This Sunday, over 12 000 runners will take part in the Comrades Marathon which is the worlds largest and oldest ultra-marathon covering a distance of 89km, from Pietermaritzburg (PMB) to Durban. This year, entries are up 17% from last year after a massive marketing campaign targeted at international competitors and first time runners. It’s also a ‘down’ run this year, which helps to attract novices from a psychological perspective, although the down run is usually more jarring on the legs.  I’d love to do this race, there is always such an infectious vibe along the route with spectators making a real day of it; setting up gazebos, cooking bacon and eggs and cheering the runners on from start to finish.  The camaraderie amongst the runners is also incredible!

So to everyone running, good luck, we hope you have a good one! We’ll be there cheering you on!

These are the “Big Five” hills for the down run:

  1. Polly Shortts
  2. Inchanga
  3. Botha’s Hill
  4. Field’s Hill
  5. Cowie’s Hill

Cut Off Times:

Cato Ridge: 10.30am (3 hours)

Drummond (halfway): 11.30am (6 hours)

Winston Park: 2pm (8 hours, 30 minutes)

St. Johns Avenue: 3.30pm (10 hours)

Sherwood / 45th Cutting: 4.50pm (11 hours, 20 minutes)

Final Cut-off: 5.30pm

Some Other Interesting Stats:

Total entrants: 12890

Female International runners: 130

Male International runners: 460

South African female runners: 2120

South African male runners: 10180

Novices: 2404

Reference: The Mercury