Comrades ‘records’ should just be ‘bests’

When it comes to records, I can be pedantic. When I was first introduced to my favourite sport, athletics, it was statistics that really gripped me and drew me in.

I would sit with SA Athletics Annuals for hours on end, comparing times, distances and performances across various disciplines and different generations.

Ironically, however, my favourite event of all was left out of that equation. At the Comrades Marathon, records don’t really mean much.

In terms of winning times, the problem is that the distance of the race always changes. It can be anywhere from 86km to 93km, which is a big enough gap to ignore record performances.

And there’s good reason for the adjustments in distance. Held on a point-to-point course between two cities, the race is often affected by roadworks along the route, forcing organisers to make changes to the course. The finish venues have also changed multiple times over the years.

So whenever I write about Comrades records being broken (which doesn’t happen often) I do so with a pinch of salt.

In any other athletics event where unofficial records are set, we talk about “bests” rather than “records”.

Comrades generally gets a pass, however, because it’s a unique event which is unmatched by any other in so many different ways, including the distance over which it is contested.

But this year I’m going to find it very difficult to use the word “record” because the organisers have gone too far. The race distance is never shorter than 86km, but this year it will be 85.91km.

Having completed the race myself, back when I was younger and less lazy, I can understand why social runners would be pleased. It’s great news for anyone who is on the fringe of finishing within the cut-off time.

For the elite runners, however, I feel like the organisers might be making it too easy in an attempt to see records being broken.

Of course, I have never organised the Comrades Marathon. It must be a logistical nightmare and credit must go to the Comrades Marathon Association for the effort they put in every year.

Surely, however, they could have turned a few more corners somewhere and extended the route a little to keep the distance in line with what we’ve seen in recent decades?

If the race records are broken this year, I will still refer to them as such because that’s what they are. But I will be sprinkling salt all over it when I do.