Getting In · Pilgrimage race
Comrades Marathon
Twenty thousand runners leave Pietermaritzburg before dawn and try to reach Durban before a gun goes off twelve hours later. Comrades has been called the Ultimate Human Race for a century, and no other event on earth combines this scale with this much collective feeling.
- Distance
- ~89 km~55 miles, direction alternates yearly
- Field
- ~20,000
- Cutoff
- 12 hoursGun fires, race over
- First run
- 1921
- Qualifier
- Marathon under 5:00
- 2027
- 100th running, June 13, Down Run
Comrades runs between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, alternating direction each year: the Down Run and the Up Run. Neither is easy. The Up Run climbs roughly 6,000 feet over five named hills including Polly Shortts, and the Down Run trashes quads across 55 miles of net descent, which is arguably worse.
What makes it unlike anything else is the ending. At exactly twelve hours the final gun fires, an official stands with their back to the oncoming runners, and the finish closes. Every year, people are seconds short. The footage of that moment is the most-watched clip in distance running for a reason, and it is why every Comrades runner knows their splits.
2027 is the 100th running, a Down Run on June 13. It will be the most oversubscribed Comrades in history.
How to get in
- Time qualifierThe marathon qualifier
You must run a certified marathon or longer under 5:00 inside the qualifying window, which typically runs from September through the following May. International runners submit their result for verification. That is the whole standard: there is no lottery and no cutoff beyond the clock.
- Open entryEntries when they open
Entries open once a year, typically late October or early November, and the field caps. Popular years sell out in hours. You can enter before you have your qualifier as long as you submit the qualifying time before the deadline.
- Tour operatorTour operators
For overseas runners, official operators bundle entry, accommodation, and the significant logistics of a point-to-point race in a country you don't know.
The medals are the whole culture
Comrades awards different medals by finish time, and runners talk about them constantly.
| Medal | Time |
|---|---|
| Gold | Top 10 |
| Wally Hayward | Sub 6:00 (outside top 10) |
| Silver | Sub 7:30 |
| Bill Rowan | Sub 9:00 |
| Robert Mtshali | Sub 10:00 |
| Bronze | Sub 11:00 |
| Vic Clapham | Sub 12:00 |
A green number, permanent race number ownership, comes with ten finishes. It's the most respected thing you can have in South African running.
Preparing from abroad
- The cutoff drives everything. Twelve hours for 89 km is roughly 13 minutes per kilometre, which sounds easy and is not after 60 km of hills.
- Train hills specifically. Down Run years need eccentric quad work more than climbing. Up Run years need the opposite.
- Race the qualifier early. Get the sub-5:00 done in the autumn so you're not chasing it in May.
- Arrive several days early. The time difference plus a 5:30 a.m. start is a rough combination.
- Learn the seeding. Your qualifying time sets your start pen, and with 20,000 people the difference between pens is real minutes.
Questions runners actually ask
What time do I need to qualify for Comrades?
A certified marathon or longer completed in under 5:00 within the qualifying window, which typically opens in September and closes the following May. Faster qualifying times earn better start pens.
When do Comrades entries open?
Usually late October or early November for the following June. Entries are capped and popular years sell out within hours.
What is the Comrades cutoff?
Twelve hours from the start gun. A final gun is fired at exactly twelve hours and anyone behind it does not finish, regardless of how close they are.
Which is harder, the Up Run or the Down Run?
Runners argue about this endlessly. The Up Run has around 6,000 feet of climbing and Polly Shortts near the end. The Down Run destroys quads over 55 miles of net descent. Most multiple finishers say the Down Run hurts more the next day.
Go to the source
Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.
If this is your kind of thing
Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.