PRESS RELEASE: Urgent Application for Court Interdict against the CMA / KZNA to be heard in Pietermaritzburg at 2pm today

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Attorney Mark Leathers, a Director at Mc Naught and Company, representing over 100 Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) members will be fighting for the rights and voice of the running community at 2pm today (Wednesday 14 August) against a severely compromised Comrades Board and the dubious decisions of KZN Athletics (KZNA).

The CMA Board originally said it did not have the finances to hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) after a racist WhatsApp from Board member Zinhle Sokhela surfaced and the subsequent eruption of Vanillagate. However, CMA members (as per the CMA constitution) called for a SGM and specially asked for no food or drinks to be provided to save costs. The SGM is scheduled for 6pm on Thursday 15 August but the Board decided to provide food and drinks anyway. The Board also appears to have the money to waste of frivolous court appearances.

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KZNA says “No More” to upcountry CMA Memberships

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At a KwaZulu Natal Athletics KZNA (Board meeting) on 25 July, a decision was made to bar non-KwaZulu Natal residents from being Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Members.

The meeting seems to have had only this item on the agenda and the discussion, in what appears to be a flagrant conflict of interest, was driven by KZNA President and Comrades Board member Steve Mkasi. The other main contributors to the discussion were Deputy KZNA President Mandla Mngomezulu and KZNA Board Member Vusumuzi Dlamini.

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Comrades 2024 Cutoffs: A lesson in gun control

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After the 2023 Comrades cutoffs cost several hundred runners their medal, some changes were expected in 2024. What was the net positive gain? 487 athletes converted despair to glory. These 487 would have been cutoff in 2024 had the times not been made more lenient. However, what is surprising, is that there is still resistance from certain members of the Board to make sensible adjustments to cutoff times.

What follows are details and in depth analysis of the who, how and what of cutoffs at Comrades 2024…

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Channelle Makhele: The Best Comeback at Comrades 2024

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When Channelle Makhele crossed the finish line in 9:28:20 at this year’s Comrades she knocked a massive 2h15 minutes off her debut run in 2019. Whilst this is an impressive achievement, it was only good enough to earn her 124th position on the most improved list. However, it’s her response to her DNF in 2023 that earns her the accolade of best comeback at Comrades 2024.

Channelle’s 2023 run is documented here: The Nightmare on Epworth Street (Safety negligence at Comrades breaks bones and shatters dreams). Her run ended before the 5km mark on the Nightmare on Epworth Street with a badly fractured fibula. Not realising the seriousness of her injury, and in an incredible feat of sheer bloody-mindedness, Channelle refused to throw in the towel and decided to try and walk to Durban. She got as far as the Fat Cats seconding crew at Umlaas Road (24km into the race) before calling it a day and ended up spending the night in hospital.

Last year I left Channelle’s story at, “One major operation later to realign the joint and put in a plate and screws, and Channelle faced six weeks before she even gets to the start line on the long road to recovery and rehabilitation.”  Here’s what happened next…

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Sign Up to the CMA Today or The Grim Racist could be your next Chairperson

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On the 18th of June Comrades Board member Zinhle Sokhela posted a blatantly racist message to the official Comrades Corporate Governance WhatsApp group. Sokhela was immediately asked to resign from the Board but requested the opportunity to ‘go away and think about it’. She thought about it, had a few shouting matches with other Board members and said ‘no thanks I’m staying put’. She was apparently more concerned with who had reported her indiscretion than the indiscretion itself.

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What’s New & Improved at Comrades 2024?

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As someone who had plenty to say about what went wrong at Comrades 2023, it gives me great pleasure to write an article about what’s going right at Comrades 2024.

Much of the credit for the positive changes can be attributed to newly appointed Race & Operations Manager, Ann Ashworth, who left her career as an advocate to take up the position in November 2023. Under her leadership there’s renewed energy, innovation and an attention to detail that has been lacking for many years.

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Comrades 2024: Polly Shortts cutoff likely to kill the dreams of hundreds

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The good news is that we’ll see runners on the field during the last minute before cutoff this year. The bad news is that we’ll still be a few hundred runners short of a full field.

After the cutoff debacle at Comrades 2023, the Comrades 2024 cutoffs were always going to come under scrutiny. When the original Comrades 2024 cutoffs were published, several people pointed out some serious potential flaws. It was encouraging to see that new Race and Operations Manager, Ann Ashworth, listened to the feedback and took them back for review.

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