The 2016 Comrades Marathon campaign was launched by the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) in Johannesburg on Thursday 13 August, with the proudly South African 2015 Comrades Marathon winners, Gift Kelehe and Caroline Wostmann in attendance, along with the nation’s other top runners, sporting personalities and stakeholders.
The 2016 campaign for the world’s most famous ultra-marathon is centered on the humbling aspect of the race, with the slogan: ‘Izokuthoba – It Will Humble You’. CMA General Manager, Chris Fisher unveiled the 2016 campaign saying, “With its 90-year history, the Comrades Marathon is recognised as the biggest and oldest ultra-marathon in the world, and also the most challenging. The beauty of this event is that it is a humbling experience and you may never be the same person again once you have completed it. My call to you is to get involved, either as a runner, a volunteer or a supporter.”
CMA Chairperson, Macdonald Chitja adds: “We are pleased to unveil our 2016 Comrades Marathon campaign. Any Comrades runner will tell you that running The Ultimate Human Race is indeed a humbling experience. We welcome all of our runners, supporters and stakeholders to share in the humility, camaraderie and beauty of race day on Sunday 29 May 2016.”
The 91st Comrades Marathon will be a Down-run, starting at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 5:30am and ending 12 hours later at the Sahara-Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban, covering a distance of around 90km. 1 September 2015 is the opening date for entries and the entry period will close on 30 November 2015, or as soon as the entry cap of 20,000 has been reached. Prospective entrants are encouraged to get their entries in early to avoid disappointment.
Entry fees for the 2016 Comrades Marathon are as follows:
• Local Entries: R420.00
• Rest of Africa: R700.00
• International: R2400.00
South African runners will be eligible for the ‘early bird’ entry fee of R380 if their entry is received before 30 September 2015. The regular South African entry fee of R420 will kick in from 1 October 2015 until the entry process is closed. Entry is free to all runners who have completed the Comrades Marathon 25 times or more.
Runners can enter as follows:
• Online via the Comrades Marathon website: www.comrades.com;
• By posting their completed entry form with proof of payment to the CMA Office in Pietermaritzburg: P.O. Box 100621, Scottsville, 3209;
• By handing in their completed entry form together with payment at the CMA office in Pietermaritzburg.
Entry forms will be available at local running clubs, provincial sporting federations and the CMA; as well as selected qualifying races which the Comrades Team will be attending from September to November. Qualifying for the 2016 Comrades Marathon will be applicable from 30 August 2015 till 2 May 2016. Runners are advised that the 2015 Comrades Marathon will not be an automatic qualifier for next year’s race. The Substitution window period will be from 1 – 21 April 2016.
For more information, visit the Comrades Marathon website
