Comrades snuffs out cheats

The 91^st Edition of the race, which is a down-run this year, promises fair-play to all of its participants after race organisers clamped down on potential cheaters.

In years past, athletes have come up with ingenious ways to cheat their way to the finish line of the world-famous ultramarathon. But in the build up to this year’s race, organisers have made massive strides in ensuring a fair race for all.

Speaking earlier this week, Comrades Marathon general manager Chris Fisher said new measures have been taken to sieve out the bad seeds.

“We’ve taken a tough stance this year. It’s unsportsmanlike, unethical behaviour. Comrades is there for those people who tackle the race in the correct spirit. For those that supply us with false information or don’t complete the full route, we are applying new technologies this year to make sure that if we catch you we’re in a position to call you into a disciplinary inquiry and we will name and shame you,” Fisher said.

In the lead up to the race, no less than 22 athletes that were suspected of planning to cheat have been approached by the race organisers. According to Fisher, many of those runners chose to pull out of the race.

"The running clubs have been supplying us with information and on the back of that we have phoned individuals and asked them to qualify the information they’ve given us. In a number of cases, in fact the majority, those individuals have decided to withdraw themselves which we are quite happy with.”

Fisher also said that there is likely to be more timing mats along the race route to ensure runners complete the full route. He also urged runners that have submitted incorrect information, or are running on behalf of another runner, to withdraw from the race to avoid facing a disciplinary inquiry.

If athletes are found guilty of cheating, athletes face a two-year ban from the race.

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