “Don’t Let the Old Man In”: Eric Venter’s 40-Year Silver Lining
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Thank you Stuart. An inspirational story of a remarkable man of faith, resilience and example. We need alot more men like David Gamede in our world filled with puff posers and users.
Now at the age of 53 I believe I can also attempt Billy Rowen medal next year 2027 God willing. May God grant the Bishop the strength in Jesus name amen.
A truly remarkable story about an extraordinary gifted man.
Thankyou for telling it.