Comrades Marathon

By now, you know that the one marathon I would love to run more than anything is the Boston Marathon. What you may not know is that there is only one ultra marathon I want to do - Comrades Marathon. For the folks at home, an ultra marathon is any distance beyond 26.2 miles. Comrades is run in South Africa, in some of the most beautiful and mountainous land in the world.

There are many things which set Comrades apart from any other race. First is the distance - 55 miles. Ok, nothing too major there. This isn't one of those 100 mile races. Oh, but wait, there's more. In those 55 miles there's a 7,000 ft elevation change. Oh did I mention the one of the more unique aspects of the race? No? Well the race runs between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Ok...so? Well in even numbered years you go from Pietermaritzburg down the mountains to Durban. In odd numbered years your run up the mountains. NOW think about that 7,000 ft elevation change.

In covering the 55 miles, you have 12 hours to complete the race. That 12 hour limit is final! There is no 1 minute after finish. If you complete the race in 12 hours, you get a medal, and an official standing in the race. If you finish any later...no medal....no record of you being in the race. This is one of the more compelling aspects of the race. A couple minutes before hour 12, the chairman of the race comes out of a tent with a gun. He heads to the finish line, stands with his back to the runners coming to the finish, looks up at the clock and watches the time tick away. Once 12 hours has occurred, he fires his gun, signaling the end of the race. The person who first finishes after the gun goes off, gets a handshake, but that is it.

Before the chair fires the gun, spectators are yelling and screaming. Some yell at the chairman to not fire the gun. Some yell at the runners to hurry. The finish of the race is South Africa's most watched event on TV.

There are many traditions which go along with the race, like special bibs, medals, both determined by how many Comrades you run. Other traditions include the 5 majors hills you cross along the way, the Ethembeni School for Disabled Kids where all the kids come out and cheer each runner, and just the camaraderie of the runners is legendary.

All of this appeals to me, yet sadly, due to the nature of the course, I won't be able to physically run this race. This is the part of my running life which sucks, because there are some cool races I want to do, but the limitations of my body keep from doing them. Still this race fascinates me, and I will be interested to see how it turns out.

Charlie