Comrades Marathon
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The Comrades Marathon is a South African ultramarathon run over a distance of approximately 90 km. The marathon is run between the capital of the Kwazulu-Natal Province, Pietermaritzburg, and the coastal city of Durban. The race alternates annually between the up run from Durban and the down run from Pietermaritzburg.
The race is run over a strenuous course which can be best appreciated by The Big Five. The Big Five hills of the Comrades Marathon include in the following order on the down run: Poly Shorts, Inchanga, Botha's Hill, Fields Hill, and finally Cowies Hill.
The race was the idea of World War I veteran Vic Clapham, to commemorate the South African soldiers killed during the war.
Bruce Fordyce won the race for an unprecedented eight consecutive years between 1981 and 1988; he won it for the ninth time in 1990.
Alberto Salazar won the race in 1994.
The field size ranges between 10 000 and 13 000 runners each year.
External links
- Official web page (http://www.comrades.com/)