The demand for more Comrades prize money is greedy and lazy

It’s a debate that’s been raging for a few years, and though it’s been addressed multiple times in various quarters, there is still controversy around the amount of money being paid to Comrades Marathon prize winners.

In reality, however, no amount of shouting and screaming is going to convince organisers and sponsors to increase the prize purse. The world just doesn’t work that way.

That’s not to say the prize money isn’t being increased – the total purse for next year’s race is 15% more than was offered this season – but the persistent demand from some elite athletes to pocket more is greedy. And worse, it’s lazy.

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Prize money wasn’t even paid at Comrades until 1995, much to the surprise of American athlete Alberto Salazar, who said he wanted to donate his winner’s cheque to charity in 1994 before learning that he was receiving no such thing.

In the Eighties, with professionalism starting to shake the amateur foundations which had restricted athletes for centuries, some individuals fought hard to have archaic rules overturned, facing potential bans if they overstepped the boundaries that prevented them from making a living from sport.

Market value

Throughout his career, nine-time Comrades winner Bruce Fordyce was forced to run for free, despite entertaining millions of people with his spectacular string of victories.

Had the current prize purse and bonuses been on offer during his career, Fordyce would have pocketed more than R5 million. Instead, he got nix.

So to hear elite athletes complaining now that the money on offer is not enough is a little absurd, and it suggests they don’t understand their market value.

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Comrades is the most lucrative ultra-marathon in the world, and a victory at the race opens many doors in terms of potential sponsors, so the long-term value in finishing anywhere near the front is significant.

More importantly, with no other ultra-distance races around the globe offering more money, complaining about the prize purse suggests one feels they’re worth more than the highest value offered in the market in which they operate.

The Comrades Marathon has opened new doors – along with the Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town – and laid the foundation for South African ultra-distance runners to have professional careers in the first place (a privilege still not offered in most countries).

Elite runners who are complaining, rather than using the platform they have been given to market and promote themselves, are biting the hand that feeds them.

That’s greedy. And yes, it’s lazy too.