Reality is that by world standards , South Africa ’ s winter is not that harsh , and even the daylight hours are better than many experience in Europe , where runners train through considerably worse conditions for their spring marathon season .

The change of Comrades date is probably the most significant revision of the South African running and athletics fixture list in over 60 years ! The potential outcome is massive , and positive , and will surely see SA runners perform at higher standards on the world stage , and there are so many opportunities that could come out of this , that it ’ s hard to know where to start .

Rethinking Fixtures

Moving Comrades to late August means that the core training build-up to the race should now commence in May . In his heyday , Bruce Fordyce was adamant that serious Comrades training only began in March for a race day at the end of May . Indeed , in some of his best years he was injured in February . The key training months for distance will therefore become May , June and July and this is where the marathons and short ultras should be relocated on the calendar .

Presenting fast , flat coastal marathons in these months will provide not only ideal conditions for both training and qualifying for Comrades , but will also result in some of the world ’ s best marathoners being available to race in South Africa , as these dates will not clash with the traditional spring and autumn marathon seasons of the northern hemisphere .

Internationally , city races have six-hour , eight-hour or even 12-hour cut-off times , which caters for the less serious runner who simply wants the prestige of conquering the marathon distance . In June , even

in Durban , the organisers can plan on a 7am or 8am start with an afternoon cut-of , which will allow both the city and the province to benefit from the numbers and coverage of a true city marathon . Correctly organised , this could bring 10,000 to 15,000 runners to the coast over a weekend .

I think we can expect the last marathons to be scheduled around the first week of august . This will make the challenging Mandela Marathon an ideal final training run , as it is likely to relocate to the weekend closest to 5 August , the date that Madiba was captured on the Howick Road . This tough heritage route , which includes the 8km steep “ Struggle Hill ,” will become the final fitness check in preparation for the ‘ Big Five ’ climbs of Comrades .

Additionally , South Africa could become a hub for the new World Athletics-recognised 50km distance , as races such as Om Die Dam , Loskop , Bergville / Ladysmith , etc could all relocate into cooler months . Such conditions cater for later starting times , and with the longer cut-off and batch starts required

under current viral assessment , there is the potential to attract more recreational runners to these events , which in turn makes them more attractive to sponsors .

A Summer of Speed

Meanwhile , focusing on distance in winter means more emphasis can be given to shorter events over the summer months . ASA President James Moloi recently spoke of a new nationwide 5km series , which could even be being held after work hours on balmy summer evenings . In most provinces there would still be time to enjoy the evening after the finish . These shorter events would also compliment the track and field season , and hopefully bring more road runners into track training , which would benefit them in all distances .

Also , speedier short distance times , means faster marathon times , and faster Comrades times , and runners chasing faster times will actually benefit from the COVID compliance required in races , as they will have greater space and freedom to run on the road .

Images : Tobias Ginsberg / Action Photo SA