THE RUNNING MANN
C o l u m n
Musical Interlude
You leave the city via the Carr Street onramp , which provides a short , sharp tester to get back onto the M1 highway , and from there it ’ s straight back to Kibler Park . With the majority of the route being on the M1 , and the thought of obnoxious Australians still fresh in my mind , these AC / DC lyrics kept popping into my head …
Johannesburg City Marathon route map and profile
Don ’ t need reason Don ’ t need rhyme Aint nothin ’ that I ’ d rather do Goin ’ down Party time
My friends are gonna be there too I ’ m on the highway to hell On the highway to hell Highway to hell I ’ m on the highway to hell
The lyrics to AC / DC ’ s “ Highway to Hell ” kept popping into my head
( and probably also of this year ) as we headed back to finish line at the Klipriviersberg Recreation Centre . Whilst we might have conquered the highway to hell , the route map looks like a treacherous hangman ’ s noose with a knot at each end . The total climbing over the route was 561m , which is fairly challenging , but still a lot easier than the 734m of the Jackie Gibson route . So , I guess the big question to answer is , “ How does the Johannesburg City Marathon compare to the Jackie Gibson ?”
The Rand Water table provided runners with more water than Rand Water was able to provide the whole of Joburg !
In a previous race blog , I described the Jackie Gibson thus : “ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre of marathons – connoisseurs of pain , horror and gore will love it , whilst the weak and squeamish will hate every minute .” The Johannesburg City Marathon is a PG-13 version of this . There ’ s definitely more mass-market appeal with the new route ( and great potential for growth ), but it lacks the grit and old school charm that Jackie Gibson provided . Let ’ s hope that there ’ s room on the calendar for both races in future .
Read on for The Running Mann ’ s personal view about the Johannesburg City Marathon replacing the Jackie Gibson Marathon .
The final eight kilometres are a steady drop broken by two short but steep hills , and the runners ’ highway exit comes with two kilometres to go . It was at this point that I pulled into the final support station , which was operated by Rand Water . Although there were a couple of organisational issues on the day , kudos must go to Johannesburg Harriers for being able to stock that Rand Water station with more water than most of Johannesburg had received for the entire month of March ! ( Sidenote : At the time of writing , I was actually planning to go watch the new Dune movie . Not for entertainment value , but just to get some water conservation tips from the Fremen .)
Signing out from the Johannesburg City Marathon
There were just under 1000 finishers in the marathon , which is up from the 640 and 642 from Jackie Gibson in 2022 and 2023 , but still well below the pre-COVID numbers , which were usually over 1500 . However , there were plenty of people to chat to along the way . At that time , I was busy with an article about what I think are idiotic rules being enforced in the sport by athletics officialdom , so I struck up a conversation with anyone I spotted who had a permanent number or Comrades finisher ’ s badge sewn onto their vest , to ask their opinion about ASA ’ s plans to make badges on running vests a disqualifiable offence . ( None of the responses were printable , in case you were wondering .)
One of the runners I got talking to was Ian Kingon from Alberton , who ran his first Comrades in 2000 and has run every one since then , including the full distance over the virtual runs during the pandemic . He is also something of a stats fundi , and mentioned that he ’ s been tracking all the other year 2000 novices , and only two other ‘ Comrades millennials ’ have run every run since then .
Sting in the Tail
After that , I was planning a leisurely stroll to the finish line when clubmate Peter Reavy pulled up alongside me and I ended up running my fastest kilometre of the day
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 250 marathons and ultras around the world , and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , while his dream is to get a sponsorship from a beer company , so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style . If you ’ d like him to run your race , or talk at your event or club , email therunningmann @ gmail . com . You can follow all his adventures on his popular Running Mann blog .
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