BLOGGING THE VIEW: Everything you need to know about the Comrades Marathon 2025
THE Comrades Marathon, dubbed the 'Ultimate Human Race', returns for its 98th edition this Sunday, 8 June.
This iconic ultramarathon will follow the down run route, starting from Pietermaritzburg City Hall and concluding at Durban's People's Park.
Fast Facts about Comrades 2025
1. Route
The 2025 down run spans 89.98km, descending from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. The course includes notable landmarks such as Polly Shortts, Umlaas Road, Cato Ridge, Drummond (halfway point), Inchanga and Fields Hill.
ALSO READ: 10 fun facts about the Comrades Marathon
2. Cut-off points
To ensure runner safety and race integrity, specific cut-off times are enforced at various points along the route:
· Cato Ridge (30.5km): 5:10:00 race time (11.10am)
· Drummond (45km): 6:40:00 race time (12.40pm)
· Winston Park (58.3km): 8:30:00 race time (2.30pm)
· Pinetown (69.1km): 10:05:00 race time (4.05pm)
· 45th Cutting (81.5km): 11:30:00 race time (5.30pm)
· Finish (89.98km): 12:00:00 race time (6pm)
3. Qualification and entry
Being such a gruelling race – almost double the traditional marathon length – Comrades has strict qualifying criteria to ensure the safety of all. This includes:
· Qualifying period: 10 June 2024 to 5 May 2025
· Minimum age: 20 years
· Qualifying criteria: Completion of an officially recognised standard marathon (42.2km) in under 4 hours and 50 minutes during the qualifying period.
ALSO READ: Comrades Marathon 2025: Road closures and travel alerts for Zululand residents
4. Medal categories
Completing the Comrades Marathon is an amazing accomplishment, and all race finishers will receive a medal based on their completion time. The categories include:
· Gold: Top 10 finishers (men and women)
· Wally Hayward: Men finishing 11th place to sub-6:00
· Isavel Roche-Kelly: Women finishing 11th place to sub-7:00
· Silver: Men finishing sub-7:30; women from 2024 onward
· Bill Rowan: 7:30 to sub-9:00
· Robert Mtshali: 9:00 to sub-10:00
· Bronze: 10:00 to sub-11:00
· Vic Clapham: 11:00 to sub-12:00
· Back-to-Back: Awarded to novices who complete their second consecutive Comrades Marathon
5. Traditions and highlights
With almost a century of history, the Comrades Marathon has a number of interesting race rituals and traditions that are followed. These include:
· Start rituals: The race gets going with the South African national anthem, followed by Shosholoza, Chariots of Fire and Max Trimborn's iconic rooster crow.
· Arthur's Seat: Located near Drummond (halfway point), runners often place flowers here as they believe it brings good luck for the remainder of the race.
· Finish line: A 12-hour gun signals the official end of the race, followed by the Last Post to honour those who didn't finish in time.
Support the runners along the Comrades route or from your couch this Sunday!
Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here:
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 060 784 2695
Instagram – zululand_observer
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
21 hours ago
- The Citizen
Junior cycling trio from Ballito dominate Amashova race
Young Ballito cyclists Josh Johnson and Madison Bateson led the charge at Sunday's Amashova National Classic, each taking top honours in their age categories over 106km. Daniel van der Watt (21), also from Ballito, cruised to the men's 132km title in 3:24:00 to give the North Coast three winners on the day. Johnson (17) claimed the U19 title in a fiercely contested field, while Bateson (15) powered to victory in the U17 division with an excellent time of 2:54:07 in Durban. Johnson clocked in his winning time at 02:18:10, earning the junior yellow jersey and R1 500 in prize money. Johnson also placed an impressive fifth overall out of 1 457 male riders. The Amashova, one of South Africa's most renowned road races, challenges cyclists with a demanding route inspired by the Comrades Marathon. This year, more than 3 500 riders competed across four distances – 38km, 65km, 106km and 132km – as part of the race's 39th edition. The race started at Pietermaritzburg City Hall, winding through the Midlands and Valley of a Thousand Hills before finishing under the Masabalala Yengwa Pedestrian Bridge in Durban. 'Winning the age group race is a good outcome,' said Johnson. This marked Johnson's first race against South Africa's elite riders since returning from Europe. Although he narrowly missed an overall podium finish, he was pleased with his performance. 'A strong pace was set early to test the rest of the field. I wanted to make a move but mistimed it, so I settled into the following bunch and aimed for a podium position.' Johnson, who also won the U17 Amashova title in 2023, recently became the first African rider to join the prestigious U19 development team of World Tour outfit Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Home-schooled and regularly training in Europe, Johnson credits his family and friends for their unwavering support in helping him achieve his goals. 'Road racing has given me the opportunity to turn my passion into a career, and I am determined to make it to the highest level,' he said. Errin Mackridge (18) – Another Ballito DriveTrain Academy rider – also impressed, finishing second in the women's U19 106km category in a time of 2:57:20. Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news. Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you're on desktop, scan the QR code below.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- TimesLIVE
England goal star Kelly grateful for Euro semi heroics after rocky club season
