WINNER PAYOUTS Here are the 2025 Comrades Marathon prize money details, top-10 finisher payouts, and key race statistics, including hydration supplies, food provisions, and the new two-group start format. Picture: Phakamisa Lensman/BackPagePix
Image: Phakamisa Lensman/BackPagePix
As the dust settles on the Comrades Marathon on Sunday evening, the top-10 runners in each race will sleep soundly not just from exhaustion but also from the knowledge of their bank balance receiving a significant boost.
Long gone are the days when record nine-time champion Bruce Fordyce won the race purely for prize and not a single cent in prize money.
Fordyce’s last win in the gruelling ultra-marathon took place in 1990, and five years later prize money was first introduced.
This year, both the men’s and women’s top-10 finishers will also receive the same payouts.
Top-10 prize money payouts at 2025 Comrades Marathon
Payouts aside, here are some of the key stats from the race this year.
One of the biggest changes this year will be a new two-group start. This first group of the fastest qualifying runners in the field, with the elites at the front, will go off first. This first group will have around 12,500 runners taking off at the gun.
Each group will be further divided into batches, with around 1,500 runners in each batch.
The second main group will feature around 10,000 athletes.
As for the food and drinks available at refreshment stations throughout the route, here are the key numbers.
Hydration Supplies
• Thirsti Water Sachets: 2.2 million
• Thirsti Sports Drink Sachets: 600,000
• Coca-Cola: 30,350 litres
• Fanta / Crème Soda: 10,650 litres
• Coca-Cola Paper Cups (175ml): 450,000
• Asemzansi Amahewu: 45,000 servings
• Bavaria 0.0% Beer (150ml cans): 22,000
Food & Energy Provisions
• Cooked Baby Potatoes: 2 tons
• Bananas: 600 boxes
• Oranges: 4.5 tons
• Energy Biscuits: 500 kg
• Salticrax (Crackers): 500 kg