Ever since I started running long distances, I’ve only ever had two real ‘bucket list’ races – Spartathlon and Comrades. I ran Spartathlon in 2019 and Comrades was booked for 2020. And then Covid happened and Comrades was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. And then either Tom or I had other race plans, and before I knew it we were in 2024 and I still hadn’t run Comrades, so I declared it was non-negotiable that 2025 was going to be my Comrades year.
As it turned out several friends had also been wanting to run Comrades so six of us headed over there this year – Comrades 2025 was definitely going to be worth the wait!
Training had gone like a dream. I’ve been coached by James Stewart for nearly 5 years now and he knows me inside out, and always gets the best out of me – there were lots of tarmac miles, lots of downhill reps, lots of elevation, and I did a month’s heat training on the bike throughout May. Early on in the block I ran some shorter races over 5k and half marathon so I wasn’t neglecting speed, and then in April I ran 2 marathon in 2 weeks at Brighton and Boston on untapered legs, which were perfect preparation for the later miles of Comrades and running on tarmac on tired legs. I went into the race feeling like I couldn’t have been any more prepared if I’d tried!
Arriving in Durban 2 days before the race, there was already a massive buzz about town. I knew how important Comrades was to South Africans, but it wasn’t until I experienced it first hand, I saw how much it means to them. Even at 7am on Saturday morning Durban seafront was heaving with hundreds of runners practicing their pace ‘buses’ for the following day.
Race registration was seamless on Saturday morning where we picked up our race numbers and a goodie bag to rival most race goodie bags – even me who professes to hate race merch was taken by the Comrades colourful socks!
Regardless of whether it’s an up or a down run, most runners stay in Durban the night before the race. This meant a 12:30am alarm to get the bus to Pietermaritzburg at 2:20am – anyone who knows me knows I’m an early riser and love an early race start, but 12:30am was a bit early even by my standards!
This was the 98th Comrades, and some new initiatives were being trialled in readiness for the 100th anniversary of Comrades in 2027. Comrades is very unusual in that it’s timed gun to gun, so runners in later start pens often took 10+ minutes to cross the line. For the first time there were 2 start waves (5:45am and 6am) and pens running from A – S. I was in wave 1, pen D and crossed the line about 60 seconds after the gun went off.
Most people are aware of the Comrades start, and I’ve watched clips of it on YouTube, but nothing can prepare you for the emotion of it in real life – 10 minutes before the start the South African national anthem is played, then Shosholoza (the iconic Zulu chant) and then Chariots of Fire – I’ve been lucky enough to experience some impressive race starts in my life, but I can’t imagine anything ever topping Comrades. The rooster then crows, the gun is fired and we were off – 56 miles of hilly tarmac between us and the finish line in Durban.
The race
Leaving Pietermaritzburg in the dark, the streets were already lined with people out supporting, and this set the pattern for the entire race – the best way to describe Comrades is a 56 mile street party and the South Africans definitely know how to party! I felt like I had my own personal soundtrack of ‘go Sarah’, ‘go lady’ (less than 20% of the starting field are female so as a female runner you definitely get extra cheers’ or my favourite, ‘go pink lady’, ringing in my ears.
This support is one of the things that makes Comrades so special, and believe me that support is needed at times, because Comrades is hard! I’d read numerous accounts of Comrades so I had a pretty good idea of what it entailed, I’d also had a perfect 6 months of training leading up to it, but it was definitely much harder than I was expecting at times. Even though I’d studied the profile, and knew the elevation gain/loss, it still surprised me how much ascent there is in the down run, especially in the first 13 miles. By the time I’d got to the half marathon mark, I’d clocked up nearly 1,500 feet, that’s a lot of uphill for a ‘down’ run!
Comrades is known for its 5 ‘big hills’, but to be honest it felt like one continuous uphill and then downhill on repeat for 56 miles! I was feeling really good though, I’ve been really working on my uphill running and was able to capitalise on my downhill running strength on all the downs, and the miles were flying by. This was helped an infinite amount by the support out on the course – I high fived so many children, tried to wave at everyone who gave me a personal cheer, and soaked up the music and party atmosphere. I’m normally a music on/get into my own little world runner when I’m racing, but Comrades was such an incredible sensory experience I didn’t want to miss a single second of it.
There are 47 aid stations along the course (plus supporters set up their own mini aid stations so at times it feels like one continuous aid station!), and the majority of runners rely on aid stations and supporters on the course for their fuelling. With my levels of organisation I couldn’t imagine going into a race not having all my nutrition planned out, so as much as I hate running with a pack, I ran with one so I could access all my own gels/drinks. Seeing the aid stations in real life, whilst you won’t go hungry, they mainly consisted of potatoes, crackers, bananas and milky drinks, so I’ll stick with being in a minority and running with my pack!
The forecast was for a ‘hot year’ with temperatures peaking at 28 degrees (normally with it being winter in South Africa temperatures reach a high of low 20s), however whether it was the heat training, the bucket hat I packed at the last minute, or water on the course being plentiful and being able to throw it over me, I didn’t ever find it that hot.
I don’t ever run to a pace plan or to heart rate, and just run to feel, so it was hard to know how the race was going, especially when you’ve no experience of the course, but I felt like I was running really well. In the second half I had to make three toilet stops (I think my body was a bit confused about waking up at 12:30am!), but apart from losing a few minutes there, everything else was going perfectly.
The course profile on the down run looks like the race finishes with a 16 mile downhill stretch, so in my head I envisaged myself cruising into Durban! However, there is still a fair bit of uphill in this final ‘downhill’ and your legs are starting to feel every mile of the hard tarmac so it’s not the ‘easy’ finish it looks on paper! I felt like I’d paced it well though and I was overtaking people, but it was only when I saw the official results that I’d moved up over 800 overall places in the second half, so I don’t think I could have paced it much better.
The finish at Comrades is like no other, and different medals are awarded to different finish times, so as each finish band is coming to a close, there is a huge countdown and runners dig deep to try and hit their medal target. I crossed the line in 8:48:35, comfortably under the Bill Rowan medal cut-off of 8:59:59, and apart from losing a few minutes to toilet stops, I don’t think I could have raced it any better, which is the best feeling you can have at any finish line!
After food and beers with our friends in the international tent, we went to watch the final finishers come in. The Comrades finish is legendary, but nothing prepares you for witnessing it first hand. As the commentator counts down to the 12 hour mark, you can see and feel the absolute elation of the runners who just make it with seconds to spare. And then at 12 hours, the final gun goes off, the finish line is roped off, The Last Post is played, and any runners (and there were several hundred) still out there are unable to finish. I don’t consider myself a particularly emotional person, but the Comrades finish is heartbreaking. Comrades means so much to South Africans, a lot of these runners have spent years trying to qualify and then finish, and have spent the majority of the race chasing cut-offs, and to see them fall just short, shows you what incredible human spirit they have.
Over the years several people had told me that Comrades is the best race in the world, and I’d smile politely at them whilst thinking ‘but have you run Spartathlon?!’, but Comrades touched me like no other. It’s incredibly tough at times – even with the best training, 56 miles of relentless tarmac hills is hard on the body, but combine that with the people, the support, the South African culture, the history, and the iconic finish, it truly lives up to its strapline of ‘The Ultimate Human Race’.
I never repeat my A races, I take the view if I’ve had a happy positive experience and outcome, why would I go back…..but Comrades is different and we’ve already booked the hotel for the up run next year!
