Fordyce, Bruce (1955-…), a South African long distance runner, became one of his country’s greatest athletes. Fordyce began running in 1976. In 1977, he ran in the Comrades Marathon for the first time. This course stretches from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, a distance of about 56 miles (90 kilometers). The race was first held in 1921. It is named for the Comrades of the Great War, an organization of South African veterans of World War I (1914-1918). Today, it ranks as South Africa’s greatest single sporting event. Between 1981 and 1990, Fordyce won the race nine times. His first win was in the time of 5 hours 37 minutes 28 seconds. From then on, Fordyce won the race every year until 1988. He did not compete in 1989, but he won the race again in 1990. Fordyce has also won a number of distance races in many other parts of the world. He won the 50-mile (80-kilometer) London to Brighton (now Brighton and Hove) race three times, setting a world record in the distance in 1983.
Bruce Noel Stevenson Fordyce was born in Hong Kong, then a British possession but now part of China, on Dec. 3, 1955. He arrived in South Africa with his family at the age of 1. He was educated in South Africa and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in archaeology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
