Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 117, April 2019 | Page 49

RACE ADVERTORIAL
#TheQualifier
heads to Pretoria
The fourth edition of the JointEze Irene Ultra powered by Modern
Athlete will take place at the Agricultural Research Council,
Irene Campus, Pretoria, Gauteng North, on the 7 th April, with its big-
gest field of runners yet, and the same 48km distance that makes
this #THEQualifier for Comrades runners.
T
he distance of 48km may sound a bit unusual – further
than a 42.2km standard marathon, not quite all the
way to the standard ultra distance of 50km – but that’s
what makes this race the ultimate Comrades qualifier. You
see, because it falls into the 48-50km qualifying bracket for
Comrades, you effectively have 2km free. In other words,
your 48km time will count the same as a 50km qualifier, so
you could potentially qualify for a higher seeding, or finally
nab that elusive qualifier.
With the new Comrades qualifying criteria, you will be
required to run a sub-5:50 for 48km to secure your
qualification, meaning you will need to run an average pace
of 7 minutes 17 seconds per kay, versus the required pace
of 6:52 per kay for a sub-4:50 qualification in a standard
marathon. Also, thanks to the ChampionChip timing system,
both your marathon and 48km finish times will be recorded,
and the best one will be automatically submitted to the
Comrades Marathon entries database.
One change to take note of for this year’s race is that the
start time has moved to 5:30am, to give runners more time in
cooler conditions.
The ultra and half marathon routes through Irene’s suburbs
are not too tough, so fast times are possible, and there is also
a 5km fun run that takes place on the Irene ARC campus,
providing a safe running environment for younger runners.
Meanwhile, a big picnic area, enclosed kiddies’ entertainment
area with supervision, exhibitions and food stalls will keep
the non-runners busy while they wait for their loved ones to
return.
Giving back to the runners, the race has partnered with
Jetline Action Photo to give all Ultra and Half participants
free race photos for download! So not only will you have an
amazing day out, but you will also have your race images to
share on Facebook free of charge!
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