A Comrades Marathon Spectator Survival Guide

Last weekend I drove to KwaZulu-Natal to watch the 98th Comrades Marathon, a.k.a. The Ultimate Human Race. The Comrades was a “down race” this year, meaning it started in Pietermaritzburg and proceeded “down” to Durban. Next year it will run in the opposite direction.

The Comrades is more than a marathon, literally and figuratively. At nearly 90 kilometers (55 miles), it’s more than double the length of a normal marathon. The Comrades is the world’s oldest and largest ultramarathon. Also, the Comrades is an intrinsic part of South African culture in a way that no other sporting event – not even the Rugby World Cup – is.

More than 20,000 people participated in the Comrades this year, and the field of runners is truly representative of South Africa. The race has been integrated since 1975, nearly 20 years before the end of apartheid; most South Africans alive today, regardless of race or economic class, grew up watching the Comrades on television. Everyone knows someone who has run the Comrades.

To me, the idea of running 90 kilometers in under 12 hours (if you’re not over the line in 12 hours, you don’t get to finish) is ludicrous. Yet more and more people take on this challenge every year, and lots of them return again and again. One man, Louis Massyn, completed his 50th Comrades Marathon this year. He plans to complete two more so he can end his career at the 100th Comrades.

I could wax lyrical about the Comrades all day, but I want to tell you about my own experience and provide a few tips for those who are considering going to the Comrades in the future.

My Experience at the Comrades Marathon

Part 1: Pre-race

My Comrades experience began at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, when I left Joburg and drove five-plus hours to Pietermaritzburg. I met up with my friends, Alicia and John, at Comrades House, where John was registering for the race. John, one of the fittest people I know, was running his third Comrades at age 60. Alicia, John’s wife, is a Comrades superfan.

After John registered, we embarked on a reconnaissance mission, driving almost the full length of the race. It was sobering to see with my own eyes how long and grueling the Comrades is. The route seems to go on forever and there is a ton of roadworks along the way. (The entire road system between Pietermaritzburg and Durban has been under construction for years, with no end in sight.) There many, many uphills, even on the “down” route. I was exhausted just watching from the passenger seat.

My favorite part of the route is the Wall of Honour, where anyone who has run the Comrades, or any loved one of a Comrades runner, can put up a plaque with the runner’s name and race number. The Wall of Honour is in a beautiful setting and I didn’t make it there on race day, so I was grateful to see it beforehand.

I spent Friday and Saturday nights in Hilton (thanks to Alicia’s friends, Anthea and Crighton, who hosted me at their beautiful home), about 10 minutes from Pietermaritzburg. Early on Saturday morning, I drove into Durban (just over an hour away) for some pre-race festivities.

My first stop was the Durban promenade, a.k.a. the Golden Mile. Dozens of running groups from all over South Africa (and the world) were there to warm up the day before Comrades. Huge columns of people jogged up and down the Promenade with military precision, singing and chanting in different languages. It was electric – almost better than the race itself.

After soaking up the vibes on the Promenade, I drove to the Durban Exhibition Centre to collect my media accreditation. I don’t normally do this, but I wanted to make sure I could get close to the runners at the Comrades’ start and finish. So I got fancy and covered the event as a journalist, which really paid off.

Part 2: Race Day (The Start)

Spectating at the Comrades is not for sissies. By the end of race day, I felt like I’d run an ultramarathon myself. (I did, in fact, walk more than a 10k.)

Back in Hilton, I woke up at 4:00 a.m., packed, and left by 4:45. I wasn’t a minute too early – it took me almost 45 minutes to get to Pietermaritzburg City Hall, where the starting line is, and the first start was at 5:45. I was lucky to have VIP parking (which, like everything media-related at Comrades, was not easy to find), and parked two blocks from the start. If you want to be near the start but don’t have special access, I would allow a lot more time to find parking and a place to watch.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but just kept walking up to the various checkpoints and showing my media pass. Somehow I found myself inside the start with all the runners.

After the national anthem, the loudspeakers played Shosholoza and Chariots of Fire, as they do every year. I had been so excited for this part and thought I would cry, but I was trying really hard to appear journalistic so I didn’t.

Then the cock crowed, the gun shot, and the runners ran.

This was the first year that the Comrades ran two separate starts, one at 5:45 and one at 6:00, to accommodate the huge number of runners. Between the two starts, I managed to get inside City Hall and up onto the first-floor balcony, where I watched the second start from above.

Part 3: Race Day (The Middle)

Following the advice of my friend Ryan Brown, a veteran Comrades journalist (please listen to this excellent podcast about the Comrades, which Ryan produced), I decided to make three stops along the route: Ashburton (10 kilometers), Camperdown (25 kilometers), and Pine Town (70 kilometers).

