Comrades Marathon route changes in 2018
Entries for the 2018 Comrades Marathon officially opened on 1 September.
With the opening of entries for the 2018 Comrades Marathon in 1 September 2017, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has issued details of the route for next year’s race.
The 93rd running of the world’s biggest and oldest ultra-marathon will be the 46th Down Run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday, 10 June 2018.
CMA Race Director, Rowyn James has confirmed that the route will only change in the final 8km of the race. He said the aim is to keep the route distance as close as possible to the previous Comrades Down Run route.
“The distance of the Down Run in 2016 was 89.2km long and we are working on achieving a distance as close as possible to this. We are currently looking at a modified route through the Berea. As it stands, this will take the athlete through the suburbs of Sherwood, Sydenham, Overport, Clare Estate and Berea. We will however look at the shortest, most feasible route to ensure that our athletes get to enjoy the best of The Ultimate Human Race,” said James.
He explained that part of their thinking has been to avoid the N3 national freeway, being the main artery into the City of Durban. They are also steering clear of the ‘Concrete Canyon’.
James has advised that details of the confirmed route will be communicated as soon as these are finalised.
“The CMA is working closely with the eThekwini Municipality which is our host city partner for the finish and eThekwini Metro Police; as well as the provincial athletics federation, KwaZulu-Natal Athletics in terms of route measurement and other deliverables,” James concluded.
Entries opened on 1 September close on 30 November 2017 or as soon as the entry cap of 20,000 has been reached. Prospective entrants are encouraged to get their entries in early to avoid disappointment.
Athletes from South Africa and the Rest of Africa will be eligible for the ‘early bird’ entry fee of R460 if their entry is received before 30 September 2017. The regular entry fee of R500 will kick in on 1 October 2017 until the entry process closes.
For more information, visit www.comrades.com
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
