After a rocky time Comrades is in rude health
Afew years ago, it seemed the Comrades Marathon was facing steady decline, and while organisers insisted they could find ways to keep the race relevant in an evolving market, it didn’t look good.
The numbers were consistent among the masses, but the sizes of fields were hardly breaking records and foreign athletes had a firm grip at the front end of the race.
Comrades was at the height of its glory in the Eighties, before the birth of a new beginning, when South African athletes and fans were trapped within the boundaries of our nation due to international isolation.
Domestic road races thrived, with epic battles retold in great detail across the pages of the mainstream press, and local athletes carried the esteem which is now reserved for the global elite.
But no race drew as much interest as the Comrades Marathon. A battle of wills which was held in extreme conditions.
In touching distance of the supreme athletes they watched on live television each year, some of the spectators dropped their coffee and blankets, jumped off the couch and hit the road.
Inspired by the likes of Bruce Fordyce, an archaeology student at Wits, and Frith van der Merwe, a school teacher from Benoni, more and more individuals took up the challenge, and by the time the country was accepted back into the international fold, the Comrades Marathon had become a trademark of South African sport.
With current trends indicating a growing interest in standard marathons, half-marathons and 10km races, however, the annual event looked to be losing touch with its participants.
But organisers promised change, and they have duly delivered, revamping the race and recapturing the imagination of the public by launching a revival.
For six straight years between 2006 and 2011, the men’s and women’s titles were won by athletes from Russia and Zimbabwe, losing a sense of patriotism attached to the race, and media interest was waning.
Since Ludwick Mamabolo broke the drought in 2012, howev- er, SA men have won the race six times on the trot.
In 2013, Claude Moshiywa became the first South African in 21 years to win the Down run, and in 2016 David Gatebe made history by smashing the 5:20:00 barrier, clocking 5:18:19 to reclaim the record from Russian athlete Leonid Shvetsov.
In 2015, Caroline Wostmann stunned the field to take the women’s title, ending a 17-year victory streak by international visitors, and the following year Charne Bosman won the Up run to bag a double-double for the local contingent.
With interest developing again in the elite race, and the organisers making tweaks in an effort to stay relevant in a modern market, the 93-year-old event has been given a facelift.
This year, after selling out 20 000 entries, the limit was extended by an additional 1 500 runners, in an attempt to keep the pilgrims happy.
Comrades was always a unifier, avoiding messy political interference and making progressive steps by opening its doors to black participants and women in 1975, when such things were still very much taboo.
And in the face of new challenges which have threatened to bring its lengthy legacy to an end, its pleasing to see that South Africans have seen enough value in the race to keep it alive as its centenary year approaches.
Whether you’re on the couch, on the road or watching from the sidelines, the annual journey in KwaZulu-Natal tells an ongoing tale of the human spirit.
The latest chapter will play out live on June 10. Don’t miss it.