START OF A JOURNEY Runners cross over the start of the Comrades Marathon. Picture: Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix
Image: Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix
It’s that time of year again, and the Comrades Marathon is once again here as over 22,000 runners are set to take on the challenge of running from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday.
The down run this year is set to be held in good running conditions, with the risk of rain around 10%. Of course, from the outset the focus will be on the title contenders in the men’s and women’s races, which will be Piet Wiersma and Gerda Steyn.
However, the majority of the race will be about the hordes of regular runners who will be putting in herculean efforts as they attempt to cross the finish line in the gruelling ultra-marathon.
Here are five things to look out for at the Comrades Marathon this weekend.
Chariots of Fire at the start
As is tradition, the song Chariots of Fire by Vangelis will be played on the loudspeaker system at the start just before the gun is fired. It’s always a stirring and inspiring moment which brings the anticipation to a crescendo, before each runner sets off on their Comrades journey.
Commentators telling us how far 90km is
It’s understandable that during a broadcast over more than 12 hours, commentators will run out of things to talk about at times. However, it’s always particularly irritating when the commentators try to explain how far Comrades is, how it’s more than two regular marathons, and for bonus points, they might even once more tell us how many parkruns (5km) Comrades is like running in a row. It’s simply inane babble, and sometimes silence is golden.
The final hour of the race
This is where the real heart of the race lies. The runners that finish between 11 hours and the 12-hour cut-off are the ones who likely battle most to finish the race. These are not elite runners; these are people with regular jobs who somehow find the time to put in enough (or not enough) training just to simply cross the line. There will be many who crawl over the finish throughout the day, but the most come in this final hour. Finally, there will be scenes of heartbreak as viewers witness those runners who don’t make it, despite their best efforts. It’s TV sporting drama of the highest calibre.
Awkward, sycophantic interviews with sweaty runners right after they finish
After the elites have stood on the podium and former race winners have all had their say, the TV crews will descend on the finish line to interview the regular Joe runners. Prepare for schmaltzy questions, hands on shoulders, and too many celebratory handshakes which could be straight out of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.
Someone will say at least once, “You’re not a real runner until you’ve run Comrades.”
It’s perhaps the most pretentious and condescending line in all of SA running, normally meant as a joke, but it’s a cliché that is always uttered every year. It’s a fantastic achievement to have completed the Comrades Marathon, but there’s also nothing wrong with being a runner and not doing the race, or ever intending to.
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