After the COVID-enforced cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Centenary Comrades Marathons, the Comrades Marathon is back and will take place on  Sunday, 28 August 2022 but with a hefty increase in entry fees.

CMA Chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo unveiled the appropriate campaign slogan, “The Return – Sishay’ Ibuya” and the race will be a ‘Down’ Run starting at Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 5.30am and ending 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban – a total distance of 90,2km. This will be the 47^th ‘Down’ run.

Considering the current National legislation limitation on mass participation events, the entry limit has been capped at 15 000 entries. Due to Coronavirus and other health and safety implications, all entrants will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and produce their vaccine certificate to complete their entry status by 12 July.

The opening date for entries is Wednesday, 23 March 2022, when the first entry window period commences and runs for 1 week until 31 March 2022. During this window period, only those entrants who had successfully entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon will be able to enter, be they South Africa, Rest of Africa or International.

The entry fee for South African athletes will be discounted from R1200 to R1000 in the first entry window period, as per the CMA commitment when the 2020 race was cancelled. Rest of Africa and International entrants in the 2020 Comrades Marathon had their entries deferred to either the 2022 or 2023 race; and will therefore not pay an entry fee.

During the second entry window period, from 20 April to 16 May 2022, all other athletes will be allowed to enter.

Entry fees

Entry fees for South African have doubled since 2020 and will now cost R1200 while the Rest of Africa will cost R2000 and International entries R4500.

Entry is free to all runners who have completed the Comrades Marathon 25 times or more.

This second entry window period will not apply should the entry cap have been reached during the first entry window period.

• ASA rules only allow for online entries and will be done via the Comrades Marathon website: www.comrades.com 

Prize Money Reduced
Prize money has also been reduced from R525,000 to R260,000.

Special Medal
A special larger than normal commemorative medal denoting the 95^th edition of the Comrades Marathon will be struck for this year’s race. A new trophy will also be introduced to the 20–39 years Women’s second-place team prize.

Qualifying

Qualifying for the 2022 Comrades Marathon is applicable as of 1 September 2021 until 12 July 2022. The qualifying criteria for this year’s Comrades Marathon remains unchanged requiring completion of a standard 42.2km marathon in under 4 hours and 50 minutes, or a 56km ultra-marathon in under 6 hours and 45 minutes.”

The Substitution Process will run over the month of June. More details will be revealed closer to the time.

Board Game

The CMA also launched its new book and board game at the event, namely the Comrades Monopoly which is a world-first for any road-running race. The Comrades Monopoly is a Special Limited Centenary Edition with a custom board, properties, money and cards.

For properties, all the Comrades Marathon route landmarks have been used. For the most expensive properties, the Down Run Course Records were used, as well as the fastest times by foreign runners and the record of 9 wins.

Additionally, Comrades House and the Comrades Marathon Wall of Honour are used for the Traditional Utility properties while Chance and Community Chest cards feature as Down Run and Up Run.

For more information, please visit www.marathonmonopoly.com

Comrades Book

Also commemorating the centenary of the world’s biggest, oldest and most famous ultramarathon is the recently published Comrades coffee table book, In Your Stride. 

In Your Stride: 100 Years of the Comrades Marathon, 1921 – 2021 by Steve Camp and Brad Morgan is a must-have for anyone who has been inspired by the race. Consisting of 264 pages in full colour and a matte cover finish with UV spot varnish, the book is a 280x280mm hard cover publication crammed with loads of information and imagery on the world’s most spectacular footrace.

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