Comrades Marathon is back after almost two years

The much-awaited Comrades Marathon is making its comeback this year on August 28.

After nearly two years of adhering to the National State of Disaster, the subsequent suspension of sporting events and the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Centenary Comrades Marathons, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) sent out a statement recently saying it was thrilled to launch its #Comrades2022 campaign and announce the plans for this year’s race.

The launch of the marathon was hosted in Johannesburg on February 17. CMA’s chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo, in the lead up to the Ultimate Human Race, said runners will still need to exercise a degree of care and attentiveness when out running.

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“However, amid all the precautions and safety measures, we are just extremely pleased to be able to host the 2022 Comrades Marathon in August, and we invite the nation and the world to celebrate this milestone with us,” said Ngcobo.

The 95th Comrades Marathon will be a Down Run on Sunday August 28. The race starts at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 05:30 and ends 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, covering a 90.2-kilometre distance. This will be the 47th Down Run in Comrades history.

Considering the current national legislation limitation on mass participation events, the entry limit has been capped at 15 000 entries. Due to Covid-19 and other health and safety implications, all entrants will need to be fully vaccinated and produce their vaccine certificate to complete their entry status by July 12.

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The opening date for entries is Wednesday March 23, when the first entry window period commences and runs for one week until March 31. During this window period, only those entrants who had successfully entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon will be able to enter, be they South Africa, Rest of Africa or International.

The entry fee for South African athletes will be discounted from R1 200 to R1 000 in the first entry window period, as per the CMA commitment when the 2020 race was cancelled. Rest of Africa and International entrants in the 2020 Comrades Marathon had their entries deferred to either the 2022 or 2023 race; and will therefore not pay an entry fee.

During the second entry window period, from April 20 to May 16, all other athletes will be allowed to enter.

Entry fees for these entrants in the 2022 Comrades Marathon are as follows:

• South Africa: R1 200

• Rest of Africa: R2 000

• International: R4 500.

Entry is free to all runners who have completed the Comrades Marathon 25 times or more. This second entry window period will not apply should the entry cap have been reached during the first entry window period. The statement also said that a special larger-than-normal commemorative medal denoting the 95th edition of the Comrades Marathon will be struck for this year’s race. A new trophy will also be introduced to the 20-39 years women’s second-place team prize. For more information, visit www.marathonmonopoly.com.

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