| Comrades Marathon | |
|---|---|
 The Comrades Marathon logo | |
| Date | May / June |
| Location | Durban / Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Ultramarathon (90 km) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Course records |
|
| Official site | The Comrades Marathon |
 2024 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]
- ^ a b Comrades: Route cut-off times, 2012, archived from the original on 24 June 2012, retrieved 24 June 2012
- ^ "Longest Running Ultramarathons". ARRS. ARRS.
- ^ a b Staff 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
ARRSwas 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
coa1was 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.