Comrades Marathon

Comrades Marathon
Comrades Marathon
Comrades Marathon logo.JPG
The Comrades Marathon logo
Date May/June
Location Durban/Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Event type Road
Distance Ultramarathon (90 km)
Established 1921
Course records Down:
 Men: 5:20:49 (2007)
  Leonid Shvetsov
 Women: 5:54:43 (1989)
  Frith van der Merwe
Up:
 Men: 5:24:49 (2008)
  Leonid Shvetsov
 Women: 6:09:23 (2006)
  Elena Nurgalieva
Official site The Comrades Marathon

The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 90 km (approx. 56 miles) run 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. The direction of the race alternates each year between the "up" run (87km) starting from Durban and the "down" run (89km) starting from Pietermaritzburg.

Course

The race is run on the roads of KwaZulu-Natal Province, marked by "The Big Five" set of hills. On the up run they appear in the following order: Cowies Hill, Field's Hill, Botha's Hill, Inchanga, and finally, Polly Shortts.

Rules

Athletes currently have 12 hours to complete the course, extended from 11 hours in 2003. There are a number of cut-off points along the routes which runners must reach by a prescribed time or be forced to retire from the race. A runner who has successfully completed nine marathons wears a yellow number, while those who have completed ten races wear a green number, permanently allocated to the runner for all future races.

Medals are awarded to all runners completing the course in under 12 hours. Medals are currently awarded as follows:

  • Gold medals: The first 10 men and women.
  • Wally Hayward medals (silver-centred circled by gold ring): 11th position to sub 6hrs 00min
  • Silver medals: 6hrs 00min 01sec to sub 7hrs 30min.
  • Bill Rowan medals (bronze-centred circled by silver ring): 7hrs 30min to sub 9hrs 00min.
  • Bronze medals: 9hrs 00min to sub 11hrs 00min.
  • Vic Clapham medals (copper): 11hrs 00min to sub 12hrs 00min.

Prior to 2000, only gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded. The Bill Rowan medal was introduced in 2000 and named after the winner of the first Comrades Marathon in 1921. The time limit for this medal was inspired by Rowan's winning time in 1921 of 8hrs 59min. A new copper medal, the Vic Clapham medal (named after the race founder), was added in 2003. This medal coincided with the increase in the time allocation for completing the event from sub 11hrs to sub 12hrs. The Wally Hayward medal, named after five-time winner Wally Hayward, was added in 2007 for runners finishing in under 6hrs.

History

Bust of Vic Clapham, founder of the Comrades

The Comrades was run for the first time on 24 May 1921 (Empire Day), and with the exception of a break during World War II, has been run every year since. The 2010 event was the 85th race. To date, over 300,000 runners have completed the race.[1]

The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Clapham, to commemorate the South African soldiers killed during the war. Clapham, who had endured a 2,700-kilometre route march through sweltering German East Africa, wanted the memorial to be a unique test of the physical endurance of the entrants. The constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to "celebrate mankind's spirit over adversity".

From 1962 to 1994 the race was run on Republic Day, 31 May. After this public holiday was scrapped in 1995 by the post-apartheid South African government, the race date was changed to Youth Day on 16 June. In 2007, the race organisers (controversially) bowed to political pressure from the ANC Youth League, who felt that the race diverted attention from the significance of Youth Day, and changed the race date to Sunday 17 June for 2007 and 15 June for 2008. In 2009 and 2010 the date was changed (to 24 May and 30 May respectively) to accommodate football's Confederations Cup (2009) and World Cup (2010) in South Africa.

1920s

Forty-eight runners entered the first race in 1921, but only thirty-four elected to start. The course at the time was tarred only for the final few kilometres into Durban. A time limit of 12 hours was set and Bill Rowan became the inaugural winner, clocking 08:59 to win by 41 minutes ahead of Harry Phillips. Of the 34 starters, only 16 completed the race.

