Whilst the elite athletes would have gone into the Comrades 2025 launch with a Jerry Maguire “Show me the prize money” mindset, the majority of the ultra-running fraternity would have been checking their bank balances ahead of the festive season asking, “Show me the price tag.”
I think the interim CMA Board has missed a trick on both counts.
Show Me The Money
The prize money is a simpler one to cover. It’s great news that the 10% increase has been applied across the board for the Top 10 positions. This means that the male and female winners are guaranteed to be R876,000 richer. The question needs to be asked, “Why not a round million for the winner?” After a post-race season of self-inflicted injuries and bad publicity, the CMA has been searching for a ‘good news’ headline and “Comrades winners to earn R1 million!” would certainly have done the trick.
As we shall see later in this article, the CMA finances certainly support the additional +/- R250k that would be needed (and simply reinstalling the locks on the bar fridges at Comrades House would probably go a long way to recovering this cost).
Former CMA Chair Mqondisi Ngcobo suggested I contact former Race Manager Ann Ashworth about the original plans for the 2025 prize money. According to Ashworth, former Chair Ngcobo and Vice (Les Burnard) supported her motivation to “increase the prize money to R1 million early this year [for the 2024 event]. This was done well before the Cell C sponsorship [which brought in another R7,5 million]. Three Board members, Isaac [Ngwenya], Steve [Mkasi] and Celi [Makhoba] were strongly opposed.”
Ashworth continued, “Mqondisi, Les and I felt strongly that we needed to reward and recognise the investment made by athletes in the race and to offer bigger prize money in order to attract good international competition. This would help to elevate the race to the standard I think it is capable of and would attract the best ultra runners in the world. Steve felt that to just suddenly increase the prize money to R1 million was a step too far and proposed a gradual increase to R1 million in 2027. Isaac agreed with this proposal.”
So the next time someone asks, ‘Why doesn’t the Comrades winner get R1 million?’ you know the answer. It’s the usual suspects on the CMA Board.
Show Me The Price Tag
The Comrades entry fee doubled during the Covid-break from R600 in 2019 to R1,200 in 2022. One cannot fault the CMA for being financially prudent, restoring the cash reserves back to their pre-Covid levels and ensuring the long-term future of the event. However, based on the recent financials and the “embarrassing profit” made in 2023, it’s a pity that the entry fee has not been reduced to below R1,000.
Comrades is run as a Non-Profit Company (NPC) and therefore does not have the aim of making a profit but of ensuring the financial viability of the organisation. In 2023 a massive surplus of R11,34 million saw the CMA’s cash reserves back at their pre-Covid levels of around R34 million. This was despite having to pay what is understood to have been a hefty but undisclosed severance package in the millions to former Race Manager Rowyn James. The amount seems to have been tucked away under the ‘Race Expenses’ line item which was over R6 million higher than in 2023 than it was in 2022. Both 2022 and 2023 were Down runs but the 2023 finish venue was changed from Moses Mabhida to Kingsmead Stadium – the latter of which is far cheaper to hire.
The CMA financial year runs until 31 August and the 2024 financial statements should be made available before the AGM on 30 November. With the first sell out event since Covid, far more ‘business class’ international entries sold than expected and the additional R12 million sponsorship money that former Race Manager Ann Ashworth brought in, a significant surplus is expected again – a very conservative estimate would be at least R7 million. Explained Ashworth, “In 2024 we had R12 million more sponsorship and largely the same cost (less Rowyn James’ severance package and plus the increased prize money), so the profit will still be large.”
The mission statement within the CMA reads, “To present and promote a spectacular sporting event comprising a world class competitive ultra marathon race for elite athletes and an accessible inspirational and attainable challenge for otherwise ordinary individuals which incorporates our heritage and traditions and prioritises the safety and welfare of all participants, supporters, organisers and sponsors.”
The key words are ‘accessible’ and ‘attainable’ – the sad reality is that R1,200 is a significant percentage of the average road runner’s disposable income and is beyond the reach of many South Africans. If we do see the expected surplus in the 2024 financials combined, let’s hope that the entry fee will come under scrutiny for the 2026 event by what is expected to be a very different CMA Board after the AGM.
On the plus side there is no increase and the 1,500 half price entries that were introduced last year remain in place.
Finish Venue
The finish venue has been changed to Durban’s Peoples Park. Whilst this will pose some challenges and security concerns this is a very positive change if done right. An ‘open air’ finish, similar to most marathon majors like London Marathon’s iconic St. James Park, allows for a much larger number of spectators and runners to congregate.
The 2027 event is expected to be a record breaker and the 2025 event is the only chance to ‘test in production’. I am hopeful that this will allow for a much better supported last couple of kilometres and more accessibility for club tents.
Norrie Williamson, based on his international experience with events larger than Comrades, has long been advocating an open air finish and praised acting ROM Alain Dalais after the launch, “I think Alain did a very good job with the very limited information that he can share at this stage. If they are truly going to start prepping and testing for the 2027 event then this must happen this year.”
Slogan
The 2025 race slogan is, “More Than A Race – Isiko Mpilo”. This has caused a bit of chatter on social media as “Isiko Mpilo” apparently translates as “It’s a way of life” (which I personally feel is a better slogan). Not sure why they opted to have two different slogans but maybe they hired the people who do kung fu movie dubbing and subtitles.
Other Changes
The only new innovation is that Green Numbers are able to secure their entries before the rest of the field. This was an innovation that Two Oceans (whose entries were selling out in under 6 hours in those days) introduced a few years ago. It’s good to see Comrades follow suit.
Overall
The sentiment from those I have spoken to was that the launch was positive and was well conducted in the circumstances.
Follow Running Mann:
I do understand, to an extent, to want to link the R1m prize with the Centenary Race. 100yrs for R1 000 000.00 has a nice ring to it. Coupled with lost of other R100 000.00 rewards for first runner on each of either 18km or the famous 5 hills. Depending on if there will be enough funds or donors for such.
That R875k is not so bad. Provinces need to up their game too and reward their winners of top runners. It then increases prize won.
I see there’s been some silence on the qualifying times 4h50 and requested 5h00 qualifier. Hope it will be relaxed a bit