If I did this again, I might add one more stop near the end of the race, just outside Durban, when the runners are on the highway with the city skyline in front of them. I noticed some nice bridges over the highway where people were watching.

My favorite stops were the early ones, Ashburton and Camperdown, when the light was soft and the runners were still relatively fresh and happy-looking.

Somewhere between Ashburton and Camperdown, my car was broken into. The thieves broke the lock on the passenger side and stole my backpack, two jackets, and a bunch of nice food. It was a huge bummer – I lost many things that have little monetary value (books, journal, tons of charging cables and battery chargers, etc.) but are difficult to replace. I was also left without functioning car locks for the rest of the trip, which was stressful. Luckily the thieves left the bag with my clothes and toiletries in it.

Theft is a big issue along the Comrades route. Thousands of people are traveling between cities and leave their luggage in the car when they stop at the various viewing points. I kept parking in areas with lots of other cars, then returning later after everyone else had left, finding my car alone and vulnerable.

Luckily Ryan had warned me and I carried all my most valuable items (camera equipment, laptop, etc.) with me, so they weren’t stolen. But it still sucked. See the end of this post for tips about how to avoid getting robbed at Comrades.

Part 4: Race Day (The Finish)

I arrived at the finish, which was just outside Moses Mabhida Stadium, at around 3:00 p.m., after fighting traffic for over an hour. (I feel like the Comrades could do a better job managing logistics at the finish – most of the traffic was caused by confusion about where to park, due to a total lack of signage.) Fortunately I had that precious media parking pass, which allowed me to break free of the traffic sooner than most.

There was a lot of cool stuff happening at the finish, but it was insanely crowded and I was beyond exhausted and frazzled by the time I got there. (I was also hangry – a hazardous emotional state for 2Summers.) So I skipped all the end-of-Comrades festivities and went straight to the media bridge above the finish line, where I stayed for the next three hours.

Words can’t describe the range of emotions and reactions I witnessed – and felt – as runners crossed the Comrades finish line. There was so much joy, elation, shock, and physical agony. Runners often approached the finish at a brisk pace and then immediately collapsed upon crossing the line. Teams of stretcher bearers were dispatched to gently lift people off the ground and carry them away.

Runners lifted their arms to the heavens and sobbed. Couples, friends, and even total strangers crossed the finish line holding hands, and then embraced for many seconds at a time. I loved watching all of it and cried a lot myself.

Things got especially crazy as the 12-hour cutoff grew closer and the various buses rolled in.

The end of the race stressed me out because it seemed far too crowded. As the clock ticked toward 12 hours, people started bunching up around the finish. Runners collapsed left and right, and far too many people were hanging around taking selfies, getting in the way of the stretcher bearers. But maybe it looked worse than it really was, or maybe I was just hangry. (I ran down from the media bridge at one point to grab a boerewors roll and chips. But I gave my chips away to a weak and hungry-looking runner and only managed to eat half the roll.)

Anyway, I felt legit scared that someone might die at the finish but luckily no one did. One runner did go missing after the race, but was found the next day.

My friend John finished his third Comrades in well under 11 hours. I’m sure he’s already thinking about his fourth. And I’ll bet Alicia already has their 2026 accommodation booked.

Eventually I trudged back to my car, fought some more traffic, and went to John and Alicia’s hotel room to have a post-Comrades celebratory glass of bubbly, sharing our various stories from the day. Then I made my way to a friend’s flat on the Golden Mile and slept like a dead person.

Final Tips

Several of these tips are courtesy of Ryan, my Comrades Marathon expert consultant. Thank you, Ryan!

1. Book your accommodation well in advance – like several months, minimum. Stay as close as possible to downtown Pietermaritzburg and downtown Durban.
2. For anyone who happens to be a member of the media: When you pick up your credentials, request parking passes for both the start and the finish – they won’t give them to you automatically.
3. Choose viewing points that are close to the N3 highway, so it doesn’t take you too long to get on and off the road.
4. When you stop along the route, park as close to the race as possible. If you don’t see any spots up ahead, check anyway to be sure – people are always leaving.
5. Don’t leave ANYTHING in your car that you’re not okay with having stolen. Do your best to hide whatever you leave in there. I might even leave my car unlocked to avoid having the locks broken.
6. Allow plenty of extra time to get everywhere, as traffic is horrendous. Bring every ounce of patience you can muster.
7. Dress in layers and be prepared for a wide range of temperatures.
8. Have fun! Enjoy the Comrades’ unique brand of South African spirit.

Despite all the challenges, this experience was totally worth it. I feel like I’m part of a special club now. Thank you, Comrades.

Have any questions about my Comrades experience? Please comment below and I’ll reply as soon as possible.