WHILE the ultradistance Comrades Marathon cannot, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, be run in its usual way, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has created a virtual race which will allow many people to compete and win medals without putting themselves in danger of infection.
The CMA’s ‘Race The Comrades Legends’ is a running concept based on the stories of the greatest Comrades legends in history.
The official Comrades Marathon website will include an online functionality where runners can virtually compete, run with and compare with each other and the likes of Bruce Fordyce, Frith van der Merwe, Samuel Tshabalala and many others; where each participant creates their own personal story and on completion is able to earn a real medal.
With the entry tally nearing 20,000 the CMA is ensuring that ‘Race the Comrades Legends’ is the ultimate virtual race and with the significant difference of creating a sense of camaraderie for athletes within their social space, adding value to running clubs and the running scene; and helping raise funds for the charitable sector amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
Sisters run in memory of their dad
Frances (Fran) Gandy and Paula Humphries are going to be running the 90km distance in memory of their dad, Tevor Gandy, who lost his battle to leukaemia late last year.
“Fran and I started running in 2010 and we decided we would like to finish a Comrades. We got hold of dad and the next day he took us on the road and we ran our first 2km which took us about 36 minutes and we were finished!” laughed Paula, who is a member of Queensburgh Harriers who has since finished three Comrades Marathons.
“We didn’t stop running from that first day,” she said.
Paula’s sister Fran, who runs for Hillcrest Villagers has completed two Comrades Marathons and the sisters often run together when preparing for and racing the marathon.
“We had entered to run again this year, but with the lockdown and the cancelled race and the less training we were quite disheartened,” explained Paula.
World’s largest virtual event
The world’s largest ultra-marathon is planning an event called Race The legends. It is expected to be the largest virtual event in the world as entrants from all over the world participate in the race which will be run will on Sunday, 14 June 2020 at 00:00am (12 midnight) and finish at 23:59pm on the actual race date in whatever time zone the participants are in.
Participants are encouraged to find the course of their choice and run their favourite route.
Whether it be on your property, a treadmill or on public roads.
However, the CMA is adamant it doesn’t want people to break any lockdown regulations to participate in the race.
“Please respect the current Covid-19 restrictions/regulations of your country and run within its constraints,” it said in the statement announcing the race.
Entries opened on 18 May and will close on 14 June 2020.
There is something for everyone with a variety of different distances on offer:
5 km – Couch2Comrades (Fun run)
10km – Comrades Sprint
21.1 km – Comrades Legends Half Marathon
45 km – Half Comrades 90km
90 km – Comrades Legends Ultra
Age limits have been set lower for the shorter races so even children can participate in the comrades in some way. Children over the age of nine may enter the 5km race, while the minmum age for entrants in the 10km race is 15-years, and 16-year-olds can compete in the 21km distance. The final two categories, the 45km and 90km races have a minimum age limit of 20 years.
Advice from the CMA is for runner to ensure they are properly prepared for their race, regardless of the distance they have signed up for. “Plan your run wisely! Bring sufficient nutrition, water and energy drinks with you – or plan ahead so your course covers your nutrition and fluid needs on race day.”
Entry fees
South African entrants (18 May 2020 – 14 June 2020) – R150
Foreign athletes (international/SADC) (18 May 2020 – 14 June 2020) – $25
All entry fees are non-refundable.
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Clubs
The CMA acknowledged that many club organised events have had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak putting many of them in financial difficulty.
“In support of the entire industry the CMA has established a profit share mechanism on entry income for clubs and organisations who are able to register 500 or more entrants against their club or organisation,” said the CMA in its announcement.
“Clubs or approved organisations are encouraged to sign up as a team. Once you register your club as a team, your club members can then select your club as the team they are running for. A percentage of entry income will be shared amongst all clubs or approved organisations who have more than 500 athletes registered against their clubs or organisations.
Race numbers
Race numbers will be emailed to every entrant. Entrants are encouraged to print out the race number and attach it to their running kit on race day.
Running in your club kit is not required but encouraged and participants are encouraged to take images and videos wearing their race numbers and share across the various social media platforms using the official hastag, #racethelegends
How will the race times be measured?
Smart phones, smart watches, fitness watches or activity trackers will be, for each runner a personal “virtual timing chip”.
Runners will be able to start the session and run their selected distance, then stop the session when they reach the race distance. Runners can then link Strava, Garmin, Polar or Suunto accounts to their runner profile.
“We also support session file imports for GPX, TCX and FIT formats – you will also be able to manually input running data – so there is nothing holding you back from Race the Legends,” said the CMA. All data must be uploaded by 11.59pm on 14 June to qualify for a finisher medal.
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“Your time will be updated to the official results service for the event you participate in. However, real official timing can only be carried out with homologous chip timing technologies at real certified running events.
“Please also note, that even though your watch or phone may deduct pauses you may have taken during your session, we do not. We measure from start to finish!”
The results will be published on the Comrades Marathon website and be fully available in our app where you can subscribe to finish notifications for the runners you want to follow,” said the CMA.
Awards
All athletes who finish their respective distance will receive a physical Race the Comrades Legends Medal. Virtual race participants will receive their items upon completion of their run (up to 3 – 4 Months after the event).
However, all finishers will also receive an online finishers certificate once they finish their race distance which they will be able to share with friends and family.
Racing 4 charity (R4C)
The importance of supporting charities has not been forgotten in this year’s plans. “CMA will work with its official charities to identify projects to assist in the fight against Covid-19 and other worthy needs in society,” said the association. “The CMA has identified projects that are major contributors to Covid-19. The proceeds raised by the R4C platform will be used to systematically repress the spread of Covid-19.”
As the last week before the race winds up, the association said it is pleased by the entries it has received.
“The event has attracted both Comrades winners and recreational runners, with participants from around the world signing up for what promises to be the world’s most inclusive virtual race, hosted by the organisers of the world’s greatest ultramarathon.”
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