Comrades is back but if you want to run, you have to be vaxxed
|Published
Picture: REUTERS/Rogan Ward
Durban - The Comrades Marathon is back but if you want to be a participant, you have to be vaccinated.
This week, Comrades Marathon Chairperson Mqondisi Ngcobo, announced the race would take place in August under the slogan, "The Return – Sishay’ Ibuya".
"Runners will still need to exercise a degree of care and attentiveness when out running – be it exercising, training, spectating or participating in events. However, amid all the precautions and safety measures, we are just extremely pleased to be able to host the 2022 Comrades Marathon in August and invite the nation and the world to celebrate this milestone with us," he said.
Ngcobo said the slogan is such a natural fit for this year’s upcoming event.
The return of the Comrades Marathon, let alone all other road-running events, is something that runners have been eagerly awaiting.
"It is therefore with a great sense of pride and pleasure that we unveil this campaign, issue details around our upcoming 95th Comrades Marathon and create the conditions for our athletes to run the race that they love so much,” he said.
The 95th Comrades Marathon will be a Down Run on Sunday, August 28. The race starts at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 5:30am and ends 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, covering a 90,2km distance. This will be the 47th Down Run in Comrades history.
Ngcobo said considering the current national legislation limitation on mass participation events, the entry limit has been capped at 15 000 entries. He said 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 July 12.
The opening date for entries is Wednesday, March 23, when the first entry window period commences and runs for a week until March 31.
During this window period, only those entrants who had successfully entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon will be able to enter, be they South African, Rest of Africa or International.
The entry fee for South African athletes will be discounted from R1 200 to R1 000 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 April 20 to May 16, all other athletes will be allowed to enter.
Entry fees for these entrants in the 2022 Comrades Marathon are as follows:
South Africa - R1 200
Rest of Africa - R2 000
International - R4 500
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
A special larger than normal commemorative medal denoting the 95th 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 2nd place team prize.
"We have exciting plans in place for this year’s Down Run which will finish at Durban’s acclaimed Moses Mabhida Stadium for the second time. Qualifying for the 2022 Comrades Marathon is applicable as of September 1, 2021 till July 12, 2022. The qualifying criteria for this year’s Comrades Marathon remains unchanged, requiring completion of a standard 42.2km marathon in under hour hours and 50 minutes, or a 56km ultra-marathon in under 6 hours and 45 minutes," said CMA race director, Rowyn James.
The Substitution Process will run over the month of June. More details will be revealed closer to the time.
Since inception, the Comrades Amabeadibeadi charity drive has raised more than R60 million for the CMA’s six official charities. The benefiting charities for 2022 are Childhood Cancer Foundation SA (CHOC), Community Chests of Pietermaritzburg & Durban, Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, Hospice KZN, Rise Against Hunger and Wildlands Conservation Trust.
The Race4Charity fundraising platform requires that runners raise a minimum of R6 000 for the Amabeadibeadi charity of their choice, in order to qualify for the charity seeding batch on the start line. 500 entries have been reserved for Race4Charity runners. For more details on the Race4Charity initiative, click through to www.comrades.com/charities/race-4-charity
Ngcobo has called on all runners to support the charitable fundraising initiatives of the CMA.
"We urge all Comrades entrants to select the Official Charity closest to their heart and commit to running for a cause greater than themselves. As the CMA, we have placed great focus on benefiting the communities in which we operate and continuously adding value to the sport of athletics,” he said.
IOL