Humorous Anecdotes, Observations & Accounts of Marathon Running & Agile Adventures.
This article provides detailed information on all South Africa’s February 2025 marathons including race descriptions and recommendations. You can find the full 2025 marathon / ultra calendar here.
A summary of your choices is below:
This article provides detailed statistics and analysis of South Africa’s 2024 marathon and ultra road running season.
There were a total of 129 events, comprising 106 standard marathons, 22 ultras and 1 combo (Benoni Northerns which offered a marathon and a 48k). This is 10 more than the pre-Covid number and the highest since I’ve been tracking marathons. On a personal note, I still have 29 (plus whatever new marathons arise in 2025 to run).
There were 16 new races (marathon unless otherwise noted): Air Force Base Makhado, Mapungubwe, Johannesburg City, Festival of Running, Gazamed, Lemo Mall, Nedbank Coastal Marathon, Musina, Mpumalanga, Masingita Mall, Makhuduthamaga Mayor’s, Fetakgomo Tubatse, Midvaal MADMAC, Waterberg, Hope Challenge and NRB Harriers Challenge.
Continue reading “2024 Marathon & Ultra Statistics”
Earlier today, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) announced that the qualification time for the 2025 event would revert to 5h00 for a standard marathon. The qualification time was changed from 5h00 to 4h50 for the 2019 event. This article provides statistical analysis on the Comrades finish rates between various qualification times and a brief history of Comrades qualification criteria.
The requirement to run a qualifying marathon was introduced in 1975 (the same year that women and non-white athletes were officially allowed to take part). At that stage Comrades could only accommodate 1,500 entrants, was heavily oversubscribed and the 4h30 qualification was a way to ensure that those entering Comrades had the best chance of being able to finish. There was not (and never has been) a medical reason requiring the running of a qualification marathon.
Did it work? I would say, “Yes”. The 1975 Comrades had a finish rate of 91.5% which was the highest ever up to that point. However, the impact might not have been as dramatic as some would expect – the preceding five Comrades had finish rates of 84.3%, 87.7%, 82.7%, 89.7% and 86.1% respectively*.
Continue reading “The impact of 4h50 vs 5h00 Comrades qualification (and a short history of Comrades qualification criteria)”