The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has warned that scammers are attempting to trick aspirant entrants into paying exorbitant sums of money for a guaranteed late entry into the 2026 race, reports the Northglen News.

The news comes as the Comrades Marathon substitution application window opens on March 12, with a new ballot-based system replacing the traditional first-come, first-served model.

“We’ve seen many runners posting on social media that they are desperate to secure an entry during the substitution window. The scammers are targeting these runners by sending them direct messages, or contacting them via different means, claiming they can sell them an entry, or organise one for them,” explained race director Sue Forge.

“The scammers either offer to sell their own entry to the aspirant entrant or claim that they can ‘make a plan’ for these runners by speaking directly to senior CMA officials, such as the chairperson or vice-chairperson of the CMA Board, who they claim to have direct access to, but that they need a large sum of money to do so,” she said.

In one of the cases brought to the attention of the association, a runner was reportedly approached and asked to pay R3000 to facilitate their entry.

“This is fraudulent, and any such offer is most definitely a scam. The substitution process via the official Comrades Marathon entry system on the comrades website or Comrades Marathon App is the only legitimate way to gain entry into the 2026 race, and no money or entry vouchers should be exchanged between runners. We urge runners to remain vigilant, report suspicious activity, and not to fall victim to these scams,” she said.

Forge added that all substitution applications must be processed online via the official Comrades Marathon entry system on the website or the Comrades Marathon App.

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