Comrades Marathon preparation is underway
BORDEAUX – The Comrades Marathon Association holds annual road show to help prepare runners.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) hosted their first road show on 20 January.
A total of 19 workshops will be held across the nine provinces for the 87 kilometre race.
The 90th annual Comrades Marathon will be held on 31 May.
The aim of the workshops is to inform and prepare those going to run the Comrades and for those wanting to participate in the Comrades in the near future.
According to CMA marketing coordinator Thami Vilakazi, the Comrades will be an up run this year from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
“We have these workshops to help try and make sure that our runners start and finish the race. [The] Comrades is not an easy race to finish, we need to prepare our runners. We give them training tips to help them develop a training programme,” said Vilakazi.
People first have to qualify to run the Comrades by running the qualifying race of 42. 2 kilometres, that needs to be done in under five hours.
This year the Comrades will have 90 special Comrades medals to celebrate their 90 years – a back-to-back medal for those who ran last year and finished and come back this year to run again and a novice medal for first-time runners.
Comrades Marathon coach Lindsey Parry, who has completed five Comrade Marathons said, “My main focus is to educate as many people as possible on how to prepare and how to run the race. I just want people to be as good as they can be.”
People can participate for various reasons or for a charity.
Kevin Smith started running the Comrades in 2011.
“The Comrades turned my life around, in 2010 I lost my business and was on the verge of giving up, but I said if I can get an entry into the Comrades I will do it. This year I want to aim for that green number [if you are in the top 10 you get a green number],” said Smith
Entries for the 2015 Comrades Marathon closed on 30 November 2014.
Details: www.comrades.com
