Most runners know of the Comrades Marathon, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the world, a bucket list item for many.  However, this unique event really needs to be experienced to see why it holds such a strong place in South African culture, and is loved by so many runners across the world.

The race started in 1921 to commemorate the efforts of South African World War I veterans.  It was run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, a distance of approximately 90km which at the time was mostly on unsealed roads except for a few kilometers in Durban.  48 runners entered the race, but only 34 runners started and just 16 finished within the allotted 12hr cutoff.  Since then, the race has been held every year (with the exception of a break during WWII), and now attracts over 20,000 runners from South Africa and around the world!

So many aspects of the Comrades marathon make it unlike any other running event.  One of these is the alternating course – every second year, the race switches from the original route from Pietermaritzburg to Durban (the “down run”) to running the route in reverse and finishing at Pietermaritzburg (the “up run”).  With Pietermaritzburg being approximately 650m higher in elevation than Durban, the difference is quite significant, although the exact distances of the two runs are adjusted to compensate for the elevation, with the “down run” being about 3km longer (currently 90.18km vs 86.83km).  There is still plenty of up on the down run and plenty of down on the up though, so both routes are equally challenging (although in different ways), and much has been written about the optimal pacing strategies for each run!  Interestingly the second half of both runs is “easier” (in theory, although that becomes less meaningful when the second half comes after having already run a marathon!!)

The twist about the alternating courses is there’s this thing called the “back to back” medal – only available to runners who complete their first Comrades, then come back the following year to complete the “back to back” in the reverse direction.  Obviously, you haven’t really completed Comrades unless you’ve done both the up and the down.  So you thought you’d like to tick this one off your bucket list and run the Comrades one year?  Well think again, you’ll actually have to run it 2 years!!  And as they say, 2 is halfway to 10, at which point you get a permanent bib (called a “Green Number”), then you need to do your 11th to actually wear your green number in a race, and so it goes on… needless to say Comrades is addictive!!

One of the best things about Comrades is the way it brings the nation of South Africa together.  The crowd support is amazing, almost the entire route is lined with people and those not on the course are glued to their TV screens as the race is broadcast from start to finish.  Everyone I spoke to who I asked if they’d done Comrades, even if they hadn’t, they said that they wanted to one day.  There’s a reasonable contingent of international runners, but still 90% of the field are South Africans (close to 20,000)!  How many people in Australia would sign up for a 90km road run?!!

I ran Comrades last year, so of course was convinced that I needed to come back to complete the back to back.  Last year was a down run, and while I managed to get the Silver medal (awarded to runners finishing between 6:00 – 7:30), I was keen to improve on my time of 7:14, of which most of the last 30km was not very enjoyable and included a fair bit of walking!

This year’s training had gone pretty well, I had been averaging 140km/wk for a good period with biggest weeks around 155-160km, including a couple of 50-60km runs and some long uphills in the Blue Mountains to simulate the first 35km of the up run.  I had also run a number of PBs at shorter distances over the first half of the year, which was a good sign that the training had not worn me down too much.  So I arrived at the start line feeling good, but also knowing that anything can happen over 87km!  The goal was sub 6:40 with a stretch goal of 6:30, and the plan was to run relaxed to feel for the first half, keeping the average pace somewhere close to 4:30/km but not too much quicker – this translated roughly to 4:15/km on the flats (of which there weren’t many!), 4:00/km on the downhills and 4:40-4:55/km on the uphills.

The weather was quite variable in the week of the race, with temps in the high 20’s which dropped to the high teens with a cool change on the Friday.  It was forecast to warm up again, but fortunately this held off until Monday, so race day had a pleasant maximum of 22°.  Conditions at the start were probably the most challenging due to the humidity which meant sweating from 2km in!  But it could’ve been a lot worse, in fact Comrades legend Bruce Fordyce described it as a “wussy Comrades” and apparently we only deserved half a medal… pfft!

The start of Comrades is another reason why this race is so unique.  8 minutes before the gun, the South African national anthem is played; this is then followed by one of the most stirring moments, the Shosholoza – a traditional Zulu/Ndebele song and somewhat like a 2nd national anthem, sung by 20,000 voices in unison!  After this follows Chariots of Fire, which really lets you know that it’s all about to get real!  Then the recorded sound of Max Trimborn’s famous cock’s crow, and finally the starting gun and 20,000 runners are underway!

The first part of the race was fairly uneventful as we began the steady climbing out of Durban (still in the dark), gradually ticking off some of the 1800m of total elevation gain over the 87km route, although the first of the “named” hills would not come until 15km in (Cowies Hill).  There are 5 such “named” hills, referred to as the “Big 5” (like the big 5 game animals in Africa), although everyone was well aware there are about another 20 unnamed hills, at least 3 of which I’m sure we encountered even before Cowies!  The pace was comfortable, but as people say, when pacing an ultra and particularly the Comrades up run, “if you think you’re going slow, go slower!”  I was happy with my average pace of 4:35‘s, and already at about 10km in I was starting to cruise past other runners who had been a bit keen at the start.  Looking at the results afterwards, there were still more than 600 runners ahead of me at 18km, so this number was probably close to 1,000 early on!  A big difference between this race and a standard marathon is you can’t really stick with pacing groups to run a certain time – unlike most flat road marathons where the people who go through 1km in 4:15 are probably the people aiming for sub 3, at Comrades almost everyone (and particularly the faster runners) go out at a pace much faster than they can actually hold for the 87km.  So the only way to run it well is to let everyone go at the start, then be moving through the field the rest of the way!

