The Running Mann

9th November 20259th November 2025

Karpe Diem (Julian’s Journey to 1000 Marathons)

This article was originally published in the official 2025 Comrades Marathon Souvenir Race Magazine and was edited by Sean Falconer.

Julian Karp loves running marathons, and he has traversed every corner of the country to get his marathon-running fix, making him probably the most recognised recreational runner on South African roads. (If you have not seen Julian’s flowing locks of hair and ripped physique on the road somewhere near you, can you call yourself a real runner?) Now he has his sights set on another incredible marathoning feat at this year’s Comrades Marathon. – BY STUART MANN

Julian Karp: Probably the most recognised recreational runner on South African roads (Photo: Dean Venish)

I’ve known Julian since well before he ran his 20^th marathon… which was many years before I ran my first. At the time, I was a student with a hairstyle rivalling Julian’s famous locks, and I was earning some extra cash by waitering in a Spur. Julian was a regular customer who would come in after a gym session, for a grilled chicken burger and a side salad. He ran with my father, so I’d often alleviate the boredom of a quiet shift with a conversation about running.

5th November 20257th November 2025

Otter Trail Challenge (Bringing a knife to a gunfight)

This is the second of two articles on the Otter Trail Challenge. Part one deals with how a wobbly road runner so to the start line. Part two deals with the race itself.

The Otter Trail is South Africa’s most famous hiking trail and the Garden Route National Park, where it is located, is the third biggest public tourist attraction in South Africa in terms of number of visitors (after the Kruger National Park and Table Mountain). The Otter Trail is within an exclusive area of the national park and entrance into the park is throttled at just 12 people per day who are allowed to start the hike which is completed over 5 days and 4 nights.

Just 12 people a day get to experience the Otter Trail which is completed over 5 days.

Once a year they get rid of the hikers and allow 300 people to run the trail in a day on the Thursday for the more recreational Challenge and another 300 on the Saturday for the much more competitive Race. I was one of the fortunate few who got an entry for the Thursday Challenge trail run (courtesy of title sponsors EasyEquities) which must be completed in under 11 hours over incredibly technical terrain to earn a finish.

4th November 20257th November 2025

The Otter Trail Challenge (A Long Prologue)

This is the first of two articles on the Otter Trail Challenge. Part one deals with how a wobbly road runner so to the start line. Part two deals with the race itself.

Gary Player is well-known for saying, “The harder I practice, the luckier I get.” There is something to that, although in my case I’ve recently found that the more I write (and talk) the luckier I’ve got. After the November 2024 Comrades AGM, newly elected Board Member Carel Nolte asked to meet for a coffee. He would be heading up the Communications Portfolio and was keen to chat about working together. Having written so much about the problems at Comrades, I jokingly asked whether he was following a “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer approach.”

3rd November 20253rd November 2025

Comrades 2025: Silly Stats

This is part of a series of statistics articles on Comrades 2025. Other articles published: entry stats, shoe s t ats, qualification marathon stats, elite men, elite women.

Performance by Star Sign

Now time to get onto the really serious statistics – how does your star sign impact your performance at the Comrades Marathon? Full disclosure: As a Taurus, I am naturally far too pragmatic, sensible and stubborn to believe in nonsense like astrology but thought I’d humour the gullible Pisces and Cancerians out there.

Libras are the fastest to qualify and the fastest on the day, Sagittarian entrants are the most likely to arrive at the start and Pisces have the best chance of finishing. I have deliberately used a scale that that makes minor differences look statistically significant.

27th October 202528th October 2025

A Deep Dive into the Cape Town Marathon cancellation (and the implications thereof)

There are two immediate questions to answer:

“Was the correct call made to cancel the Cape Town Marathon?” I believe that the answer to this question is a “Qualified Yes”.
“Should winds of 48km/h and gusts of 60km/h have resulted in the cancellation of the Cape Town Marathon?” To that the answer is an “Emphatic No”.

Actually, there is a third question that needs to be asked, “If we have 48km/h winds with 60km/h gusts on the night of 23 May 2026, will the Cape Town Marathon be cancelled again?” If the answer to that question is “Yes”, then we might as well kiss our World Marathon Major aspirations goodbye, pack up and go home. On the other hand, if the answer is “No”, then we should be looking at the root causes to ensure that they are not repeated.