Arthur Newton entered and won the race for the first time in 1922. He went on to win the race five times and emerge as the dominant Comrades runner of the 1920s. When he completed the down run in 06:56 in 1923, there were only a handful of spectators on hand to witness the finish because so few thought it possible that the race could be run so quickly. The first woman to run the race was Frances Hayward in 1923,[2] but her entry was refused, so she was an unofficial entrant.[1] She completed the event in 11:35[1] and although she was not awarded a Comrades medal, the other runners and spectators presented her with a silver tea service and a rose bowl. In 1924 the Comrades had its fewest starters ever, just 24. Four years later, in 1928, the time limit for the race was reduced by an hour to 11 hours.

1930s

In the 1930s, Hardy Ballington emerged as the dominant runner, recording four victories in 1933, 1934, 1936 and 1938. The winner of the 1930 race, Wally Hayward, became one of the greatest legends of the Comrades Marathon, winning a further four times in the fifties, and becoming the oldest man to complete the race in 1989. In 1932 Geraldine Watson, an unofficial entrant, became the first woman to complete both the up run and the down run.

1940s

After Ballington's domination of the 1930s, Comrades was stopped during the war years from 1941 to 1945. In 1948 a Comrades tradition was born when race official Max Trimborn, instead of firing the customary starter's gun, gave a loud imitation of a cock's crow. That tradition continues to the present day with Trimborn's recorded voice played over loudspeakers at the starting line.

1950s

In the 1950s, a full twenty years after he won the race for the first time, Wally Hayward recorded his second victory and followed that up with wins in 1951, 1953 and 1954. He represented South Africa at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where he finished tenth in the marathon. Hayward retired from the Comrades after establishing new records for both the up and down runs and equaling the five wins of Newton and Ballington. In 1958, the race was won for the first time by Jackie Mekler, who went on to win the race five times, finishing second twice and third twice.

1960s

In the 1960s, Comrades grew considerably, from 104 starters in 1960 to 703 starters in 1969. Due to the bigger fields, cut-off points were introduced for the first time at Drummond and Cato Ridge. Mekler became the first man to break the six-hour barrier in 1960, finishing in 5:56:32.

In 1962, the race attracted foreign entries for the first time as the Road Runners Club of England sent over four of the best long-distance runners in Britain. English runner John Smith won the race, an up run, in under six hours, missing out on the course record by 33 seconds. Watching the stragglers come in hours later, Smith commented to former winner Bill Cochrane that the other people completing the race were getting as much applause as he had received. "You are now witnessing the spirit of the Comrades," replied Cochrane.

In 1965, English runner Bernard Gomersall broke Mekler's down run record with a time of 5:51:09.

In 1967, Manie Kuhn and Tommy Malone were involved in the closest finish in the history of the race. Malone appeared to be on his way to a comfortable win and was handed the traditional message from the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg to the Mayor of Durban at Tollgate with a lead of two minutes over Kuhn. He entered the stadium in the lead with only 80 metres left to go. Suddenly Kuhn appeared only 15 metres behind and closed in quickly. Malone put in a burst for the line, but with only 15 metres left he fell to the ground with cramps. He attempted to get up again, but with the line within reach Kuhn flew past to grab victory. The mayoral message was forgotten as both runners embraced.

1970s

The Comrades had over 1,000 starters for the first time in 1971, with over 3,000 in 1979. The race was widely broadcast on both radio and television. The race was opened to all athletes for the first time in 1975, allowing blacks and women to take part officially. In 1975, the Golden Jubilee of the Comrades, Vincent Rakabele finished 20th to become the first black runner to officially win a medal. Elizabeth Cavanaugh became the first women's winner in a shade over 10 hours.

1976 saw the emergence of Alan Robb, who won the first of his four Comrades titles. Robb repeated his win in 1977, 1978 and 1980, including breaking the tape in Durban in 1978 in a record 5:29:14, almost 20 minutes and four kilometres ahead of runner-up Dave Wright.

1980s

During the 1980s the Comrades began with a field of 4,207 in 1980 and topped 5,000 for the first time in 1983.

In 1981, University of the Witwatersrand student Bruce Fordyce won the first of his eventual nine Comrades titles. An outspoken critic of apartheid, Fordyce and a number of other athletes initially decided to boycott the 1981 event when organisers announced that they would associate it with the 20th anniversary of the Republic of South Africa. Fordyce ultimately competed wearing a black armband to signal his protest. He repeated his victories in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (a record 5:24:07 down run), 1987, 1988 (a record 5:27:42 for the up run), and 1990.

