Cape Town - The 96th Comrades Marathon takes place this weekend and it is a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
More than 18 000 runners will line-up for the annual 87.7km gruelling race between the two KwaZulu-Natal cities.
Among the participants are 2 354 international athletes from 84 nations. The lion’s share of international runners comes from India with 403 athletes, followed by Zimbabwe with 255, United Kingdom with 224, USA with 173 and Brazil with 142.
Gauteng has the biggest number of South African participants at 7 398, with the host province of KwaZulu-Natal coming second with 3 491, in third is the Western Cape with 1 517 and the Eastern Cape at 1 141.
The rest of the provinces have under 1000 runners.
The Comrades Marathon remains one of the most challenging ultra races and has proven over and over to be a big drawcard for road running enthusiasts.
It, therefore, makes sense that business and government leaders continue to support this event.
It is great for sports tourism and an excellent window to show the world that South Africa is a beautiful destination for any business investment.
Runners and supporters alike take a great deal of interest in the race every year and the organisers, the Comrades Marathon Association, must be commended for keeping the race going for so many years.
The role of the runners – professional and amateur – must also be mentioned as thousands of them are not in it to compete and win.
They have different milestones like achieving green numbers, getting over the finish line before the cut-off and some have made running a lifestyle to keep their bodies healthy. That is why the Comrades Marathon is appropriately referred to as the human race.
One of the topical points about this Sunday’s race is that Kingsmead Cricket Stadium is again going to be the finish point of the run. The Moses Mabhida Stadium, which is some paces further than Kingsmead, has been used as the finish venue in the past few down runs but that has actually made it virtually impossible for new records.
So this year there is an expectation that some top contenders will attempt to create a new record.
Whatever happens, those tens of thousands of finishers and non-finishers must know that they are heroes and heroines who continue to protect the legacy of the epic race.
Cape Times