Comrades Marathon

Fifty-five brutal miles. Five torturous climbs. A ruthless clock. The Comrades Marathon may be the world's greatest race. But not because it's easy.

There are about 11,000 entrants to this years comrades marathon which kicks off at 5.30 am on Sunday June 15 in Durban South Africa. It's a course of 87 Km (54 miles) and finishes at Pietermaritzburg. The first Comrades Marathon took place on 24th May 1921 and it's steadily become a major run on the international calender.

For the past few years, both the male and female race has been dominated by Russians. A number of locals are showing promise this year and are hopeful they will defeat the big bear this year.


Nuts going to it.





A bit of an oldie video but it gives a good idea what the marathon is all about

Shvetsov, Elena win Comrades titles

June 15, 2008

Russian athlete Leonid Shvetsov broke the Up record at the 2008 Comrades Marathon on Sunday by 47 seconds with a winning time of 5:24.48. This after breaking the Down record with his win last year. He walks away with R470 000 for winning the race and breaking the record.
The 39-year-old medical doctor, who stopped practising so he could race full-time, beat Vladimir Kotov's record of 5:25.33 set in 2000.

Almost 14 minutes behind Shvestsov was Polish runner Jaroslaw Janicki (5:38.28), a previous winner in 1999. Running into the packed Oval stadium in Pietermaritzburg to loud cheers from the crowd came Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi (5:39.39) in third place

In the women's race, Russian Elena Nurgalieva came first in 6:14.36.

Smiling after the race, she said: "I am very, very happy and satisfied with my race." After falling at the 10km mark, where she tripped over a cat's eye, she looked to be in trouble at one stage, with her knee visibly bleeding. "I felt some pain but the pain still allowed me to run," said the Russian athlete.

Twin sister Olesya Nurgalieva came in second (6:15.51) followed by fellow compatriot Tatyana Zhirkova (6:17.44).


Full article at: SuperSport