In 1989, Sam Tshabalala became the first black winner of the Comrades.

Schoolteacher Frith van der Merwe won the woman's race in 1988 in a time of 6:32:56. In 1989, Van der Merwe ran 5:54:43, obliterating the women's record and finishing fifteenth overall.[3]

In the same year Wally Hayward entered the race at the age of 79 and finished in 9:44:15. He repeated the feat in the 1989 Comrades, where he completed the race with only two minutes to spare and at the age of 80 became the oldest man to complete the Comrades.

1990s

Comrades Marathon House, the CMA's headquarters in Pietermaritzburg where race statistics and memorabilia are kept[4]

During the 1990s the size of the starting fields was in the region of 12,000 to 14,000 runners. In 1995 prize money was introduced for the first time, attracting more foreign competitors. The traditional race day of May 31, formerly Republic Day, was changed to June 16, the anniversary of the Soweto uprising.

However, it seemed to be controversy that would dog the race during the 1990's.

In 1992 Charl Mattheus crossed the finish line first, but was later disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance. He claimed it was in medicine he had taken for a sore throat, but Jetman Msutu was elevated to the winner, thus becoming the second black winner of the Comrades. In a sad twist for Mattheus, the substance for which he was banned was later removed from the IAAF's banned substance list since all evidence pointed to it having no performance enhancing properties. Mattheus also suffered much negativity in the public eye but later managed to redeem his clean image with an emphatic faultless win in the 1997 down run beating a strong local and international field.

A year later in 1993, Herman Matthee (who unfortunately bore a similar surname to Mattheus and was often publicly mistaken as the same person) finished amongst the top ten gold medal winners but was later stripped of his gold medal after video evidence found that he had caught a taxi along the route cutting out almost 40km of the 90km race.[5][6] In a Comrades first, the 11th place finisher, Simon Williamson, was months later officially elevated to tenth place and awarded the last gold medal by then South African president FW de Klerk. Williamson had passed another runner, Ephraim Sekothlong, in the last 100 metres to claim 11th spot and unknowingly a gold medal.

In 1999, the Motsoeneng brothers, who strongly resembled one another, performed a memorable act of cheating during the race. By exchanging places with his brother at toilet stops and aided by car lifts at various stages, Sergio Motsoeneng finished ninth. This came as a surprise to those behind him, who could not recall being overtaken by the Zimbabwean runner. The brothers were exposed when television footage revealed them to be wearing watches on different arms.

2000s

The 75th anniversary of the Comrades Marathon in 2000 was the largest ever staged, with a massive field of 23,961. An extra hour was allowed for bronze medal finishers to celebrate the milestone. In 2010, on its 85th anniversary, the race gained a place in the Guinness World Records as the ultramarathon with most runners. 14,343 athletes, the largest field since the turn of the millennium, finished in the allowed 12 hours.[7][8]

Identical twin sisters Oelysa and Elena Nurgileva won a combined eight Comrades titles from 2003-2011, while three-time champion Stephen Muzhingi became the first non-South African winner from Africa in 2009. Stephen Muzhingi also became the first athlete to win three races in a row (2009, 2010 and 2011) since Bruce Fordyce won three in a row in the eighties (1981, 1982 and 1983).[9] Russian runner Leonid Shvetsov set both down and up course records in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Health issues

As with every ultramarathon, there are potentially health risks involved in extreme physical events. In the history of the Comrades, there have been 7 deaths up to the 2007 event.[10]

Records

Course Records

Up/Down Run Record holder Country Year Time
Men Down Leonid Shvetsov Russia 2007 5:20:49
Up Leonid Shvetsov Russia 2008 5:24:49
Women Down Frith van der Merwe South Africa 1989 5:54:43
Up Elena Nurgalieva Russia 2006 6:09:23

Most Wins

Men's Champion Wins Country Women's Champion Wins Country
Bruce Fordyce 9 South Africa Elena Nurgalieva 6 Russia
Arthur Newton 5 South Africa Maureen Holland 4 South Africa
Hardy Ballington 5 South Africa Lettie van Zyl 3 South Africa
Wally Hayward 5 South Africa Helen Lucre 3 South Africa
Jack Mekler 5 South Africa Frith van der Merwe 3 South Africa
Alan Robb 4 South Africa Maria Bak 3 Germany

