Home > Runs & Races

Comrades Marathon officially cancelled

After announcing the event would be postponed last month, organizers have now cancelled the Comrades Marathon altogether

Comrades marathon

Last month, Comrades Marathon race organizers announced that the event would be postponed, although no new dates were ever set. This morning, the Comrades Marathon Association and Athletics South Africa officially cancelled the event, once again extending the list of COVID-19 race casualties. The 2020 event would have been the 95th running of the ultramarathon, but that milestone will have to wait until at least 2021.

Waiting for a down year

The Comrades Marathon route switches direction every year, but it’s always run between the two same cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban. There are “up” years (Durban to Pietermaritzburg), which are 87K with about 2,000 metres of elevation gain, and “down” years (Pietermaritzburg to Durban), which are 90K. This year would have been a down year, but runners will have to wait to make the trek until next June.

RELATED: The nine medals you can win at the Comrades Marathon

100th anniversary

Comrades is the biggest race in South Africa, and in 2020 they had a cap of 27,500 racers. The race is a big source of pride for South Africans, and it’s been won by South African runners on many occasions, including the last eight-straight years.

This year’s race would have been the 95th running of the Comrades Marathon, but 2021 will actually be the 100th anniversary of the event (it wasn’t run for five years during World War II). It’s a shame that the event had to be cancelled this year, but it will make next year’s run more meaningful with the race celebrating 100 years of existence and its 95th running.

A Comrades Marathon bronze medal. Photo: Twitter/DotCom_SA

The race was first run in 1921 by Vic Clapham, who fought in World War I. Upon returning home to South Africa, he ran between Pietermaritzburg and Durban as a tribute for his fellow soldiers (or comrades) who didn’t make it home, officially starting the Comrades Marathon.

RELATED: What’s next for Jim Walmsley?

Big names will have to wait

American ultrarunners Jim Walmsley and Camille Herron were both set to run this year’s Comrades Marathon. Herron won the event in 2017, and 2020 would have been her first year back since her win. Walmsley has never run the Comrades, and he was looking to become the second American man to win the race after Alberto Salazar‘s win in South Africa in 1994.

“It was the right decision [to cancel],” Herron says. She’s still on the list for the UTMB and the Big’s Backyard Ultra in the fall, but neither are sure things. “UTMB plans to make a decision by May 20 on their race.” If all races get cancelled, Herron says she might take a shot at some treadmill Guinness World Records, but she hasn’t committed to anything just yet.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CALLGv6H9fy/

South African runners who were registered for the 2020 Comrades Marathon will not be refunded, nor will they receive the option to defer their registration. Foreign competitors, though, will be given the option to defer their entry until the 2021 or 2022 events.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The best shoes and apparel to stay warm and dry this winter

There's no such thing as bad running weather if you dress for the conditions