Comrades Supplement Comrades Training and Info Guide, 2017 | Page 10

Inspiration

The Comrades Marathon has come to mean different things to different people since it was first run in 1921,
but no matter where you come from, what you do or what you believe, nor whether you run or just support
the race, it takes all of you to make the Comrades what it is, the Ultimate Human Race. – BY SEAN FALCONER

and advice, convincing each other that they
can keep going and make it. Even the most
introverted runners have been known to strike
up a conversation with a perfect stranger during
this gruelling race, and the Comrades crosses
many of the barriers between the diverse groups
of people of this country.
It takes all shapes, sizes, ages, colours, languages
and more to create this incredible mix of running
camaraderie, and that’s the spirit behind the 2017
Comrades Marathon campaign, ‘It Takes All
of You – Zinikele,’ unveiled in August by the
Comrades Marathon Association (CMA).

To many non-runners, the Comrades is an
inexplicable juggernaut of moving humanity that
they either watch from beside the road, or sit
glued to their televisions all day, watching the
drama unfold. Even the non-running public know
that the Comrades is not just about fast times
and winning gold medals, but just as importantly,
it is about the spirit of the race.

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Comrades Training & Information Guide 2017

WONDERFUL MIX

The Comrades is a melting pot of gender,
age, race, language, religion, politics, income,
education and everything else. However, once the
starter’s gun has fired, all runners are equal, no
matter their background, especially when it comes
to the hills – and there are some rather large hills
between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Of course,
some runners are a little more adept at climbing
hills than others, and these gifted few tend to
disappear over the proverbial horizon, leaving the
masses to claw their way through the kilometres,
but that’s when the unique spirit of the race – the
comradeship – comes to the fore.
When the going gets tough in Comrades, that’s
when runners who have never met start chatting
like old friends, sharing drinks, tonics, tablets

At the campaign launch, CMA General Manager,
Chris Fisher said, “Last year’s campaign,
‘Izokuthoba – It Will Humble You,’ was a great
success. This year we wanted to come up with a
campaign that described the inclusive nature of the
biggest and oldest ultra-marathon in the world. A
very definitive feature of our race is that it takes not
only the commitment and dedication of thousands
of people to stage the race, it also demands an
enormous amount of discipline and determination
from our runners. We debated long and hard and
eventually came up with a phrase with a doublemeaning: ‘It Takes All of You – Zinikele’.”

COUNTDOWN TO COMRADES

The 2017 edition of the Comrades Marathon will
be the 92nd staging of the race, and it will be an
Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Entries
opened on 1 September and will close on 30
November, unless the full quote of 20,000 is sold

Images: Courtesy CMA

T

o some it is a massive bucket list item
that they simply must tick off during
their lifetime, a huge physical challenge
that they want to take on and beat, and
earning that small but prestigious Comrades medal
is enough to make anybody smile. Granted, it can
be a painful, humbling and ultimately disappointing
experience, because the Comrades can reduce
even the fittest, fastest runners to a walk, but
that’s what makes finishing all the sweeter.