I carried a total of 10 gels & energy bars on me during the race, and planned to get through these as well as anything on course that took my fancy, which included bananas, oranges and potatoes (“eat early, eat often!”)  I’m glad I didn’t rely solely on the aid stations for nutrition – although there was an abundance of water, electrolyte drink & coke, I didn’t actually see too much food until the 2nd half – I think more spectators start to come out with food as the race progresses so the runners towards the middle & back of the pack probably get more choice.  Anyway what I had seemed to work, and I felt good cruising through Fields Hill, Botha’s Hill and Inchanga (only a marathon to go!!), passing runners the whole way and wondering how many more were still ahead!  By around 60km however I started to feel a bit of fatigue in the legs and also found it hard to digest anything solid, I was definitely no longer “cruising”!  I was willing to take a glance at the kilometer markers (which by the way, count down rather than up, another rather unique feature of the Comrades marathon – you don’t want to be looking at these when you’ve already been running for 2 hours and it still says 60km to go!)  But once you start looking at those markers, you’re constantly holding out for the next one and it seems like forever!  I knew I was on track for sub 6:40 though as long as I held 5min/km pace to the finish, so this kept me motivated.

The last 15km of the Comrades up run is famous for one particular hill, named Polly Shortts (or simply “Pollys”).  However, there is another hill just before Pollys which many mistake for the actual Pollys!  It is called “Little Pollys” and presents a significant challenge of its own.  I didn’t actually mind these hills as I knew exactly where they were (having been on Bruce Fordyce’s route tour on the Friday!), and they provided useful markers (other than the kilometers) to tick off.  Finally I was descending down into the valley towards the bridge which marks the start of the Polly Shortts hill – as Bruce Fordyce likes to say, “into the valley of the shadow of death…” to which he adds, “unlike the psalm, you have much to fear!!”  I actually felt a certain sense of anticipation and excitement though, as I thought “this is it!”  After several months of training and 77km into the race, I am here – on one of the most famous hills in running and certainly the most famous hill of Comrades.  I expected to be walking here, but I slowly started shuffling my way up, 6min/km pace but it’s better than nothing!  Another runner was beside me and helped me to stay in a good rhythm.  Any faster and I probably would’ve cramped.  It was long, but eventually I was at the top and I hadn’t walked!  It felt like the race was done there, but there is still 8km to go from this point and trust me, it feels like WAY more than that.  2km to go I tried to grab an orange segment but dropped it (my coordination not quite as good as it was earlier in the race!)  Everyone around me shouted, “keep going!  Don’t worry about it!”  But I really wanted that orange!  So I ran back and picked it up off the ground!  It gave me the energy I needed though to get through to the Scottsville racecourse in Pietermaritzburg and the finish.  Final time6:35:41 – 76th place, 70th male, and 2nd Aussie (behind Wayne Spies from Brisbane).  I couldn’t be happier with that!  I was stoked to see fellow HuRTS runner Andy soon after who also had a cracking race, very sensibly paced and using his ultramarathon experience to finish in a great time of 7:02 despite a hampered buildup with hammy issues.

After chatting with a few other friends who had finished and attempting to refuel (no full strength beer, only shandy – better than nothing though!), as the minutes counted down to the final 12hr cutoff I headed over to the grandstand to watch the final runners come in.  It is an incredible sight – some are ecstatic and singing & dancing, some barely have enough energy to smile, some are limping or cramping, some are virtually being carried by a very kind friend (maybe someone they only met on the course?)  But all of them will get a medal… for now.  11:56 and “The Final Countdown” by Europe starts playing over the loudspeakers.  Anyone who’s not in the racecourse now had better get moving.  Runners are streaming in at a rate of 3 or 4 per second.  The last of the 12hr pace buses crosses the line.  A few stragglers still coming through… 20 seconds to go and one lady cramps 50 metres from the finish line!  The crowd are willing her to get up and keep going… but she can’t.  Finally she gets to her feet, but it’s too late.  5 seconds on the clock and the finish line is too far away.  The final gun sounds, and Comrades 2019 comes to an end.  There is a sudden hush in the grandstand as everything comes to a standstill.  Then the Last Post is played, a reminder of the commemorative nature of the race, but also strangely appropriate as the scene very much resembles that of a battlefield.

If the Comrades marathon is on your bucket list, 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the event so a perfect opportunity to make your debut.  I’ll see you then on the start line.  And again in 2022.