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Date: 19 Jun 2006 11:01:32
From: GRW
Subject: Comrades "Marathon"
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Last Friday (public holiday here in South Africa) saw the running of
the 81st Comrades (Ultra) Marathon. The race commemorates the fallen
heros of WW1 and is run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, a
distance of some 87km. The direction alternates each year. This year
was an "up" run from sea level in Durban.
Some 11,000 runners set off at 05:30 and over 9,000 finished within the
12 hour cut-off.
I have only done 2 (an up and a down), but for ultra marathon junkies,
this race is the ultimate. The tough, hilly route is lined with
millions of enthusiastic spectators and the whole race is broadcast
live on a national TV station, turning it into a huge day in the lives
of South Africans.
The race was won by world 100 mile record holder, Rusian Oleg
Kahritanov on his 4th atempt, with rookie South African Brian Zondi
blowing on the last big climb to finish second.
The huge majority of runners finish in the last hour with a vast sea of
humanity jogging, walking or crawling across the line in the last 15
minutes before the cut-off gun is fired.
For all you ultra marathon nuts out there...think seriously about the
trip to experience this truly unique event. I can guarantee an amazing
event, the memory of which will stay with you for the rest of your
life.
Garry
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Date: 20 Jun 2006 01:06:50
From: GRW
Subject: Re: Comrades "Marathon"
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Dot wrote:
>> For curiosity, is there a significance to the route used? like
> Spartathlon commemorating part of Phedippides run. I know the race
> honors the South African soldiers killed in WW I, but wasn't sure if
> there was any reason why that particular route was chosen.
>
> Dot
I don't think there is any significance about the route other than the
fact that the founder of the race (Vic Clapham) was living locally at
the time.
I quote from teh Comrades website...
"...when peace was declared in 1918, Clapham felt that all those who
had fallen in this catastrophic war should be remembered and honoured
in a unique way, where an individuals physical frailties could be put
to the test and overcome. Remembering the searing heat and thirst of
the parched veld through which he had campaigned, he settled on the
idea of a marathon and he approached the athletic authorities of the
day to sound their views. His enquiry led him to the doors of the
League of Comrades of the Great War a corpus of ex-soldiers who had
formed an association to foster the interests of their living
companions who had survived the War.
Clapham asked for permission to stage a 56 mile race between
Pietermaritzburg and Durban under the name of the Comrades Marathon and
for it to become a living memorial to the spirit of the soldiers of the
Great War This was strenuously resisted by the League, but Clapham
persisted maintaining that if a sedentary living person could be taken
off the street given a rifle and 60lb pack and marched all over Africa
then surely a fit and able athlete could complete the distance.
Applications in 1919 and 1920 were refused but in 1921 the League
relented and gave permission.....
The first Comrades Marathon took place on 24th May 1921, Empire Day,
starting outside the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg with 34 runners. It
has continued since then every year with the exception of the war years
1941-1945, with the direction alternating each year between
Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the so called up & down runs. "
Garry
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Date: 20 Jun 2006 08:36:54
From: Dot
Subject: Re: Comrades "Marathon"
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GRW wrote:
> Dot wrote:
>
>>>For curiosity, is there a significance to the route used? like
>>
>>Spartathlon commemorating part of Phedippides run. I know the race
>>honors the South African soldiers killed in WW I, but wasn't sure if
>>there was any reason why that particular route was chosen.
>>
>>Dot
>
>
> I don't think there is any significance about the route other than the
> fact that the founder of the race (Vic Clapham) was living locally at
> the time.
>
> I quote from teh Comrades website...
> "...when peace was declared in 1918, Clapham felt that all those who
> had fallen in this catastrophic war should be remembered and honoured
> in a unique way, where an individuals physical frailties could be put
> to the test and overcome. Remembering the searing heat and thirst of
> the parched veld through which he had campaigned, he settled on the
> idea of a marathon and he approached the athletic authorities of the
> day to sound their views. His enquiry led him to the doors of the
> League of Comrades of the Great War a corpus of ex-soldiers who had
> formed an association to foster the interests of their living
> companions who had survived the War.
>
> Clapham asked for permission to stage a 56 mile race between
> Pietermaritzburg and Durban under the name of the Comrades Marathon and
> for it to become a living memorial to the spirit of the soldiers of the
> Great War This was strenuously resisted by the League, but Clapham
> persisted maintaining that if a sedentary living person could be taken
> off the street given a rifle and 60lb pack and marched all over Africa
> then surely a fit and able athlete could complete the distance.
> Applications in 1919 and 1920 were refused but in 1921 the League
> relented and gave permission.....
Thanks, Garry. That's interesting background, esp. the initial
resistance to the idea.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people"
-Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
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Date: 20 Jun 2006 07:32:52
From: Dot
Subject: Re: Comrades "Marathon"
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GRW wrote:
> Last Friday (public holiday here in South Africa) saw the running of
> the 81st Comrades (Ultra) Marathon. The race commemorates the fallen
> heros of WW1 and is run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, a
> distance of some 87km. The direction alternates each year. This year
> was an "up" run from sea level in Durban.
>
> Some 11,000 runners set off at 05:30 and over 9,000 finished within the
> 12 hour cut-off.
>
> I have only done 2 (an up and a down), but for ultra marathon junkies,
> this race is the ultimate. The tough, hilly route is lined with
> millions of enthusiastic spectators and the whole race is broadcast
> live on a national TV station, turning it into a huge day in the lives
> of South Africans.
>
> The race was won by world 100 mile record holder, Rusian Oleg
> Kahritanov on his 4th atempt, with rookie South African Brian Zondi
> blowing on the last big climb to finish second.
>
> The huge majority of runners finish in the last hour with a vast sea of
> humanity jogging, walking or crawling across the line in the last 15
> minutes before the cut-off gun is fired.
>
> For all you ultra marathon nuts out there...think seriously about the
> trip to experience this truly unique event. I can guarantee an amazing
> event, the memory of which will stay with you for the rest of your
> life.
>
> Garry
>
Thanks for these comments, including some of the local flavor to these.
For curiosity, is there a significance to the route used? like
Spartathlon commemorating part of Phedippides run. I know the race
honors the South African soldiers killed in WW I, but wasn't sure if
there was any reason why that particular route was chosen.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people"
-Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
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