Comrades Marathon: What time does the race start on Sunday?

One of South Africa’s iconic sporting events, the Comrades Marathon, will take place between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on Sunday, 11 June.

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Sunday’s race will be the 96th edition and the 48th ‘down’ run.

As reported by The SAPeople website, this year’s race will cover 87.701km, making it the shortest ‘down’ run of all time.

The difference in distances over the years is mainly as a result of roadworks and varying routes taken on the run out of Pietermaritzburg.

The race will start at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 05:30 and will end 12 hours later (17:30) at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead stadium in Durban.

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There will be FIVE cut-off points along the route that runners will need to avoid in order to cross the finish line.

CUT – OFF | RUNNING TIME | TIME OF DAY

Cato Ridge (N3 Subway) | 04:30:00 | 10h00
Drummond (Halfway) | 06:10:00 | 11h40
Winston Park (Caltex Garage) | 08:10:00 | 13h40
Pinetown (St. Johns Avenue Subway) | 9:20:00 | 14h50
Sherwood | 11:00:00 | 16h30

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As reported by The SAPeople website, organisers have offered R500 000 for a new record in both the men’s and woman’s races this year.

That money is in addition to the R500 000 on offer for the men’s and women’s winners of the race.

The second and third-place finishers will also have reason to console themselves in defeat, with their cash prizes at R250 000 and R180 000, respectively.

On top of that, should the winner be a South African and from the KwaZulu-Natal province, they will be paid an additional R200 000 and R60 000, respectively.

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Spectators wishing to track runners can download the official Comrades Marathon App via the Google Play and Apple App Store.

The SAPeople website will publish the winners of both the men’s and women’s races immediately after the victors cross the finish line.

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CURRENT COMRADES MARATHON ‘DOWN’ RUN RECORDS

Men

David Gatebe (South Africa) – 5:18:19 (set in 2016)

Women

Frith van der Merwe (South Africa) – 5:54:43 (set in 1989)

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