Comrades Marathon by the Numbers

• 102 – years ago, started on 24 May 1921 (Empire Day later renamed Republic Day later renamed Youth Day) the Comrades Marathon is now the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the world
• 1 – Pound, the loan received by Vic Clapham from the League of Comrades of the Great War to cover the expenses of the first Comrades Marathon
• 2 – the Cities that the race alternates between: from the City of Pietermaritzburg to the City of Durban, a Down Run, or vice versa an Up Run
• 2 – the Comrades is a “gun to gun” fired once at the start of the race and again at the finish. In the first Comrades Marathon race in 1921, Vic Clapham forgot to bring a gun and started the race with a policeman’s revolver firing a live round into the air!
• 12 – the number of hours the race is run over, starting at 05:30 and finishing at 17:30 the same day

• 56 – miles being the distance of the first Comrades Marathon
• 34 – the number of male runners that started the first Comrades Marathon race in 1921 (a Down Run)
• 16 – the number of finishers of the first Comrades Marathon
• 8h 59m – Bill Rowan’s winning time for the first Comrades Marathon

• 89 – the number of male runners that started the second Comrades Marathon race in 1922 (the first Up Run)
• 26 – the number of finishers of the second Comrades Marathon
• ? – a tot of brandy taken in by Arthur Newton at the start of Polly Shortts during the first Comrades Marathon Up Run, and another ? tot at the top!
• 8h 40m – Arthur Newton’s winning time of the 1922 Comrades Marathon, the first Up Run
• 6h 56m 07s – Arthur Newton’s winning time for the 3rd Comrades Marathon in 1923, a Down Run, going under 7 hours and taking 2 hours off the previous best time

• 11h 35m – the finish time of Frances Hayward (no relation to Wally Hayward) the first woman to finish the Comrades Marathon, albeit unofficially in 1923
• 1932 – Geraldine Watson becomes the first woman to complete back to back Comrades Marathon’s, unofficially of course
• 37 – the number of seconds separating Wally Hayward and Phil Masterson-Smith in the 1930 Comrades Marathon
• 2 – yards the distance between winner Phil Masterson-Smith and runner-up Noel Burree in 1931
• 1 – second separating Manie Kuhn from Tommy Malone (who had stumbled at the finish line) to win the 1967 Comrades Marathon
• 19 – the age of the youngest winner of the Comrades Marathon, Phil Masterson-Smith in 1931
• 1931 – The Memorable Order of Tin Hats (Moths) of the Gunga Din Shellhole, donated a steel helmet worn in Flanders as a floating trophy to the first team of four to finish
• 41 – years of age when Wally Hayward won the 1950 Comrades Marathon, 20 years after winning it previously
• 5h 52m 30s – Wally Hayward’s record breaking best time and first sub 6 hour Down Run time in winning the 1953 Comrades Marathon
• 5h 56m 32s – Jackie Mekler shatters the previous Up Run best time in 1959

1975

• the first year that woman and runners of colour were officially allowed to enter the race
• The Comrades Marathon celebrated its Golden Jubilee with the 50th edition of the Comrades Marathon as an Up Run to finish in PMB the city of origin
• Qualifying was introduced
• Elizabeth “Betty” Cavanagh became the first woman to finish the race officially

• 1976 – the Down Run finished at Kingsmead Stadium for the first time
• 1981 – Isavel Roche-Kelly wins successive back to back Comrades Marathon’s (1980 a Down Run and 1981 an Up Run with the first sub 7 hour time for a woman in an Up Run of 6:44:35). And, and the start of the Bruce Fordyce era
• 1983 – Lindsay Weight winner in 7h 12m 56s of the Comrades Marathon and placing 310th overall becomes the first female runner to be awarded a gold medal
• 8 – the number of consecutive Comrades Marathon titles won by Bruce Fordyce between 1981 and 1988
• 9 – the number of titles won by Bruce Fordyce when he won again in 1990
• 8 – the number of female titles won by Russian Elena Nurgalieva between 2003 and 2013
• 1989 – Sam Tshabalala becomes the first black runner to win the Comrades Marathon

• 96 – the number of Comrades Marathon’s run to date
• 7 – the number of times the race has been postponed, 5 times during WW2 (1941-5) and twice due to Covid-19 (2020-1)
• 48 – the number of Up and Down races that have been run and are which are currently “in sync” at 48 each
• 27,500 – the largest entry to the race received in 2020, which was later cancelled due to Covid-19
• 19 – the smallest starting field for the Comrades Marathon in 1936
• 124,161 – runners have completed the Comrades Marathon to date
• 8 – every finisher of the race receives a medal of which there are eight different types broken down into categories for the time finished in, male and a female specific medal etc.
• 20 - the top ten male & female finisher’s each receive a solid gold medal

