Four University of Pretoria (UP) staff members are set to tackle South Africa’s most famous ultramarathon – the Comrades Marathon, between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal – to raise funds for UP students in the “missing middle” facing financial difficulties.

Dr Bianca Frost, Josiah Mavundla, Mfundo Nyitana and Prof André Ganswindt will take on the 90-kilometre run – known as ‘the ultimate human race’ – on Sunday 8 June 2025 with supporters backing every kilometre they run, and proceeds benefiting the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Scholarship Fund at UP. This fund provides financial support to deserving students who fall into the ‘missing middle’ – students who do not qualify for government financial aid for tertiary education but cannot afford university studies without financial assistance.

Mfundo Nyitana: ‘It’s about changing lives’

“I would like to see more and more students benefiting from this campaign,” says Nyitana, who has been working at UP since 2021 as a Senior Prospect Researcher in the Department of Institutional Advancement. “I also want them to see that UP will do everything for them to graduate and change their lives, and for those around them.”

Nyitana is set to take on his third consecutive Comrades Marathon – his best time to date is 11 hours, 29 minutes and two seconds (11:29:02). He says the marathon originally provided a way of staying active and healthy, “but this year I can add the cause, which is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Scholarship Fund.”

He hopes to change the lives of the growing student body at UP, focusing on those who require financial assistance to achieve their academic goals. With this in mind, Nyitana has no plans to stop his running endeavours. “I have seen runners who are 70 years old, so I am not planning to stop until I reach that age,” he says.

Prof André Ganswindt: ‘Motivator for students’

Prof Ganswindt is taking on his fourth consecutive Comrades, having participated since 2022. His best time to date is 11:26:26. He says the marathon serves as a test of endurance: “Initially I wanted to see if I can actually do it. Now I want to see if I can still do it. It’s kind of a mental strength test.”

Prof Ganswindt, who has been working at UP since 2006 and currently works in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, says he hopes completing the Comrades Marathon will serve as a motivation for students – since he believes the race, and especially the preparation for it, is similar to the mental endurance that students need to achieve their tertiary education goals.

“An endurance race like the Comrades is basically a mirror for any challenging task you may encounter in life,” he says. “The race isn’t the difficult part; the long, early hours of training, dealing with injuries, staying disciplined while motivation is low, showing up when everybody else is still sleeping or busy otherwise… that’s the difficult part. Interestingly, everyone can do it, it just takes a little longer for some. So don’t say you can’t. If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

Prof Ganswindt says he hopes to stay healthy and be able to devote more time to running in the future. “Unfortunately, I haven’t run as much as I wanted to for this years preparation, as I had to balance my running with other training for functional fitness competitions earlier this year. And then there is work, family, and life.”

Support UP’s runners and ‘missing middle’ students

These runners remind us that any goal worth achieving takes time and endurance. It really does take a village. However, with the support of initiatives such as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s Scholarship Fund, this village can serve as a support system and a source of motivation for students who pursue their academic goals, regardless of how daunting the task may seem.

Click below to support UP’s star runners:

Donate here

• Dr Bianca Frost (Lecturer, Department of Marketing Management) Support Bianca here
• Mfundo Nyitana (Senior Development Specialist, Department of Institutional Advancement) Support Mfundo here
• Josiah Mavundla (Senior Manager: Advancement and Database, Department of Institutional Advancement) Support Josiah here
• Prof André Ganswindt (Director – Mammal Research Institute) Support André here