ATHLETICS NEWS - The 2026 Comrades Marathon will be an ‘up’ run between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, organisers confirmed at the launch yesterday.
The Citizen reports that the 99th edition of the popular ultra-marathon in KZN, to be held on 14 June under the slogan ‘Ska Fela Moya’ (never give up), will start at Durban City Hall and finish at Scottsville racecourse.
According to Comrades Marathon Association general manager Alain Dalais, there will be a few changes to the 2024 route (when the last ‘up’ run was held), and the race distance will be confirmed by newly appointed race director Sue Forge early next year.
Entries and qualifying
Entries, to be taken online, will open on 27 October and close on 24 November, or when the entry cap of 22 000 runners is reached.
There will be no increase to the entry fee, with SA runners paying R1 200, participants from other African countries paying R2 000, and entrants from other continents paying R4 500.
A relief fund will again assist 1 500 runners by covering half their entry costs, while athletes who have run 25 races or more will not pay an entry fee.
The qualifying times have also not changed, with runners needing to complete a standard 42km marathon within five hours to take part.
The qualifying period, which opened on June 9, will close on May 4 next year.
Prize money
For elite athletes, there will be a 10% increase in prize money, with a total purse of R8.2m on offer.
The winning man and woman will each receive R925 000, with the first SA runners taking home R242 000 each.
In addition, R605 000 will be awarded to the first man or woman to break the ‘up’ run records of 5:24:49 (set by Leonid Shvetsov in 2008) and 5:49:46 (set by Gerda Steyn in 2024).
If those records are not broken, R550 000 will be paid to the first man and woman if they run the fastest average pace for the ‘up’ run.
Ahead of the launch, former Comrades women’s winner and chairperson Cheryl Winn was commemorated, with multiple individuals giving speeches in her honour and a moment of silence being held.
Winn died on Sunday in a tragic accident after falling while hiking in the Drakensberg.
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