The 2020 Comrades Marathon has been cancelled
This means that #Comrades2021 will now be the 95th edition of The Ultimate Human Race, starting from the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and finishing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
THE Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Board and KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA, Athletics South Africa (ASA) has announced the cancellation of this year’s Comrades Marathon.
ASA President Aleck Skhosana said cancelling what would have been the 95th edition of the Comrades Marathon was a long and arduous decision to make.
“With the race’s rich history, its powerful nation-building attributes and contribution towards social cohesion, as well as its immense economic impact, it would have been premature to rush into an outright cancellation sooner. However, we believe we have jointly arrived at the correct decision to protect the health and safety of all concerned as well as the lives of our fellow South Africans,” Skhosana said.
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CMA Chairperson Cheryl Winn concurred with Skhosana saying there was no other choice.
“We had hoped to postpone The Ultimate Human Race to a date not later than end of September (owing to climatic conditions), but alas with the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating and anticipated to peak in the coming months, there is no telling what is yet to come. As CMA, it is incumbent upon us to prioritise the health, safety and well-being of our athletes, volunteers and stakeholders and therefore lamentably we will not be staging this year’s edition of the country’s leading road running event.
“With regard to South African entrants (based on the assumption that all entrants would have eventually qualified to participate in the race) every South African entrant (including the 485 who entered during the recent substitution period) will not be refunded their entry fee but will instead receive their #Comrades2020 mrpsport runners T-shirt and goodie bag, as well as a Comrades badge and flash,” Winn said.
The details of the distribution process will be made available in due course in terms of the National Lockdown restrictions. For logistical reasons this will apply to South African entries only.
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