TOURISM KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) acting CEO, Phindile Makwakwa says the province is ready to ensure that runners and spectators, both national and international, have a world class experience at this year’s Comrades Marathon event.
According to Makwakwa, the Comrades is an important event for the province especially in terms of the economic impact. The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) confirmed that it predicts an economic boost of up to R700 million at the sporting event this year.
“We hope the cash injection will trickle down to all communities along the 90 kilometer route and throughout the province. We want to showcase our province, world class facilities and tourist attractions. The race is going from strength to strength with more international athletes competing this year compared to 2017 and we hope they will not only enjoy the race, but also take the time to explore our many sites and wonders from the beach to the berg,” said Makwakwa.
More than 21 000 runners will wait for cock’s crow to signal the start of the race, at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall for the down run of the world’s biggest and oldest ultra-marathon that will end 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
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There are 370 more international athletes competing this year compared to last year. A total of 1 430 international entries were received and 554 from the rest of Africa.
“Our vision is to grow Comrades into a bona fide international event and increase the number of international participants. We believe that this marathon can stand head and shoulder with the likes New York Marathon, the London Marathon and Gold Coast Marathon in Australia. It is for this reason that we are supporting the CMA with promoting this marathon at international platforms,,” she said.
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