← Comrades Marathon
Comrades is known as The Ultimate Human race & it certainly lived up to its name.
The slogan 'It Takes All of You' is so succinct yet completely accurate.
if you do this race on an odd numbered year you'll be doing the 'Up Run' from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, then on an even numbered year the route is reversed for the 'Down Run'
I completed the Up Run.
Starting at 5:30am in the dark is quite a unique experience & after some iconic songs including chariots of fire a loud cannon starts the race, with confetti everywhere. You'll see this in my video.
the first few K are flat then the climbing starts, there are huge hills so big they have names Cowies, Fields, Botha, Drummond Inchanga & Polly Shortts.
the temperature was in the high 20's C so combining these hills, the heat & the 86.73K makes this such a tough ultra Marathon.
to add to the mix there is an overall 12 hour cut off but 6 cut offs along the route. If you fail to make a cut off in the allotted time you're race is over & these are strictly enforced. Do your research, understand this race & understand what is needed.
There is the medal system too, depending on your finish time you can get different coloured medals. Research this on the website & pick a realistic goal. I found it really useful if I fell off pace for my target medal I could hang on for the next.
The toilets were good, loads at the start, loads along the route.
Maid stations give out plastic sachets of water, Energade, cups of Coca Cola, sometimes salty potatoes, energy bars, bananas etc.
i saw no gels at aid stations so if you prefer those carry your own.
its not expensive to enter but flights are what made it expensive. Direct flights from the U.K. We're expensive so I went via Dubai to keep cost down but after the race the double long haul flight was really crap. I literally flew the next day, bad plan, don't do that you may as well spend a few more days.
They have plenty of parkrun's in the area so if you fancy a leg loosener after you flight there, 5K the day before is available to you.
This was one of the best races I've ever done, bloody hard but equally amazing. If you've done a few marathons & want the next challenge this is it.
