What you need to know about Comrades 2018
The Comrades Marathon takes place this Sunday. Thousands of athletes will tackle the gruelling 90.184km 'down run' from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
Organisers expect more than 21,000 runners to line up at the start outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall.
The race will finish at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium on the Durban beachfront for the fist time in its history.
The race starts at 5.30am and runners have 12 hours to complete the route.
The Comrades Marathon has become a major sporting event on the national and provincial calendar, with people from across South Africa and the rest of the world flocking to the East Coast to participate in the race, watch or support the athletes.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal says 1,430 international entries were received this year, as well as 554 from the rest of Africa.
The event is a major money spinner for the host province. The Comrades Marathon Association expects KwaZulu-Natal to receive a R700-million cash injection as a result of the 2018 edition.
With thousands of people on the road between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, one can only imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes to pull off a successful race. Organisers say there will be 44 refreshment stations on the day.
The following items will be available to runners along the route:
Coke – 30,350 litres
Fanta / Crème Soda – 10,650 litres
Coke paper cups (175ml) – 450,000
Energade sachets (150ml) – 750,000
Water sachets – 1.875 million
Bananas – 9 tons
Oranges – 8 tons
Biscuits – 1 ton
Racefood honey nougat energy bars – 21,000
Cooked potatoes – 2 tons
Energade (500ml) – 51,360 RTD bottles
Mageu Number 1 (250ml) – 32,640 RTD sachets
The race will finish at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium on the Durban beachfront for the fist time in its history.
The race starts at 5.30am and runners have 12 hours to complete the route.
The Comrades Marathon has become a major sporting event on the national and provincial calendar, with people from across South Africa and the rest of the world flocking to the East Coast to participate in the race, watch or support the athletes.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal says 1,430 international entries were received this year, as well as 554 from the rest of Africa.
The event is a major money spinner for the host province. The Comrades Marathon Association expects KwaZulu-Natal to receive a R700-million cash injection as a result of the 2018 edition.
With thousands of people on the road between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, one can only imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes to pull off a successful race. Organisers say there will be 44 refreshment stations on the day.
The following items will be available to runners along the route:
Coke – 30,350 litres
Fanta / Crème Soda – 10,650 litres
Coke paper cups (175ml) – 450,000
Energade sachets (150ml) – 750,000
Water sachets – 1.875 million
Bananas – 9 tons
Oranges – 8 tons
Biscuits – 1 ton
Racefood honey nougat energy bars – 21,000
Cooked potatoes – 2 tons
Energade (500ml) – 51,360 RTD bottles
Mageu Number 1 (250ml) – 32,640 RTD sachets
There are also major road closures on the day.
We have the official road closures and the time each section is affected below:
The Comrades Expo gets underway at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday and runs until Saturday. Participants will register for the race at the Expo.
110 Exhibitors will also have stands set up, showcasing an array of running related merchandise, equipment and nutrition, among other things.
110 Exhibitors will also have stands set up, showcasing an array of running related merchandise, equipment and nutrition, among other things.