Comrades Marathon

The Comrades Marathon is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon, run annually between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa since 1921. The course covers approximately 87-90 km (roughly 54-56 miles) and alternates direction each year between the 'Up Run' (Durban to Pietermaritzburg, net uphill) and the 'Down Run' (Pietermaritzburg to Durban, net downhill). The 2027 edition marks the 100th running of the race and is scheduled as a Down Run. Runners face a strict cutoff of 12 hours from the gun, enforced with the famous closing of the Durban finish line as the final gun sounds. The route passes through the Valley of a Thousand Hills and several iconic climbs (on the Up Run: Cowies Hill, Fields Hill, Botha's Hill, Inchanga, and Polly Shortts), and finishers earn medals graded by finishing time (Gold through Wally Hayward/Vic Clapham). Entry requires a qualifying marathon time run within the official qualifying window. The event draws roughly 20,000-23,000 starters from South Africa and dozens of other countries and is considered one of the pinnacle achievements in ultra-distance running.