‘Ultimate human race’ a sell-out

2019 ENTRIES SNAPPED UP IN RECORD TIME

With unprecedented interest shown in next year’s race, Comrades Marathon race director Rowyn James (pictured) has tipped his hat to stakeholders, participants and the organising team ahead of the 94th edition of the gruelling ultra-marathon in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The Comrades Marathon brand is obviously in an incredibly good space and it is credit to the team who efficiently and effectively go about putting runners first on a daily basis, as well as all of our sponsors, stakeholders and athletes who are so vested in the ‘Ultimate Human Race’,” James said yesterday.

Entries were sold out in record time for the 2019 edition of the race, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) confirmed, with the cap of 25 000 participants being reached just one week after the registration process had opened.

This bettered the previous record sell-out when entries were snatched up in three weeks for the 2018 edition.

While most of the entrants are from South Africa, a total of 80 countries will be represented in the mass field next season.

“We reached the cap of 25 000 entries last night and therefore shut down the entry process,” James confirmed.

“The unprecedented demand for Comrades Marathon entries has been amazing.”

Individuals who hoped to participate could still grab a spot in the field during the substitution window between March 1 and April 15 next year, when entrants who had withdrawn could pass their race numbers on to others who missed out.

“We recommend that all runners keep training and stick to their fitness goals,” said CMA chair Cheryl Winn.

“The possibility of a Comrades substitution is still there, so we urge our runners to not lose all hope.”

The 2019 edition of the 87km race, an “up” run between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, is set to be held on June 9.