Comrades 2026: Entrants by The Numbers

Over a quarter of the field in 2026 will novices


RW Reporter |

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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