309 Lowvelders set to take on 2025 Comrades Marathon

The Citizen

07-06-2025

So, your running friends seem to have gone missing. They're out late, they're eating and drinking less, and they seem to be even less sane than normal. Well if you guessed that it's Comrades Marathon time again, you'd be correct.
As is Lowveld tradition, Nelspruit Marathon Club held their annual Comrades Breakfast Run on May 31. Runners enjoyed their choice of a 5km, 10km or 20km run out on the ring road, starting at Mbombela Stadium. No official winners are recorded and instead everyone runs together socially to enjoy a last run before the ultimate running test.
This Sunday, tens of thousands of runners from around the world will flock to KZN to lace up their running shoes and take on the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon. The 2025 edition will be a down run, with the race starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban, an 89km route.
It won't be any regular race this year either, as the 24 000 entrants who have put themselves down for the ultimate human race will make up the largest field for a down run in the history of the Comrades.
This makes every participating Lowvelder a special part of Comrades history.
Not only will every participating Lowvelder have a slice of the historical pie, but a good number will be aiming for personal milestones, too. Perhaps most significantly are Johannes Nyalunga of Ngodwana Marathon Club and Calvin Khoza of the Legogote Villagers who will both be running their 30th Comrades Marathon this year.
There are also three runners, all from Nedbank LVCC Running Club, who are shooting for their green number. Adele Smit, Joshua Sibiya and Joseph Khoza will all be running their 10th Comrades Marathon come Sunday.
Deon Cronje, also of Nedbank LVCC, is running his 25th Comrades while Chris Schutte is making his debut aiming for a silver sub-seven hour time.
The Legogote Villagers' cohort will feature six novices this year, as well as Melusi and Delisiwe Mbatha who will face the ultimate test of their relationship – running the Comrades together. Johnson Mamba, who started running two years ago at the age of 60, will be making his Comrades debut as the only runner from KaNyamazane Marathon Club taking part.
Bella's Athletics Club will have the largest field of Lowveld runners on Sunday as no fewer than 72 have entered the race. Of the 309 Lowvelders taking part, 216 are men and 93 are women. The largest age group is the men 40+ with 77 runners, and the largest women's age group is the senior group with 39.
While the Comrades on any normal day is a serious test, this weekend will be exponentially tougher as some frigid temperatures are expected. According to Snow Report SA, there is snowfall possible in eight of the country's nine provinces this weekend. With snow expected in KZN from Monday, they predict Comrades Sunday will be very chilly indeed.
Regardless, this event will bring out the best in all runners taking part, and Lowvelder wishes all the local runners the best in their pursuit of Comrades glory!
> Photos: Blake Linder
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