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🇿🇦 South Africa /Sports

ATHLETICS: Comrades changes lanes in a marathon governance dispute

From Daily Maverick · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Comrades Marathon Association launched plans for the 2027 centenary race despite Athletics South Africa’s decision not to sanction the event.
  • CMA chair Mark Leathers said the race would go ahead and that qualification requirements would remain largely unchanged.
  • Runners must complete an officially timed 42.2-kilometer marathon in under five hours during the qualification period.

The biggest changes surrounding South Africa’s 2027 Comrades Marathon appear to be taking place in the boardroom rather than on the road.

The Comrades Marathon Association launched the centenary edition on Aug. 19, but Athletics South Africa announced during the same week that it would not sanction the race. The decision escalated a months-long dispute between the organizers of the country’s best-known road race and the athletics authorities responsible for governing the sport.

There’s nothing logistically to worry about.

· Mark LeathersThe Comrades Marathon Association chair addressed concerns about the race proceeding without Athletics South Africa’s sanction.

For runners, the immediate concern is qualification. CMA chair Mark Leathers said there was “nothing logistically to worry about” in the buildup to the race or on race day. He said the CMA, Athletics South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal Athletics all agreed that the association could legally host the event in 2027.

[ASA], KwaZulu-Natal Athletics [KZNA], Comrades, everyone’s in agreement that the CMA can legally host the race next year.

· Mark LeathersLeathers said the organizations agreed that the 2027 race could legally take place.

The qualification period runs from June 15, 2026, to May 3, 2027. Runners may enter before qualifying, but they must complete an approved event and submit their details before the deadline. The rules still require an officially timed standard marathon of 42.2 kilometers in under five hours.

Leathers said almost all qualifying races should remain sanctioned through provincial and national athletics structures. He noted that 138 qualifying races were held last year. Runners will generally still need licenses and club affiliations to compete in those events, even though a license is no longer required to enter or run the Comrades Marathon itself.

It’s going ahead.

· Mark LeathersHe stated that the centenary Comrades Marathon would proceed.

Entries for Green Number holders, athletes with at least 10 Comrades medals, and Yellow Number holders, athletes with nine, opened on Aug. 25. All 3,500 available entries sold out within the opening period described in the report.

You still have to qualify. Almost 100% of your qualification marathons are going to remain as sanctioned events by the federations.

· Mark LeathersLeathers explained why the sanctioning dispute should not substantially disrupt qualification.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Maverick. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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