Pietermaritzburg - South African pair Anele Dlamini and Dewald Engels were amongst a three-man pace-setting group a quarter of the way into the 2014 Comrades Marathon at Camperdown on Sunday.
The two were joined by Zimbabwean Elmore Sibanda around 22 kilometres into the 89.28km 'down run' from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
Gert Thys, the country's marathon record holder, was amongst those chasing them during the early stages.
The 89th edition of the world-famous ultra marathon began in sub 10-degrees temperatures in the KwaZulu-Natal capital at 05h30. - Sapa