After Chloe Kelly smashed in her own rebound that lifted England into the Euro 2025 final, she struck a casual pose at the corner flag, one hand on the flag, another on her hip, and smiled up at the England fans. Kelly's 119th-minute winner was the punctuation mark on a nervy come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Italy that sends the reigning champions into their third consecutive final of a major tournament. They will play either world champions Spain or Germany on Sunday. Asked where she gets her confidence, Kelly said: 'Myself.' 'The moments when in January I felt like giving up football makes you so grateful for these moments here today, and this makes you enjoy every minute of that,' said Kelly, who did her trademark prancing penalty run-up. Chloe Kelly doesn't miss 😤🏴 England confirm their place in the #WomensEuros2025 ⚽ #SSFootball | #HereForHer — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) July 22, 2025 'I think confidence comes from within, but from around you as well. The players that we stand side by side with on the pitch, give confidence in each other.' Back in January, there were doubts the 27-year-old would be in the Euros squad because she was barely playing for Manchester City. She made a public plea to leave City to secure more playing time and improve her odds. Kelly's plea worked as she spent the rest of the season on a successful loan spell with Arsenal, and then signed a permanent deal with the London club. Sunday's final will be the fifth in a major tournament for coach Sarina Wiegman, who said the night felt like a 'movie' with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang striking the equaliser in the 96th minute to send the game into extra time. 'It was a little bit dramatic. At the 88th minute, I thought 'We have to score now or we have a problem,'' Wiegman said, laughing. Wiegman heaped praise on Agyemang, who almost scored again with an effort deep into the second half of extra time, but clanged her shot off the crossbar. Michelle Agyemang forces England and Italy into extra time 🤯🏴🇮🇹 📺 Stream #WomensEuros2024 on DStv: — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) July 22, 2025 'She's only 19 years old and she's very mature, she knows exactly what she needs to do,' Wiegman said. 'When you came into our team late, right before the Euro but she's really mature already and brings something different, and that's what she showed today. 'That ball she hit against the crossbar — it was spectacular.' The one negative on the night was Lauren James limping off with an ankle injury to end the first half. Wiegman said James, who sat on the bench with a bag of ice on the ankle, will be reassessed on Wednesday. Kelly fired home the rebound from her own penalty to net the winner as England pulled off a stunning comeback to reach the final. England, who fell behind in the first half but hit back to level in second-half stoppage time, had the better of the chances in extra time, and when Emma Severini pulled down Beth Mead in the box, Kelly grabbed the chance to decide the game. Her first effort was saved but she fired home the rebound. The Italians had defended brilliantly and attacked incisively on the break, and their persistence paid off in the 33rd minute of a gritty semifinal when a ball from the right found its way to Barbara Bonansea, who took a touch before lashing it into the roof of the net. England then dominated possession and created a slew of chances as the Italians rode their luck, but too often the English attackers unleashed shots from distance that were either easily dealt with or flew harmlessly over the bar. With their hopes of defending their title slowly slipping away, Agyemang snapped up a loose ball in the box and fired home in the sixth minute of stoppage time to send the game to extra time.
eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
Kelly hits winner as late drama takes England into Women's Euro 2025 final
GENEVA - Chloe Kelly scored a dramatic late winner in extra-time as reigning champions England came from behind to beat Italy 2-1 on Tuesday and reach the Women's Euro 2025 final. The Lionesses had been on the brink of elimination as they trailed to Barbara Bonansea's first-half strike for surprise semi-finalists Italy in Geneva. But after their remarkable comeback from two goals down to beat Sweden on penalties in last week's quarter-final, they pulled off more heroics here. Michelle Agyemang came off the bench and forced the extra period by equalising in the 96th minute, and fellow substitute Kelly completed the turnaround by following in to score the winner in the 119th minute after her penalty had been saved. Sarina Wiegman's team are through to their third consecutive major tournament final and the 2022 European champions head to Basel for Sunday's showpiece. That will be either a repeat of the 2023 Women's World Cup final, which they lost to Spain, or a repeat of the last Euro final, in which they defeated Germany at Wembley -- those sides meet in their semi on Wednesday. "Luckily I got there for the tap-in," Kelly told broadcaster ITV. "Three finals on the bounce and we want more. This team shows resilience but we fight back and hopefully we can make it easier for ourselves." It has been quite a ride for England, with this victory following their comeback against Sweden, while the nature of the defeat for Italy was cruel. Many of their players were in tears at full time, as the Azzurre -- who are ranked 13th in the world and were not expected to come this far -- fell short of reaching a first final since the 1997 Euros. "It hurts but we are very proud of all that we have done," said Italy coach Andrea Soncin. "We will need a few days to overcome this bitter moment but we will keep growing." Wiegman made one change from the quarter-final win against Sweden, as Esme Morgan came into the defence for Jess Carter. The latter had been the target of racial abuse which drew a backlash from Wiegman and England's players in the build-up to this game. England had the backing of the majority of the 26,539 crowd in Geneva and they had the momentum in the opening stages of the match.
