Follow me prepare for Comrades, an 89km journey.
So you want to run Comrades next year? Have a look at the graph below:
Some stats:
Still want to run? I know I do.
It was a great day to spend on the couch, and I spent most of this race thinking that this time next year, that’ll be me.
The numbers were huge, as always, for an ultra marathon. The full stats from the race are available, but here’s a summary:
Top 3 Men
| Pos | Name | Time | Country |
| 1 | Leonid Shvetsov | 5:20:49 | Russia |
| 2 | Grigory Murzin | 5:30:20 | Russia |
| 3 | Mncedisi Mkhize | 5:32:58 | South Africa |
Top 3 Woman
| Pos | Name | Time | Country |
| 1 | Olesya Nurgalieva | 6:10:11 | Russia |
| 2 | Elena Nurgalieva | 6:10:40 | Russia |
| 3 | Madina Biktigirova | 6:22:03 | Russia |
Of course the highlight was Leonid Shvetsov finishing the race in a record time, but the race was marred by the death of two runners. This just shows how tough the race is, and although over 10000 people completed the race, it is by no means easy, and one needs to have put in the proper preparation.
My thoughts go out to the families of the runners through this difficult time.
1 hour 47 minutes into the race, I’m lying here on my couch, enjoying the race so far.
If you want to track a runner, do the following:
You should see the times. If you click, “Track the above runners using our graphical map by clicking here” you will see a map, with the position of the runner. It’s quite clever really.
Stay tuned for updates.
9:25 am
With 27 km to go, Leonid Shvetsov leads the mens race and is looking strong. If he holds his current pace, he is set to smash the record. They estimate his time to be 5:15, while the record is 5:25, held by Bruce Fordyce. The woman’s race is dominated by the Russian twins, Elena and Olesya Nurgalieva, and are completely dominating the race. The first 5 woman are all Russian.
I’ve just heard that Clive Crawley didn’t start the race, which is unfortunate. I’ll update with the reason as soon as I know.
10:12 am
15km to go, Shvetsov is looking amazing. You can’t believe he’s run over 75km, striding at a pace that’s likely to annihilate the record. Bruce Fordyce is out on the route, running his 25th Comrades, I wonder if he knows his record is likely to be broken?
10:50 am
Leonid Shvetsov has won Comrades 2007 and smashed the down run record by 4 minutes. His winning time of 5:20:48 has broken a 21 year old record. Possibly one of the greatest ultra distance runs of all time!
Brian Zondi is one of the favourites to win (see this post), while Koula is a DJ on local radio station 5fm, and is running for the charity, Marang House.
“How should athletes be preparing in the run up to the Comrades Marathon this week?Listen to what Dr. Jon Patricios recommends and hear from two runners themselves - Brian Zondi and 5fm DJ Koula.”
I’ve been meaning to write a post on who the favourite’s are for this year’s down running of Comrades, but I came across this syndicated article on The Final Sprint. It’s a good read into who’s competing and what kind of form they are in.
The stats on the race are quite astounding, and show the massive logistical effort required on a race this big over 89km.
“400,000 plastic bottles, 2,000 littler bins and 10,000 litter bags, 448 bags of oranges, 5400 kg of bananas, 350,000 sachets of energy drinks, 1000 kg of chocolates, 500 kg of potatoes, more than 200 kg of biscuits and 2000 cases of Coca-Cola will be distributed along the route.”
I personally hope Brian Zondi will win the men’s race, but as long as any South African wins, I’ll be happy. Vladimir Kotov is a resident of Cape Town, so I hope he does well, but at 49, he’s not really a favourite, but one can never count him out completely.
Unfortunately, South Africa’s chances in the woman’s race are not good, with the Russians dominating. My hopes are on Farwa Mentoor to finish first amongst the South Africans, and I’ve seen her on several local Cape Town races.
Some more Comrades related news below:
Recent Comments