In South Africa these days, you cannot go 100 m without seeing athletes on the road training for the most prestigious race, The Comrades Marathon, THE ULTIMATE HUMAN RACE.
The race will be run on Sunday, 9 June 2024, starting at 05h30 and finishing at 17h30.
The Comrades Marathon is an annual ultramarathon run in South Africa. It is approximately 90 kilometres between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race.
Here are some key points about the Comrades Marathon:
- History: The Comrades Marathon was first run in 1921 and has been held yearly since, except during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
- Direction: The race alternates direction each year, with the "up" run starting from Durban and the "down" run starting from Pietermaritzburg.
- Distance: The race distance varies slightly yearly but is approximately 90 kilometres. 😱
- Entry requirements: To enter the Comrades Marathon, runners must have completed an official qualifying marathon in under 4 hours and 50 minutes.
- Cut-off points: Runners must reach specific cut-off points at allocated times to continue in the race.
- Entry fees: The entry fee for South African residents is R2,000, while international entrants pay R4,500.
- Charity: The Comrades Marathon has an official charity initiative, with six charities supported by the event.
- Spirit: The Comrades Marathon is known for its spirit of camaraderie, selflessness, dedication, perseverance, and ubuntu (humanity towards others).
- Popularity: The Comrades Marathon attracts thousands of runners worldwide and is considered one of the most prestigious ultramarathons globally.
The 9 Comrades Marathon Medals
The Vic Clapham or Comrades Finishers Medal, which is made of copper, was introduced for the first time and was awarded to runners finishing between 11:00 and sub-12:00 hours.
To finish the Comrades Marathon in under 12 hours, you will need to average just under 8:00 minutes per kilometre or 12:48 minutes per mile on the Comrades down run (90km or 56 miles). For the Comrades up run (87km or 54 miles), that jumps to 8:12 minutes per kilometre or 13:21 minutes per mile.
The Comrades Bronze Medal:
As it stands right now, those runners that finish between 10 hours and under 11 hours will receive a Comrades Bronze medal. In order to dip under 11 hours at Comrades, you will need to average 7:17 minutes per kilometre (11:47 minutes per mile) on the Down run and 7:30 minutes per km (12:12 miles per minute) on the Up run.
The Robert Mtshali Medal:
The Robert Mtshali medal, made of titanium, was introduced for the first time at Comrades in 2019 and is awarded to runners who finish Comrades in less than 10 hours, under 9:59:59, or Sub-10.
Your average pace on race day, if you’re chasing a Robert Mtshali medal, will need to be below 6:36 minutes per km or 10:42 minutes per mile.
The Bill Rowan Medal:
This bronze-centred medal, which has an outer silver ring, is awarded to anyone finishing Comrades between 7:30 and 8:59:59.
On race day, your running pace must average a fraction under 6:00 per km or 9:38 per mile for the down run and 6:12 per km or 10:00 per mile for the up run.
The minimum pace required to claim a Comrades Silver medal is 5:00 per km or 8:00 per mile for the down run and 5:10 per km or 8:20 per mile for the up run.
To run a silver medal at Comrades you need to have a great deal of running ability.
The minimum pace required to claim a Comrades Silver medal is 5:00 per km or 8:00 per mile for the down run and 5:10 per km or 8:20 per mile for the up run.
The Isavel Roche Kelly Medal:
This silver-centred medal, which has a gold outer ring, is awarded to women only who finish outside of the top 10 but under the 7-hour mark.
The training before and race day paces are the same as for the Silver medal above, but when we start looking at running ability, things change slightly.
The Wally Hayward Medal:
Like the Isavel Roche-Kelly medal, the Wally Hayward medal is also half silver and half gold.
It is awarded to those runners who do not finish within the top 10 but dip under 6 hours.
To dip under 6 hours at Comrades, you need to average under 4 minutes per km or 6:25 per mile for the down run and 4:06 per/km or 6:39 min/mile for the up run.
The Comrades Gold Medal:
It is difficult to predict what pace you must run on race day to finish in the top 10. In the men’s race, Siya Mqambeli ran a 05:52:51 to claim the last gold medal. That is an average pace of 4:02 minutes per km or 6:30 minutes per mile. In the women’s race, Mary Khourie ran a 6:55:27 to finish 10th. That equates to an average pace of 4:46 minutes per kilometre or 7:42 minutes per mile.
The Comrades Back-to-Back Medal:
To qualify for a Back to Back medal, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You need to be a Comrades Novice and
- You need to complete two consecutive Comrades Marathons.
The Back to Back medal is awarded after your second run after going back-to-back in consecutive years. In normal circumstances, a Back to Back medal would comprise an up and a down Comrades, but there have been circumstances where the Back to Back will be a Double Down (for example, 2020 and 2021).
If you’re wondering how much training you actually need to do to run the Comrades Marathon, then this Comrades Marathon Training Mileage Guide will have all the answers you are looking for (Including the number of marathons and ultras you need to run in training)
Overall, the Comrades Marathon is a challenging and prestigious ultramarathon event that requires dedication and perseverance. It is also a celebration of the human spirit and a testament to the power of sport to bring people together.
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