IF you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take a journey through time to explore the origins of one of the most iconic ultra-marathons in the world, the Comrades Marathon, one needn’t look further than the Comrades Museum in Pietermaritzburg.

The museum is situated at Comrades House, the headquarters of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA).

Elrica Henning, the Comrades Museum curator, is a veritable fount of knowledge and shared a few things with Caxton Local Media you may not know about the history of the race.

In 2024, the street where the museum is based, was renamed from Connaught Road to Comrades Road and is a wonderful space showcasing the history of the race.

The Comrades Museum is one of a handful of dedicated road-running museums in the world and is the perfect way to learn about the origins of the marathon, the characters who elevated the marathon’s status, and of course the evolution of running footwear through the decades.

The museum is open from Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 16:30, and there is parking on-site.

The Comrades Marathon takes place on Sunday, June 14, from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, and has a route distance of 85.777km.

That makes this year’s Up Run the shortest in recent Comrades Marathon history.

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