Most medals[11][12]

Medal holder Medals
Dave Rogers 44
Clive Crawley 42

Past winners

Year u/d Time (Men) Men's Champion Country Time (Women) Women's Champion Country
2011 u 5:32:45 Stephen Muzhingi3  Zimbabwe 6:24:11 Elena Nurgalieva6  Russia
2010 d 5:29:01 Stephen Muzhingi2  Zimbabwe 6:13:03 Elena Nurgalieva5  Russia
2009 d 5:23:27 Stephen Muzhingi  Zimbabwe 6:12:08 Olesya Nurgalieva2  Russia
2008 u 5:24:49 Leonid Shvetsov2  Russia 6:14:38 Elena Nurgalieva4  Russia
2007 d 5:20:49 Leonid Shvetsov  Russia 6:10:11 Olesya Nurgalieva  Russia
2006 u 5:35:19 Oleg Kharitonov  Russia 6:09:24 Elena Nurgalieva3  Russia
2005 d 5:27:10 Sipho Ngomane  South Africa 5:58:50 Tatyana Zhirkova  Russia
2004 u 5:31:22 Vladimir Kotov3  Belarus/South AfricaRSA 6:11:15 Elena Nurgalieva2  Russia
2003 d 5:28:52 Fusi Nhlapo  South Africa 6:07:46 Elena Nurgalieva  Russia
2002 u 5:30:59 Vladimir Kotov2  Belarus/South AfricaRSA 6:14:21 Maria Bak3  Germany
2001 d 5:25:51 Andrew Kelehe  South Africa 6:13:53 Elvira Kolpakova  Russia
2000 u 5:25:33 Vladimir Kotov  Belarus/South AfricaRSA 6:15:35 Maria Bak2  Germany
1999 d 5:30:10 Jaroslaw Janicki  Poland 6:31:03 Birgit Lennartz  Germany
1998 u 5:26:25 Dmitri Grishine2  Russia 6:38:57 Rae Bisschoff  South Africa
1997 d 5:28:37 Charl Mattheus  South Africa 5:58:24 Ann Trason2  United States
1996 u 5:29:33 Dmitri Grishine  Russia 6:13:23 Ann Trason  United States
1995 d 5:34:02 Shaun Meiklejohn  South Africa 6:22:57 Maria Bak  Germany
1994 u 5:38:39 Alberto Salazar  United States 6:41:23 Valentina Lyakhova  Russia
1993 d 5:39:41 Charly Doll  Germany 6:55:07 Tilda Tearle  South Africa
1992 u 5:46:11 Jetman Msutu  South Africa 6:51:05 Frances van Blerk  South Africa
1991 d 5:40:53 Nick Bester  South Africa 6:08:19 Frith van der Merwe3  South Africa
1990 u 5:40:25 Bruce Fordyce9  South Africa 7:02:00 Naidene Harrison  South Africa
1989 d 5:35:51 Samuel Tshabalala  South Africa 5:54:43 Frith van der Merwe2  South Africa
1988 u 5:27:42 Bruce Fordyce8  South Africa 6:32:56 Frith van der Merwe  South Africa
1987 u 5:37:01 Bruce Fordyce7  South Africa 6:48:42 Helen Lucre3  South Africa
1986 d 5:24:07 Bruce Fordyce6  South Africa 6:55:01 Helen Lucre2  South Africa
1985 u 5:37:01 Bruce Fordyce5  South Africa 6:53:24 Helen Lucre  South Africa
1984 d 5:27:18 Bruce Fordyce4  South Africa 6:46:35 Lindsay Weight2  South Africa
1983 u 5:30:12 Bruce Fordyce3  South Africa 7:12:56 Lindsay Weight  South Africa
1982 d 5:34:22 Bruce Fordyce2  South Africa 7:04:59 Cheryl Winn  South Africa
1981 u 5:37:28 Bruce Fordyce  South Africa 6:44:35 Isavel Roche-Kelly2  South Africa
1980 d 5:38:25 Alan Robb4  South Africa 7:18: Isavel Roche-Kelly  South Africa
1979 u 5:45:02 Piet Vorster  South Africa 8:22:41 Jan Mallen  South Africa
1978 d 5:29:14 Alan Robb3  South Africa 8:25: Lettie van Zyl3  South Africa
