"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Sunday 2 June 2013

Today was Comrades day!

Blogathon Post 2/30

 
The 87km (54 mile) Comrades Marathon was run today and it turned out to be one of the most brutal days they've had in a very long time. Talks of a 30% drop out rate is going around. It was very hot and windy the whole day. I must admit I was relieved I wasn't running.

Comrades is by far the most popular and biggest sporting event on the South African calendar. Everyone knows someone who is a Comrades runner. 18000 ultra runners braving one of the hardest routes you can ask for is certainly not a small event.

 

Today was special as we had a South African winner! The winning time was a bit slower than usual with the heat taking its toll and the winner was nearly 10 minutes ahead of the 2nd runner. However, 5hours 32min is still an incredible time. Well done Claude Mushiywa, we are all very proud of you!





In the women's race it was once again the Nurgalieva twins from Russia that dominated and finished 1st and 2nd respectively. Elena won her 8th Comrades in 6 hours 27 minutes with Olesya about a minute behind.



But the day is about the masses. The 18000 ultra heroes who run to finish before the 12 hour cut-off. I salute them all. To those who didn't make it today, next year the route will be there again. Rest well and start the build up again. Next year will be yours to cross the finish line.
 
 

For me the running year is starting in all seriousness now. I have a full and hard trail schedule ahead. I am ready and motivated to do the hard work. The wonderful journey of running never ends...

9 comments:

Raina said...

Comrades is the GRAND Daddy of ultras. Amazing what people can accomplish.

Wishing you all the best with your upcoming season!!

Giorgio said...

I'm Glad to hear that a South African runner won the Comrades. Congrats also to both the Russian twins!

Char said...

What an incredible event! I was getting Facebook updates of the runners that I knew who were over there and all finished. That sounds like quite a feat now that I read your post.

Jerry Smallwood said...

WOW...that is fast

ajh said...

Has the twin who came in second ever beaten her twin? That could be hard.

Average Woman Runner said...

Congratulations to SA for taking the title under unusually rough conditions!

Karien P. said...

I can never watch the Comrades coverage on TV (especially the shots of the finish line) without bawling my eyes out at least half a dozen times, ha! And yesterday was no exception - love hearing about individual runners' Comrades journeys. SO proud of Claude - he works full time and is a dad of two young ones - RESPECT!

misszippy said...

What an amazing race Comrades is...totally on my bucket list. Tough conditions it sounds like. I need to check in and see how our local guy did!

Christina said...

I run with a couple who married 6 months ago and for their honeymoon they flew to South Africa and ran Comrades together.