Winner of the Spine just finished in 82hrs 28 mins
25 miles ahead of second
125 miles ahead of the guy bringing up the rear of the race
Madness
8 Likes
I know, itās mental isnāt it.
My boy just had out for the night shift after a quick nap in CP5.5.
Heās knackered and fed up now but still cracking jokes. 3rd should be in the bag barring any disasters. Similarly unlikely to catch 2nd as heās about 6 miles up.
4 Likes
3rd! 
Just snuck under 96hrs as well. Absolute legend. My group chat has been going mental the last 24hrs!
13 Likes
My mate did the north, only 160 miles, lightweight 
7 Likes
Thatās more than enough!!!
2 Likes
Iāve been watching the YT clips and surprised at some people saying how relatively late they left it before entering. Iād assumed it sells out instantly?
@gingerbongo , have the JE110 folks started? Theyāre going to know about it this weekend!
Tomorrow morning.
Yeah youāll be wanting to get it all done before Sunday kicks in! Sat isnāt too bad. Similar to last weekend. Sunday, for those tired bodies is going to be tough! 
1 Like
Have any of you got a Garmin that measures your hill score, it so do you mind sharing the numbers.
Mine are very poor.
I only do rolling hills occasional because a history of calf problems.
1 Like
Comrades 2026 race report
Pre race
So the preparation for this was by no means ideal. I had had a procedure on my right knee for a torn meniscus at the end of the year and really only started walk running in January. Started to increase the training and then my left knee started to play up. Long story short I had a meniscus tear in that too!!! I had done one big run and also gone skiing in February but it couldnāt be that right? 
A steroid injection later and I was able to resume though it was always run/ walk training. I did manage to get one three hour plus training session in but really was woefully undertrained.
So we set off for Durban with two other couples, for whom this was going to be their first Comrades.
The race
This year was an UP run which I had never done before. There are five named hills in Comrades but in reality there are actually 21!! In preparation for next yearās race, the 100th, and after feedback from runners the race was split into three waves. I was in wave 3 based on my qualifying marathon.
I have talked before about the start of the race which is iconic. When the South Africans start singing Shosholoza it really makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It also makes me very emotional.
Anyway 5:30am and the cannon is fired and we are off. My plan had been to try for a 11:30 finish with even splits. After 20k all seemed good, despite them running out of water on the first few stations (I ended up necking coke). I had dialled in my run / walk and hitting 13 min miles (or 8mins per Km). By 40k the hills were giving my quads some serious grief; I knew that it was going to be a long day!!
However half way was reached in 5:49 which was exactly what I hoped for. But rather than push on from this point I was managing myself. The knees never gave me any trouble but the right calf kept tightening up which required me to stop and stretch it out every 5k or so. Also after the hills my hip flexors were complaining too. So an 11:30 pace drifted towards 11:40 and by the time I reached the last named hill, Polly Shorts, I was on for 11:45.
Polly Shorts is probably the most famous hill in Comrades and it comes right at the end when you are at your most weak. I had to walk the whole thing and by the top Iām on for 11:51!!! There is 7K to go at this point and I knew that I had to get a wiggle on. With Comrades there are Km markers but what they do is to count them down. So 7k to go became 6 then 5 and so on. I really gritted my teeth at this point and tried to run as much as possible. Finally the finish was in sight and I crossed the line with a time of 11:44. If you look at the photo below you can see that Iām quite pleased 
Post Race
I mentioned that 4 others came with me. Before we went to SA one had already decided to do the race next year (though had not told her husband) . By the Monday the husband was on board and the other two are 50/50. Jan will definitely be running as, due to a stress fracture, she couldnāt run this year. Iām another who is on the fence. Itās the 100th so its one that you will want to be part of. But Iām not sure my knees are up to the training. Anyway we shall see ā¦
11 Likes
Brilliant - well run
1 Like
Fantastic effort Mark, you did yourself proud. With the waves, are the interim cut offs a thing of the past now?
I watched Andre Maakalās (Church Mouse) 2hr epic film last night.
1 Like
Absolutely love it.
Well done, and thanks for the race report.
2 Likes
Oh no the cut offs are there. They are just based on the wave 3 start which goes at the traditional time of 5:30am. However at the finish they close the gates at 12 hours for waves 1, 2 and 3.
This year was 22000. For the 100th is going to be 35000!!! God knows how they are going to do that
3 Likes
Great, I might do it, there are enough people to get a piggyback off. 
1 Like
Ah gotcha, thanks 
1 Like
If you donāt cry with this you are not human. I have never met a black man or woman in South Africa that cannot sing. When you hear it in the distance echoing through a valley at unexpected moments it stops you in your tracks.
Iām pleased the wave starts have worked out. So many traditionalists didnāt want it to happen.
Well done! Thatās true āvasbytā comrades spirit in action.
The cycle race from PMB to Durban is only ever on the ādownā route. I donāt think any cyclist is brave enough to cycle from Durban all the way up to Hillcrest.
3 Likes
Superb report - thank you and well done. I will be on that start line one day - not sure when but I will.
Re the intermediate cutoffs - I think it was a couple of years ago they were badly calculated and many people were stopped when they could have finished - this meant that hardly anyone finished in the final 30 minutes before the 12 hour finish whereas normally the majority of the finishers are at the tail end of the race. Glad they were good this time. I think on the broadcast the final cutoff with 7k to go meant that if you were right on the cut-off time youād had something like 34 minutes to do the final 7k - which would pretty much be impossible for anyone in that position.
4 Likes