1977 u 5:47:00 Alan Robb2  South Africa 8:58: Lettie van Zyl2  South Africa
1976 d 5:40:53 Alan Robb  South Africa 9:05: Lettie van Zyl  South Africa
1975 u 5:53:00 Derek Preiss2  South Africa 10:08: Elizabeth Cavanagh2  South Africa
1974 u 6:02:49 Derek Preiss  South Africa 10:40: Alet Kleynhans  South Africa
1973 d 5:39:09 Dave Levick  South Africa 8:40: Maureen Holland4  South Africa
1972 u 5:48:57 Mick Orton  United Kingdom 9:26: Maureen Holland3  South Africa
1971 d 5:47:06 Dave Bagshaw3 8:37: Maureen Holland2  South Africa
1970 u 5:51:27 Dave Bagshaw2 10:50: Elizabeth Cavanagh  South Africa
1969 d 5:45:35 Dave Bagshaw  South Africa
1968 u 6:01:11 Jack Mekler5  South Africa
1967 d 5:54:10 Manie Kuhn  South Africa
1966 u 6:14:07 Tommy Malone  South Africa 9:30:00 Maureen Holland  South Africa
1965 d 5:51:09 Bernard Gomersall  United Kingdom 10:07: Mavis Hutchinson  South Africa
1964 u 6:09:54 Jack Mekler4  South Africa
1963 d 5:51:20 Jack Mekler3  South Africa
1962 u 5:57:05 John Smith  United Kingdom
1961 d 6:07:07 George Claassen  South Africa
1960 u 5:56:32 Jack Mekler2  South Africa
1959 d 6:28:11 Trevor Allen2
1958 u 6:26:26 Jack Mekler  South Africa
1957 d 6:13:55 Mercer Davies  South Africa
1956 u 6:33:35 Gerald Walsh2
1955 d 6:06:32 Gerald Walsh  South Africa
1954 u 6:12:55 Wally Hayward5  South Africa
1953 d 5:52:30 Wally Hayward4  South Africa
1952 u 7:00:02 Trevor Allen  South Africa
1951 d 6:14:08 Wally Hayward3  South Africa
1950 u 6:46:25 Wally Hayward2  South Africa
1949 d 6:23:21 Reg Allison  South Africa
1948 u 7:13:52 William Savage2
1947 d 6:41:05 Hardy Ballington5
1946 u 7:02:40 Bill Cochrane2
1941-45 Race not held due to World War II
1940 u 6:39:23 Allen Boyce  South Africa
1939 d 6:22:05 Johnny Coleman2
1938 u 6:32:26 Hardy Ballington4
1937 d 6:23:11 Johnny Coleman  South Africa
1936 u 6:46:14 Hardy Ballington3
1935 d 6:30:05 Bill Cochrane  South Africa
1934 u 7:09:03 Hardy Ballington2
1933 d 6:50:37 Hardy Ballington  South Africa 9:31:25 Geraldine Watson3
1932 u 7:41:58 William Savage  South Africa 11:56:00 Geraldine Watson2
1931 d 7:16:30 Phil Masterton-Smith  South Africa 11 hrs + Geraldine Watson  South Africa
1930 u 7:27:26 Wally Hayward  South Africa
1929 d 7:52:00 Darrell Dale  South Africa
1928 u 7:49:07 Frank Sutton  South Africa
1927 d 6:40:56 Arthur Newton5
1926 u 6:57:46 Harry Phillips  South Africa
1925 d 6:24:45 Arthur Newton4
1924 u 6:58:22 Arthur Newton3
1923 d 6:56:00 Arthur Newton2 11:35:00 Frances Hayward  South Africa
1922 u 8:40:00 Arthur Newton  South Africa
1921 d 8:59:00 Bill Rowan  South Africa

*The 1992 race was won by Charl Mattheus, who was later disqualified for testing positive for a banned stimulant.

References

External links

See also


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