Ultramarathon road race between Durban and Pietermaritzburg
Comrades Marathon
The Comrades Marathon logo
Date
May / June
Location
Durban / Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Event type
Road
Distance
Ultramarathon (90 km)
Established
1921; 103 years ago (1921)
Course records
Down:
Men: Tete Dijana 5:13:58 (2023)
Women: Gerda Steyn 5:44:54 (2023)
Up:
Men: Leonid Shvetsov 5.24.39 (2008)
Women: Gerda Steyn 5:49:46 (2024)
Official site
The Comrades Marathon
The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi)[1] which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race.[2] The direction of the race alternates each year between the "up" run (87.6km) starting from Durban (elevation: 101 metres (331 ft)) and the "down" run (87.7km) starting from Pietermaritzburg (elevation: 921 metres (3,022 ft)).
The 2019 field was capped at 25,000 runners, and the entry process closed after one week.[3] South African runners constitute the greater part of the field, but many entrants hail from the India, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, India, the United States, Brazil, Australia, Botswana, Russia, Eswatini and Japan.[3][4] In all but three runnings since 1988, over 10,000 runners have reached the finish within the allowed 11 or 12 hours.[5] With increased participation since the 1980s, the average finish times for both sexes, and the average age of finishers have increased substantially.[6]
The race was not held from 1941 to 1945 due to World War II, and the in-person edition of the race was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was resumed in 2022 with a field of 15,000 entrants.[7]
Since 2019 runners over the age of 20 qualify when they are able to complete an officially recognised marathon (42.2 km) in under 4:50 (5 hours before 2019).[8] During the event an athlete must also reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race.[1] The spirit of the Comrades Marathon is said to be embodied by attributes of camaraderie, selflessness, dedication, perseverance, and ubuntu.[9]
^ abComrades: Route cut-off times, 2012, archived from the original on 24 June 2012, retrieved 24 June 2012
^"Longest Running Ultramarathons". ARRS. ARRS.
^ abStaff writer (26 October 2018). "Comrades Marathon entries closed after 25 000 snapped up". iol. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^"20 Fun Facts About The 2019 Comrades Marathon". Runner's World. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference ARRS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Weight, Lindsay (2005). "How to run the Comrades". alsoranrunners.info. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
^Cite error: The named reference coa1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Comrades: General rules and information, 2012, archived from the original on 19 June 2012, retrieved 24 June 2012
^"2013 Cathsseta Spirit of Comrades Award". comrades.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
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winner of the ComradesMarathon and the Two Oceans Marathon, the African record holder for 100 km Bruce Fordyce, 9-time ComradesMarathon winner, former...
Kong) is a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. He is best known for having won the South African ComradesMarathon a record nine times, of...
(16 November 1886 – 1962) was the founder of the ComradesMarathon, the world's largest ultra-marathon, of approximately 90 km held annually between Durban...
became one of the greatest 100-mile runners in history. He won the ComradesMarathon five times and completed the distance of around 90 km the last time...
Steyn (born 3 March 1990) is a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. She set the ComradesMarathon down-run record in 2023 with a mark of 5:44:54...
December 2014. "Comrades triple for Muzhingi". News24. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2014. "Muzhingi struggles at ComradesMarathon". NewsDay. 18 December...
Dijana (born 1988) is a South African ultramarathon runner who won the ComradesMarathon in 2022 and 2023. Originally from Mahikeng in the North West province...
races then in 2005 he won the Maritzburg Marathon. He is known for his achievements at the ComradesMarathon, run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg...
won the ComradesMarathon 8 times and the Two Oceans Marathon 4 times, and with her identical twin Olesya Nurgalieva dominated the Comrades and Two Oceans...
South African marathon and ultra-marathon athlete, most widely known for his winning of the 1995 ComradesMarathon, the 89 km marathon between Durban...
Kyle Buckthorp. Pinetown is situated on the route of the popular ComradesMarathon, which runs along the Old Main Road from Westville, over Cowies Hill...
Charne Bosman of South Africa won the women's 2016 ComradesMarathon. "Charné Bosman nabs ComradesMarathon title". www.enca.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016. Lindeque...
Two Oceans Marathon 3 times and the ComradesMarathon twice, and together with her identical twin Elena Nurgalieva dominated the Comrades and Two Oceans...
km World Championships in 1993, 1994 & 1995. He is popular for his ComradesMarathon win in 1992. He was disqualified for taking over the counter cold...
David Gatebe of South Africa won the 2016 ComradesMarathon in a course record. "#2016Comrades: SA's David Gatebe wins, breaks men's record". Eyewitness...
middleweight Wally Hayward, at age 42 and after a twenty-year gap, wins the ComradesMarathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in a time of 6h 46m 25s. Twenty runners...
Ballantyne, Tommy (31 May 2014). "Comrades a test of true grit". Independent Online. Retrieved 16 July 2015. "ComradesMarathon @ UltimateLIVE". ultimate.dk...
it is located on the route of the famous 90 km ultramarathon, the ComradesMarathon. Pollys, as it is known among participants, is about 2 kilometers...
winning the ComradesMarathon three times (2000, 2002, 2004), setting the "Up Run" record in 2000. He finished 13th in the 2010 ComradesMarathon. Vladimir...
He won the Two Oceans Marathon, an ultra-Marathon (56 km), in 1980. He came second in the ComradesMarathon, an ultra-Marathon (90 km), in 1985 and 1990...
She competed several times in the South African ultramarathon, the ComradesMarathon, in the late 1980s and early 1990s with success, setting female records...
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its eponymous hill is a major feature in the ComradesMarathon which is held between Durban and Pietermaritzburg every year. Cowie's...
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