Durban City Marathon (Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink)

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[MARATHON #248 / UNIQUE MARATHON #146 / 10 April 2022]

In writing my monthly marathon articles, I normally find that there is high correlation between the responsiveness of race organisers and the overall organisational quality of their race. When I get no response to my enquiries the alarm bells go off.

The organisers of the Durban City Marathon are the Durban City Multi Sport Club. This club seems to have successfully avoided leaving any digital footprint, with a Google search producing zero hits. The club had no entrants at this year’s Two Oceans Marathon and only three finishers at the last Comrades Marathon.

On face value this does not seem like the kind of club that would be given the organisation rights to the flagship marathon in South Africa’s third largest city. However, this is the club that most of the technical officials in KZN Athletics belong to. I am not sure if they have a club motto but if they do, I would not be surprised if it’s, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Things you don’t need to bring to the Durban City Marathon: Fishing rods
Things you do: A straw to suck up some delicious rain water (#CarryYourOwn KZN-style)
There was definitely something fishy with this race…

Continue reading “Durban City Marathon (Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink)”

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The Running Mann’s Guide to May 2022 Marathons

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This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s May marathons including race descriptions, recommendations and travel information.

Unless you’re triskaidekaphobic, the good news is that after a very quiet April there are 13 marathon and ultra options in May.

A summary of all your choices is below:

Click to expand

Continue reading “The Running Mann’s Guide to May 2022 Marathons”

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The Running Mann’s Guide to April/May Marathons & Ultras

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This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s April and May marathons including race descriptions, recommendations and travel information.

April is ultra month, with seven ultras dominating pairing nicely with the seven standard marathons on offer. There are just six road ultras in the world with over 1,000 finishers – five are run in South Africa and three of them are held in April (my own personal favourite ultra is the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon over the Easter weekend).

It’s also the busiest May I’ve ever seen with five options including the new Midvaal Marathon and the reintroduction of the False Bay 50. The Cross Province Marathon is the only new race in April. Continue reading “The Running Mann’s Guide to April/May Marathons & Ultras”

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