COMRADES CENTENARY
The Comrades Marathon was run for the first time on 24 May 1921 ( Empire Day ). The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Clapham , to commemorate the South African soldiers killed during the war . Having endured a 2,700km route march through sweltering German East Africa , Clapham also wanted the memorial to be a unique test of the physical endurance of the entrants . That is why the constitution of the race states that one of its primary aims is to “ celebrate mankind ’ s spirit over adversity .”
100 Years later , we find ourselves in a totally different kind of ‘ war .’ One that brought the world to a standstill as the COVID-19 virus spread like wildfire , and there was a scramble to contain its spread . The financial impact as a result of measures taken to curb the spread have left many feeling as if they had just come through a war !
THE 100 TH
YEAR RUN
Early in the year , I had decided that the best way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Comrades Marathon on 24 May 1921 was with a run along the route , and I had hoped that there would be an official tribute run organised , but as we got closer to 24 May , the chances of that happening dwindled very quickly . So , I decided to still run the route , even if I had to do it by myself . – BY KEITH REYNOLDS
Keith receives his Triple Green in 2017 from former winners Bruce 32 Fordyce ISSUE 142 JUNE 2021 / www . modernathlete . co . za and Alan Robb
The Comrades Marathon Association was also affected . It was planning a great celebration of the 100th anniversary of the oldest Ultra-marathon in the world , but sadly , that was not allowed to happen due to restrictions that have been put in place to keep the virus at bay . Thus only past winners who reside in South Africa , as well as women who have completed 30 runs and men with over 40 runs were invited to the official celebration on 24 May , which kicked off with a commemorative run from City Hall in Pietermaritzburg to Comrades House .
MAKING MY PLANS
In terms of my own run , originally , I planned a ‘ Down run ’ to align with the planned direction , as well as the direction of the original run in 1921 , from Pietermaritzburg to Durban . The challenge was going to be attempting to run along Berea Road at the end in midday traffic . Fortunately , a few of my Irene club members had lived and trained in Durban , and warned me of the hazards of running in the area .
I then decided to align my run with the thinking of the 1988 run , which was a consecutive ‘ Up run ’ to mark the 150th year celebration of Pietermaritzburg . It was also a chance for me to make up for the ‘ Up run ’ that I missed in 1998 , due to being too ill to run on the day . That was the year that MTN was the event ’ s major sponsor , and the first time the race ended at the Scottsville Racecourse .
I kept the plan quite low-key , as I believe this Comrades run was not about commercial hype , charity drives and whatever else is now focused on through the event . For me , it was simply in line with the plaque outside Comrades House : “ Lest we forget .” I had , however , communicated my plan to the Comrades Marathon Association , and was informed that it was solely at my own risk .
Just before leaving for Durban , I managed to get time to set up an appropriate race number , to make it look more official . I was also fortunate to have got my hands on a Comrades Marathon Green Club running vest , which I thought to be the most appropriate attire for the run .
A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE
To minimise the potential problems that could be encountered in the early stages , I planned to start as early as possible and get off Berea Road ( the N3 ), as I did not want to get pulled off early in my run for
Images : Action Photo SA & courtesy Keith Reynolds