A Monopoly of Comrades: The merging of two great brands

The first time I travelled to Cape Town, I spotted the name of a road while driving and it triggered memories of my childhood.

Strand Street isn’t just a road. It’s a historic landmark for me, even though I have no knowledge of its history.

The relevance is that I always wanted Strand Street when playing Monopoly.

And, just around the corner in the Mother City, you’ll find Long Street. Another one I was always gunning for on board game night.

Between the Parking Lot and the cop that sends you straight to jail are the red and yellow streets – the Cape Town streets – and, strategically, they always did well for me.

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Monopoly is my favourite board game, and now that the creators have teamed up with my favourite race, the newest version has been pushed to the top of my Christmas wish list.

Having attended the Comrades Marathon Expo many times, as a journalist and a participant, I’ve never really felt the need to buy the merchandise on offer.

I have enough clothes and mugs, and I’ve never been desperate to include any in my collection with the ‘Comrades’ logo on it. Until now.

Monopoly is so entrenched as a past-time in this country, and many others, that some phrases have become part of our global culture.

“Go straight to jail. Do not pass go and do not collect R200,” is a common saying which forms part of our colloquial language.

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Fittingly, the Comrades is also entrenched in our culture in South Africa, so much so that some people don’t even call it ‘Comrades’. For many, it’s just ‘the marathon’. As if there’s only one.

With both the Monopoly and Comrades brands playing such a big part of my life, this will be my first purchase of anything with the race’s logo on it.

A Monopoly game which features race landmarks, the Comrades Marathon House and ultra-distance legend Bruce Fordyce – the brainchild of two-time Comrades gold medallist Leon Swanepoel – is the perfect game for runners.

I can’t wait to play it with my kids, although I might have to change my strategy with no Cape Town streets on the board. And I’ll have to start more cautiously than I usually do, to ensure I can reach the finish.

If nothing else, a game which has given me many good memories will now offer me an opportunity to achieve one of my childhood dreams.

Comrades Marathon Monopoly is about the only chance I have to win my favourite race.