Comrades Marathon 2024 route distance revealed — It’s the shortest ever!

The official route distance of this year’s 97^th Comrades Marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg has been revealed: And it’s the shortest in the history of the famous ultra-marathon.

The Comrades committee said on Friday the distance to be run on 9 June between Durban and Pietermaritzburg — an Up Run — will be 85,91km.

This makes this year’s run nearly 820m shorter than the last Up Run in 2019.

Finish in Pietermaritzburg

The last time that the race finished at the Scottsville Racecourse five years ago, the race distance was 86,73km; the same year in which reigning Comrades Marathon champion, Gerda Steyn, set the current best Up Run time of 5:58:53 in the women’s race.

Furthermore, when Leonid Shvetsov set the still standing men’s best Up Run time of 5:24:49 in 2008, at The Oval Cricket Stadium in Pietermaritzburg, the distance was 86,94km. The difference in distances over the years is mainly due to the roadworks and varying routes taken on the run out of Durban.

This year the race has had to accommodate ongoing roadworks at the Umlaas Road Interchange and will follow a route through the suburbs of Cleland and Pelham, similar to that used in 2013 and 2015. 

With 78 days to Comrades race day, Ann Ashworth, CMA Race & Operations Manager, advised runners to make their way to the start of the race early saying, “Due to the ongoing roadworks, we ask that all of our athletes make their way to the Durban City Hall timeously to avoid the traffic congestion and potentially miss the start of the race.”

This year’s Comrades will be the 49th Up Run.