Lace up those running shoes and get ready for an unforgettable 97th Comrades Marathon! This year’s historic ultra-marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is set to be the shortest in the event’s long history.
According to the Comrades committee, runners will tackle a distance of 85.91km on June 9th for the Up Run, making it nearly 820m shorter than the previous Up Run held in 2019.
Rewind to 2019, and the race concluded at the Scottsville Racecourse with a distance of 86.73km – the same year that Gerda Steyn etched her name in the record books with an impressive women’s Up Run time of 5:58:53.
Casting our minds back to 2008, when Leonid Shvetsov set the men’s best Up Run time of 5:24:49, the route ended at The Oval Cricket Stadium in Pietermaritzburg, spanning a distance of 86.94km. The fluctuating distances over the years can be attributed to the ever-changing landscape of roadworks and route adjustments undertaken for the race.
This year, due to ongoing roadworks at the Umlaas Road Interchange, runners will traverse through the suburbs of Cleland and Pelham, reminiscent of the routes used in 2013 and 2015.
With only 78 days until race day, Ann Ashworth, CMA Race & Operations Manager, urges participants to arrive at Durban City Hall early to avoid traffic congestion and ensure they don’t miss the starting gun.
As the 49th Up Run in Comrades history, this year’s marathon promises to be an unforgettable event, with route changes and ongoing road improvements adding an extra layer of excitement to the already iconic race.
Main image: The Citizen
