Comrades Marathon Association Archives

26th July 202626th July 2026

KZNA Blinks First in Comrades Chicken Run

KwaZulu Natal Athletics (KZNA) decided to play a game of chicken with the Comrades Marathon and, just before impact, KZNA have realized that they are riding a bicycle and Comrades is about to hit them with a bus.

A day after the final hearing on the urgent interdict that the Comrades Members Association (CMA) raised against KZNA’s “locals only” edict, KZNA finally appeared to acquiesce with a conciliatory press release headed “KZNA Supports the Comrades Marathon and Requests Urgent Independent Mediation”.

21st July 202621st July 2026

Why the Comrades Marathon will go ahead (with or without ASA)

There is a big difference between a rule and a law. A law is a formally enacted rule made by a government that is enforceable by the legal system. A rule is a guideline or requirement set by a particular organization, group, event or authority. A simple way to look at it is that all laws are rules, but not all rules are laws.

If there is ever a battle between a rule and a law, the law wins. Always.

20th July 202620th July 2026

🔍 KZNA Governance Under Steve Mkasi — Investigative Report

Report Compiled via Hermes Agent. Whilst every effort has been made to check facts, artificial intelligence sometimes makes errors that might not have been picked up in the report.

1. Executive Summary

Steve Mkasi was re-elected as President of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) on 14 June 2025 with 36 of 95 votes (37.9%) — a plurality in a 5-way split. 62% of voting clubs voted against him. His tenure has been marked by:

Three High Court defeats on a “locals only” CMA membership ruling
Approximately R500,000 in legal expenditure without council approval
An unpaid R386,000 costs order from 2015 against Phuma AC, the club he co-founded and controlled
Multiple threats to cancel the Comrades Marathon
A final High Court hearing scheduled for 22 July 2026 that could bankrupt KZNA
A physical altercation with an athlete on 13 July 2026
A documented pattern of workplace intimidation spanning two prior employers, including an assault charge, three misconduct charges, and a resignation ahead of a disciplinary hearing

10th July 202610th July 2026

Steve Mkasi keeps shooting blanks (KZNA’s latest threat to “Cancel Comrades”)

Earlier this week, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) received a cease-and-desist letter from KZNA courtesy of Deneys attorneys. This is not a cheap exercise and would cost KZNA an estimated R5,000 (excluding VAT). This is money that is being spent on frivolous legal ego trips rather than the athletes that KZNA are supposed to represent.

Steve Mkasi, president of KZNA, has already spent (most would say wasted) in the region of R500,000 on another seemingly fruitless legal venture when he tried to enact a “locals only” CMA Membership ruling as part of his apparent attempts to capture Comrades in 2024. Mkasi and KZNA have already been given three High Court smackdowns relating to this matter and the final hearing is due to be heard on 22 July and the ruling should follow shortly thereafter. It is quite likely that a costs order will be granted against KZNA which would possibly bankrupt them.

26th August 202527th August 2025

The Three Big Problems at Comrades 2025

Foreword

Over the past few editions of Comrades, I’ve had quite a bit to write about after the event. This year it was a pleasant change to be able to focus on the statistics and a few runner stories rather than the controversies. Yes, there were a few issues and several people have asked if I’ll be writing about them. My reply has been “Yes, but it’s not time critical.”

The big difference this year was that the CMA board took accountability of the issues, apologised and (in my opinion) are serious about addressing them in 2026. This makes a stark contrast to previous years when the approach has been to deny, stonewall and wait for things to die down before the carpets are lifted and fervent sweeping occurs.

By far the biggest issue was the finish area. I generally tackle issues that are not getting mainstream press attention and the street finish got plenty of coverage. The other two issues I’ve decided to focus on, based on the number of messages and comments that I’ve seen and received, are the missing elite tables and the allegedly contaminated water sachets.

7th March 202510th March 2025

Staggered Starts (Comrades introduces the Two Pot System)

Just when South African runners thought it was safe to go back onto the internet after Cape Town Marathon’s new race date announcement, the Comrades Marathon decided it was time to get their share of the social media limelight with the announcement of staggered starts for the first time in the race’s 104-year-old history.

22nd February 202522nd February 2025

Lies, Damn Lies & KZN Athletics Media Statements

First off, let’s give some credit where it’s due. KwaZulu Natal Athletics (KZNA) Vice President Mandla Mngomezulu is a masterful spin doctor, perhaps even surpassing his boss Steve Mkasi (the Surgeon General of spin doctoring), with this latest press release. If Spin Dr. Mngomezulu had written a press release for Manchester United after they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspurs last weekend, you would swear that United had won the game and were still in the title race rather than hovering just above relegation.

Unfortunately, it appears that the KZNA executive take their runners for fools. Fortunately, no one is buying their nonsense. I doubt anyone outside of the undemocratic Republic of Mkasistan would give much credence to anything coming out of the KZNA offices these days. However, lest there be any doubt, I’ve taken the time to dissect the document.

8th January 20259th January 2025

The impact of 4h50 vs 5h00 Comrades qualification (and a short history of Comrades qualification criteria)

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*.

1st December 20241st December 2024

CMA 2024 AGM: Wrap Up

The 2024 Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) got off to a slow start. The meeting was due to start at 10:00 and at 10:04 interim CMA Chair Jeff Minnaar got proceedings underway. After giving some special welcomes, he thanked CMA members for sacrificing their Black Friday weekend shopping excursions and promised they’d be able to get their discounted shopping fix around 12 noon. This seemed like an unlikely and overly optimistic estimate – and we had not even got to the first motion on the agenda by 12:30. Any doubts as to the validity of Minnaar’s estimation were further exacerbated with the announcement that the AGM would be delayed “for at least 15 minutes as there is a major traffic jam in Pietermaritzburg.”

Interim CMA Chair Jeff Minnaar during the CMA AGM.

30th November 20241st December 2024

CMA 2024 AGM: Live Blog

This page will be used to provide live updates on the voting, motions and discussions from the 2024 Comrades Marathon Association Annual General Meeting due to start at 10am SAST. Refresh page for latest updates…

That’s over an out after an almost 8 hour AGM. I’ll write up a summary tomorrow.

Top five get two year terms, next two get a one year term. This is a great new Board!

Here’s the final results

Mark Leathers 278

Willie Mtolo 254

Mqondisi Ngcobo 240

Brenda Marolen 240

Carel Nolte 228

Rory Steyn 222

Alan Gray 207