Cutoff Controversy Archives - The Running Mann

20th April 20243rd May 2024

“Worst thing I have witnessed in 20 years of running” says International Runner with 418 marathon finishes in 77 countries

Danish runner, Tor Rønnow, travelled to Cape Town especially for the 2024 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon. Rønnow is an accomplished runner with 418 marathon finishes in 77 different countries across all 7 continents. He’s run all 6 world marathon majors but, surprisingly, the Two Oceans was his first ultra marathon.

The calm before the cutoff controversy storm.

1st July 20231st July 2023

Using the 438 Cricket Game to Explain the Comrades Cutoff Controversy

A good way of explaining the Comrades cutoff controversy is using cricket as an analogy. You needed to run at an average pace of 8:13/km to finish the 2023 Comrades Marathon in 11:59:59. The average pace required could be seen as our required run rate, the 87.7 kilometres to cover as the total runs required and the 12 hours to do it in as the maximum overs available.

For simplicities sake, I am going to convert everything into round numbers and I thought the greatest one-day cricket match of all time would be a suitable metaphor. So here’s the scenario – Australia batted first and scored 434. Therefore, we need to score 435 in 50 overs. Our 8:13/km becomes a required run rate of 8.7 per over, a kilometre is about 5 runs (4.96 to be precise), and an over equates to just under 15 minutes (14:34) in race time.

“Pacing chart” converting the 438 game into Comrades 2023 figures (87.7km at 8:13/km in 12 hours). If CMA-logic was applied, the Proteas would have needed to be above the original required run rate of 8.7 at the 39 and 46 over mark – and we’d have been denied the opportunity to see Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini hit the winning runs with 1 ball to spare.

24th June 202324th June 2023

The Frances Hayward Medal (Recourse for those that Comrades culled)

In 1923, Frances Hayward was the first female participant of the Comrades marathon. Her request for an official entry was declined so she ran unofficially, finishing in 11h35 (well within the 12 hour cutoff that was changed to 11 hours in 1928). As an unofficial entrant she was denied the silver medal handed out to all finishers in those days. Therefore, the Frances Hayward Medal seems fitting to recognise, “those that should have received a medal but didn’t.”

Frances Hayward, the first woman to complete the Comrades Marathon in 1923. She had to run unofficially so she never received a finishers medal. The Frances Hayward Medal seems fitting to recognise, “those that should have received a medal but didn’t.” (photo credit Comrades Marathon Association)

Unfortunately, along with the highs of the new men’s and women’s best Down Run times and Johannes Mosehla (81) becoming the oldest ever Comrades finisher, 2023 also saw a long string of organisational blunders from the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) that have left a bad taste in mouth of the running community. One of these blunders was the ill-thought out and illogical cutoff times that needlessly culled hundreds of should-be Comrades medallists from the field and left them medal-less.