INTRODUCTION
BORN OUT OF COMRADESHIP
Welcome to the Official Event Digimag of the 2026 Comrades Marathon. This publication is designed to provide you with all the info you need to make your final preparations for the race, including race pack collection and registration, getting to the start, navigating the route and finding your way around the finish. So, take your time to explore all the pages of info, and make sure you’ re fully briefed to tackle the 50th edition of the Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, and 99th edition overall of this great race.
Before we talk more about this year’ s race, though, let’ s first look back to where it all started …
In 1921, a small group of runners lined up in front of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, ready to take on an event conceived and launched by World War One veteran Vic Clapham. His goal was to rekindle the camaraderie built up amongst the Allied troops during the long years in the trenches, and to commemorate fallen comrades, with the physical challenge of a race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Having managed to( eventually) secure a £ 1 loan from the Comrades of the Great War association to fund his race.
Of the 48 who entered that first race, only 34 made it to the start, and when the race officially ended 12 hours later, only 16 had made it to the finish in Durban. It was the start of something great. It was the first Comrades Marathon, and it was an event that would go on to become an integral part of so many people’ s lives – and not just South Africans, but many an ultra-runner from other countries, too.
Now we find ourselves making the final preparations for the 99th edition of this great race, and a lot has changed …
The early Comrades runners had to contend with gravel roads caked in a layer of dust up to five centimetres thick, and the route seemed to traverse every hill between the two cities. Fortunately, the full route was tarred by 1931, but the hills of KwaZulu- Natal were just as numerous, and just as steep!
Marathon is a very different race. For starters, that tally of 34 starters has grown into a massive event with over 22,600 runners qualifying to start the race. Furthermore, this year’ s Comrades will feature 49 wellstocked refreshment stations, many vibey activations and spectator points, and huge crowds of spectators all along the route. It really is a far cry from those pioneering races in the 1920s.
The 2026 Comrades Marathon will feature an innovative three-group start process, with the field split into three groups that will start with a 15-minute gap between each group. This is being done not only to ensure the safety of all participants, but also to give all runners in the field the chance of a faster, smoother start and more comfortable run, with less pressure to meet cut-off times along the way and at the finish in Pietermaritzburg.
It’ s all about ensuring a better race experience for all runners, and there are further innovations …
The live televised broadcast of the Comrades Marathon has become an annual tradition in many households across South Africa, and this year will see the race beamed out on the Comrades Marathon’ s YouTube channel for the first time, meaning that the race could potentially reach an even bigger global audience than ever before. It’ s an exciting new chapter in the history of this historic event, and sure to generate even more interest in the event as we prepare for the 100th edition of the race in 2027.
Next year is going to be an incredible celebration of a century of camaraderie and endeavour, but that still lies in the future. For now, it’ s all about the 2026 race, and some 22,600 runners from all over the world lining up in Durban on Sunday 14 June and heading‘ up the road’ to Pietermartizburg on a route that features some of the most famous hills in the running world.
As you get ready for your run with all the essential race info we’ ve packed into digimag, we wish you a speedy, successful and enjoyable run …
All the best to those who will line up for the 2026 race, as well as those who will be supporting family and friends along the route. Thank you to all the volunteers, organisers, sponsors, partners and service providers whose hard work and dedication have made this race possible. And of course, let’ s continue to pay tribute to those who went before us … from Vic Clapham and his comrades of the Great War, to the many, many thousands of Comrades Marathon runners that he has inspired to take on his race since 1921.
Ska Fela Moya- Don’ t Give Up
Images: Comrades Marathon Association
There were no refreshment stations in those early races, and the runners had to stop at hotels or taverns along the way to get a drink of water, or scrounge a drink from people they met along the road. They also had to organise their own attendants with transportation, whose job it was to attend to the needs of their charges. Many an exhausted attendant would swear never to do it again after begging, cajoling and threatening a runner to keep going. Yet they came back again and again, as did the runners.
That’ s a far cry from what you can expect in the 2026 edition of the race...
Just over 100 years later, the modern Comrades 9