Runners get ready – Comrades Marathon returns
The 95th Comrades Marathon will be held on Sunday, August 28. The opening date for first entry window period starts on Wednesday, March 23.
THE Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) launched its #Comrades2022 campaign on Thursday, February 17.
This is after nearly two years of adhering to the National State of Disaster, the subsequent suspension of sporting events and the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Centenary Comrades Marathons.
The campaign’s slogan is ‘The Return – Sishay’ Ibuya’, signaling the long-awaited return to road-running and a celebration of the comeback of The Ultimate Human Race.
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The launch was attended by road-running dignitaries, CMA sponsors, stakeholders, former winners, elite athletes and sporting personalities.
CMA chairman, Mqondisi Ngcobo said runners will still need to exercise a degree of care and attentiveness when out running – be it exercising, training, spectating or participating in events.
“However, amid all the precautions and safety measures, we are just extremely pleased to be able to host the 2022 Comrades Marathon in August and invite the nation and the world to celebrate this milestone with us,” said Ngcobo.
He added that the slogan is such a natural fit for this year’s upcoming event.
“The return of the Comrades Marathon, let alone all other road-running events, is something that runners have been eagerly awaiting. It is therefore with a great sense of pride and pleasure that we unveil this campaign, issue details around our upcoming 95th Comrades Marathon and create the conditions for our athletes to run the race that they love so much,” said Ngcobo.
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The 95th Comrades Marathon will be a down run on Sunday, August 28. The race starts at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 05:30 and ends 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, covering a 90,2km distance. This will be the 47th down run in Comrades history.
Considering the current national legislation limitation on mass participation events, the entry limit has been capped at 15 000 entries. Due to Coronavirus and other health and safety implications, all entrants will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and produce their vaccine certificate to complete their entry status by July 12.
The opening date for entries is Wednesday, March 23 when the first entry window period commences and runs for one week until March 31.
During this window period, only those entrants who had successfully entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon will be able to enter, be they South Africa, the Rest of Africa or international.
All other athletes will be allowed to enter during the second entry window period, which starts from April 20 to May 16.
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