On Sunday, June 14, 2026, the road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg will once again carry tens of thousands of beating hearts, aching legs, and unbreakable spirits.
The 99th edition of the legendary Comrades Marathon, this year an Up Run of approximately 85.7 km, is one of the most celebrated and gruelling ultra-marathons in the world. And among the thousands of runners who will toe that start line, one face will be especially close to our hearts.
Marina Lues, a beloved member of the Stepping Stone Hospice team, has chosen to dedicate her 2026 Comrades entry to raising funds for our NPO, running in support of the patients we care for every day, the families we walk alongside in their most tender moments, and the work that keeps our doors open and our hearts full.
Leap of faith
If you had told Marina a decade ago that she would one day be a Comrades finisher, not once, not twice, but three consecutive times, she would have smiled and shaken her head. Her original goal was simply to walk every day to stay healthy. Nothing more, nothing less. But step by step, something began to change. She ran her first 5km without stopping, progressed to 9km, and eventually completed a half marathon in 2:30. The road to Comrades, however, was not without its heartbreak.
It took Marina four attempts to qualify, with two painful DNFs in 2017 and 2019. But she kept going. She kept training in the dark, kept showing up, kept believing. In 2022, she finally crossed the Comrades finish line on the down run, and followed it with another completion on the up run in 2023. Last year brought her most emotional finish yet, crossing the line in 11:57:20, earning the coveted Vic Clapham Medal awarded to runners who complete the race between 11 and 12 hours. Three consecutive finishes.
Marina trains year-round, rising as early as 04:00 for runs, logging long distances on Saturdays, and fitting in two strength sessions each week, with Sundays her only rest day. And through all of it, her husband has been her constant companion on the road.
Anyone who knows the work of Stepping Stone will recognise that spirit immediately, because it is exactly what we try to give to every patient and family who comes through our doors.Marina has been part of the Stepping Stone family since March 2018, working in accounts and reception, liaising with medical aids and keeping the administrative heart of the hospice beating. She may not work directly at the bedside, but she is woven into the fabric of this place in ways that matter deeply.
Please show your support
This year, Marina has made the deeply personal decision to run for Stepping Stone Palliative Care Services – to choose us as her cause, to carry our name on that road, and to turn every hard kilometre into something lasting and life-giving for the patients we serve.
The proceeds of her fundraising will go directly toward our 5-star and CoHSASA accredited NPO, funding both our adult and baby care units, supporting our daily operations, and purchasing much-needed items and meals for our patients.
Stepping Stone Hospice founder and CEO, Tersia Burger, expressed her heartfelt pride in Marina’s extraordinary commitment: “Marina is not just running a race, she is carrying the heartbeat of Stepping Stone on that road with her. Every kilometre she runs is a testament to the kind of people who make this hospice what it is. We are so incredibly proud of her, and we’re grateful beyond words for her choosing to run for our patients.”
And now, we turn to you.
You do not need to run 85.7 km to be part of this story. You simply need to care and we believe that you do. We warmly invite you to kindly sponsor Marina’s journey by donating per kilometre she completes, or by making a once-off contribution in her honour.
Whether you give R1 a kilometre or R50 a kilometre, whether you make a small gift or a generous one, every single rand will go directly toward the lives of those in our care. To give you a sense of what your support could look like: a donation of R1 per kilometre would amount to R85.70 should Marina finish; R5 per kilometre would total R428.50; R10 per kilometre, R857.00; R20 per kilometre, R1 714.00; and R50 per kilometre, R4 285.00. But truly, no amount is too small, and no act of generosity goes unnoticed or unfelt.
On 14 June 2026, as Marina Lues stands on that start line in Durban in the early morning light and sets her eyes on the long road ahead, she will not be running alone.
She will be carrying the names and the faces of our patients, the adults resting quietly in our care, and the precious little ones in our baby unit who deserve every comfort, every moment of warmth, and every act of love we can offer them.
She will be running for the families who sit beside bedsides and hold hands and whisper their goodbyes. She will be running for the nurses and caregivers who show up with grace, day-after-day. She will be running for all of us.
To make your kind donation, please see banking details below:
Account name: Stepping Stone Hospice and Care Services
Bank name: Absa
Reference: Name & Surname/ComradesMarathon
Branch: Alberton
Branch code: 632005
Account number: 4086095643
Kindly forward proof of payment to finance@steppingstonehospice.co.za