• 18 – Connaught Rd, the home of the race is Comrades Marathon House in Pietermaritzburg housing a fully curated race museum
• 365 – days a year, the Comrades Marathon is a full time operation, administered by 11 employees & staff members?
• 57,000 - the Comrades Marathon database of active runners?
• 48 - Race Organizing Committee team
• 24 – Race Organising Portfolios
• 6000 - Volunteers
• 1200 - Marshalls
• 70 – million Rand raised by the Comrades through its Amambeadibeadi charity initiative and that has been donated to date to the appointed Comrades Marathon charities
• 800 – runner’s that the Comrades Marathon cater for in the Underprivileged runners Project
• 550 – million Rand, the economic impact of the Comrades Marathon on the Province of KwaZulu-Natal

Due to various factors (road works, change in finish venue) the race distance changes slightly each year, meaning the race does not have Down or Up Run records but rather “best times”

• 92kms - The longest race, a Down Run in 1971
• 86,55kms - The shortest race, an Up Run in 2002
• 16482 – the highest number of finishers, a Down Run in 2018
• 95.6% - the highest finish percentage achieved in both 1978 and 1984 (both Down Runs)?before the 2023 race
• 4h 50m – the time required to complete a standard marathon of 42,2kms in order to qualify for the Comrades Marathon
• 43,778 – the number of entries received for the “Race the Comrades Legends” the first of two virtual Comrades Marathons staged during Covid-19

• 32 – International Comrades Marathon Ambassadors around the globe
• 21,236 – entries received for the 2023?race pre substitution
• 20595 – entries received for the 2023 race post substitution
• 17,920 - runners qualified for the 2023 race
• 16,072 – the number of starters of the 2023 race
• 14,901 – the number of finishers of the 2023 race
• 10 – the number of Comrades Marathon’s a person must have finished to receive a green, permanent number
• 49 – the number of consecutive Comrades Marathon’s run by Barry Holland
• 84 – countries represented in the 2023 entries
• 5 – the number of “big” hills on the Comrades Marathon route
• 500,000 – 600,000 – the estimated number of spectators that line the Comrades Marathon route on race day
• 35,000 – people attended the 2023 race finish at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium

• 05:45.23 – Tete Dijana’s winning time in 2023 to better the previous Men’s Down Run previous best time of 5h 18m 19s set by David Gatebe in 2016
• 05:55.32 – Gerda Steyn’s winning time in 2023 to better the previous Women’s Down Run previous best time of 05h 54m 43s set by Frith van der Merwe in 1989, who finished in a remarkable 15th position overall
• 5h 20m 49s – the current Men’s Up Run best time set by Leonid Shvetsov in 2007
• 5h 58m 53s – the current Women’s Up Run best time set by Gerda Steyn in 2019
• 1,2 – million Rand each, the prize money won by both Men & Women winners of the 2023 race: R500k for first place, plus an additional R500k for breaking the best time, plus R200k each for being the first SA runner in both races to cross the finish line, plus a solid gold medal, plus a Comrades Marathon winners jacket?
• 55,000 – runners, sports & fitness enthusiasts family & friends of the Comrades Marathon who attended the Comrades Marathon Registration & Expo hosted for 3 days before race day
• 9600sqm – the floor space at the Durban Exhibition Centre for the Comrades Marathon Expo, the largest sporting exhibition in Africa
• 23 trophies – handed out at the Comrades Marathon Champions breakfast held the day after race day

• 42 – refreshment stations on the Comrades Marathon route
• 2 – tons Food Lover’s Market bananas
• 1,5 – tons Food Lover’s Market baby potatoes
• 4,5 – tons Potensie oranges?
• 500 – kilograms of energy biscuits
• 20,000 – energy bars
• 32,640 – Orange Grove sachets of Mageu No.1
• 2,000,000 – Thirsti water sachets
• 330 – millilitre fully recyclable plastic PET bottles being introduced by Thirsti in an effort to replace water sachets currently being used which will assist the Comrades in their efforts to become a fully carbon neutral race by 2027
• 480,000 – Thirsti Isofit+ sachets
• 30,350 – litres of Coca-Cola?
• 10,650 – litres of Fanta
• 10,650 – litres of Cream-Soda
• 450,000 – paper Coca-Cola cups
• 4,000 – tubs of Deep Heat gel, oil & cooling spray
• 7,457 – litres of Bavaria Malt non alcoholic drink
• 3,360 – litres of alcoholic beer
• 63 – nurses
• 32 – ambulance staff
• 8 – advanced life support rapid response vehicle paramedics?
• 11 – joint operations centre staff
• 8 – stadium paramedics
• 8 – support staff?????
• 4 – motorcycles with EMS practitioners
• 3 – members of the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS)?
• 2 – advanced life support practitioners at the finish line?
• 2 – IT staff
• 082?911 – the number to call for any other regular emergency medical services remain available for any other requests for assistance from the public
• 1250 sqm - the size of the medical facility at the race finish which is reputed to be the largest temporary medical facility in the world, outside of a conflict zone
• 13,5 – hours of live television broadcast
• 2 – channels dedicated to the race, 1 specifically to the Women’s race
• 45 cameras - the broadcast of the Comrades Marathon is SuperSport’s largest production with 46 cameras and 190 crew

• 2027 – will the 100th running of the Comrades Marathon

1 – step required for you to start your Comrades journey