24th October 202526th October 2025

Major Marathon Cancellations, Windy Marathons and the Peninsula Marathon Argument

This is a companion article to a forthcoming deep dive analysis article on the Cape Town Marathon cancellation and the impacts thereof. The article takes a look at the reasons behind other major marathons getting cancelled, marathons run in high wind and deals with the Peninsula Marathon argument.

Previous World Marathon Major Cancellations

Aside from Covid, there have been a very small number of Abbotts World Marathon Majors (AWMM) event cancellations. They are largely irrelevant in the comparison to the Cape Town Marathon (CTM) cancellation as the circumstances are very different.

The cancelled events are as follows.

New York Marathon 1995: The wheelchair division was cancelled a few minutes before the scheduled start time because 72km/h gusts of wind at the startline on Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The gusts resulted in some planks that were erected to protect the bridge’s surface being ripped off and blown around. Organisers were concerned that lightweight racing wheelchairs, which can easily be destabilized by crosswinds, would be blown over or pushed into barriers on the bridge and therefore cancelled the wheelchair race. The able-bodied race (the vast majority of the field) continued as planned. The organisers faced criticism of discrimination, poor communication and not consulting with the wheelchair athletes when making the decision.

It is noteworthy that in 2014, New York Marathon runners faced sustained wind of 32-40km/h and gusts of up to 80km/h but the full event went ahead as planned. The organisers learned their lesson from 1995 and the wheelchair start was altered to fully accommodate this division.

21st October 202521st October 2025

Zone 3 Marathon (A perfect spring clean)

With a focus on running marathons I’ve not done before, I tend not to run much in my own backyard these days but fortunately RunZone keep adding and tweaking the CGA race calendar. They replaced their Autumn Challenge 48k with the inaugural aQuelle Zone 3 Marathon which necessitated another couple of laps around Randburg.

The 6am start was shifted to 6:10am due to traffic congestion but Alistair Cronk on microphone duties kept us informed and entertained. At one stage he asked who was here for an early Comrades and / or Two Oceans qualifier and almost all the marathon runners put up their hands.

However, some people were still getting used to the change of seasons and this was reflected in the attire of some runners as can be seen from the photo below.

Official Fashion Police Ruling: It’s OK to wear tracksuit pants if you’re still warming up to the idea of the new marathon season starting…

10th October 202516th October 2025

The Running Mann’s Guide to November 2025 Marathons

This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s November 2025 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2025 marathon / ultra calendar here.

A summary of your choices is below:

1st October 20251st October 2025

Lemo Mall Marathon (A Mangaung Resurrection)

[Marathon #281 / Unique Marathon #172 / 3 May 2025]

The first weekend of May is last chance saloon for many aspirant Comrades runners who still need to qualify and for those who’ve already secured their goal time it’s a last long run. There is a small minority, yours truly included, for whom the weekend provides a good excuse to run a marathon before winter properly sets in.

My choice of which marathon to run before the winter doldrums was made easier when I got an invite from Teboho Lemao to the second edition of the Lemo Mall Marathon. My frequent travel partners Julian and Farai were also on the guest list but unfortunately I was not able to travel early on Friday with them due to work commitments.

28th September 20254th October 2025

A Deep Dive into the Two Oceans Ballot Entry Process

Having more people wanting to run your race than you can accommodate is a good problem to have. We are very fortunate to have this problem at Two Oceans for the 2026 event, especially considering the problems experienced in recent years.

The interim board committed to be open, honest and transparent in communications and decision-making – and this promise holds true with the election and appointment of the permanent board. In previous years, the number of ballot entries submitted has not been made public but the total number of ultra marathon (17,094) and half marathon ballots (28,506) has already been shared on social media.

Both are the highest numbers of entries ever received. Whilst the half marathon has always reached its allotment, there have been years when the ultra still had room left at the inn or only just managed to surpass the threshold. This has resulted in a lot more rejection and disappointment than in previous years.

In the spirit of transparency, this article provides a detailed breakdown of the ballot selection process and where every entry goes.