Comrades 2026: Entrants by The Numbers
Over a quarter of the field in 2026 will novices
Entries for the 2026 Comrades Marathon were snapped up in under 10 hours this week. Here’s a breakdown of all the numbers from the official entry of 22 399, compared to 2025. Entries were capped to ensure safety and a better runner experience.
|
2026 Nrs |
2026 % |
2025 Nrs |
2025 % |
|
| Entry Type | ||||
| South African |
19897 |
88.8% |
20,929 |
86.7% |
| Rest of Africa |
1270 |
5.5% |
1328 |
5.5% |
| International |
1232 |
5.7% |
1906 |
7.8% |
| Gender Breakdown | ||||
| Male |
17203 |
76.8% |
19,173 |
79.6% |
| Female |
5196 |
23.2% |
4,990 |
20.4% |
| General Stats | ||||
| Novice Runners |
5774 |
25.8% |
5997 |
24.8% |
| Returning Runners |
16,625 |
74.2% |
18175 |
75.2% |
| Aiming for Back2Back |
2698 |
|
3272 |
|
| Green Number Club |
2504 |
|
2659 |
|
| CMA Members |
633 |
|
285 |
|
| Number of countries represented | ||||
| Countries |
75 |
|
86 |
|
| Top 5 Countries with most entries (Same five as in 2025, but order differs) | ||||
| South Africa |
20,047 |
|
21,079 |
|
| Zimbabwe |
404 |
|
395 |
|
| India |
270 |
|
414 |
|
| UK |
249 |
|
357 |
|
| Botswana |
247 |
|
262 |
|
| Provincial Breakdown (Same order as in 2025) | ||||
| Gauteng |
9010 |
44.9% |
9316 |
44% |
| KZN |
3697 |
18.5% |
4414 |
20.9% |
| Western Cape |
2252 |
11.3% |
2165 |
10.2% |
| Eastern Cape |
2049 |
10.2% |
1941 |
9.1% |
| Limpopo |
886 |
4.4% |
961 |
4.6% |
| Mpumalanga |
849 |
4.2% |
922 |
4.3% |
| North West |
541 |
2.9% |
637 |
3% |
| Free State |
578 |
2.7% |
616 |
2.9% |
| Northern Cape |
188 |
0.9% |
209 |
1% |
| Clubs with Most Entries (Same five as in 2025, but order differs) | ||||
| Team Vitality AC CG |
917 |
|
940 |
|
| Hollywood AC KZNA |
730 |
|
1037 |
|
| Team Vitality AC GN |
419 |
|
438 |
|
| Waterfall AC |
369 |
|
411 |
|
| Run Zone AC |
359 |
|
416 |
|
| Upcoming Milestones | ||||
| Running 10th |
433 |
|
436 |
|
| Running 20th |
86 |
|
90 |
|
| Running 30th |
23 |
|
29 |
|
| Running 40th |
1 |
|
0 |
|
| Running 50th |
0 |
|
1 |
|
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