Comrades Entries: Tomorrow is the Cut-Off Date

A final reminder that entries for the 2009 Comrades Marathon close tomorrow - 31 March.

If you want to enter, do so online by clicking here. You still have until the end of April to qualify, but you must enter by the end of March.

Race Report: Om Die Dam 2009

Perfect running conditions greeted the athletes who set off on their annual pilgrimage around Hartebeespoort Dam on Saturday 21 March. The cool, misty start certainly helped the runners in the first half of the race, but the sun was soon beating down on them relentlessly.

Once again, Wingate had a large entry in the 50km Ultra Marathon, while some chose to run the 20km and 5km.

Congratulations to Dennis, Deon, Hein, Vernon and Willie who all completed their 10th Om Die Dam Ultra! An awesome achievement - well done guys.

To see all the pics of this event, click here.

Comrades Training: Do your Long Run on 5 April

A message from Magnolia Road Runners:

Magnolia will be holding our seventh long run on 5th April, and would like to invite your club to join us on the day.

We approached Norrie Williamson and Jacques Rossouw (top long distance coaches) for advice and both advised, for our long run to be effective this year with an earlier Comrades, our long run should be held the weekend before the 2 Oceans which is 7 weeks before Comrades and again both felt we should reduce the distance from 60km to 45km.

To assist with catering arrangements, it will be appreciated if you could please indicate how many of your members will be attending. Last year 330 attended our long run.

Contact Colin for any additional information:
cbillau@ford.com work
billauc@absamail.co.za home

Yours in running,

Colin Billau
Chairman Magnolia Road Runners

Race Report: Deloitte Pretoria Marathon

Without a doubt, the City's toughest marathon, The Deloitte Pretoria Marathon, took place on 28 February.

Many of our members used this gruelling marathon as a qualifier for the Comrades Marathon - if you can handle this one, you are certainly well on your way to running a great Comrades!

The race results are available at www.raceresults.co.za

Well done to Phobians Marathon Club for an extremely well organised event.

To see pics of this event, click here.

Comrades Novice Roadshows

Early this year CMA announced an innovative project aimed at aspiring or first-time Comrades Marathon runners.

The Bonitas Comrades Novice Project is sponsored by Bonitas Medical Fund, South Africa’s top medical aid brand and a major sponsor of the Comrades Marathon, and presented by Runner’s World Magazine, South Africa’s premier magazine for serious and recreational runners.

The objective of the initiative is to encourage and empower aspiring Comrades Marathon runners with the scientific information and technical support they require to achieve their goals.

The project is mainly internet based and is available at www.runnersworld.co.za.

At the touch of a finger, runners can access a wealth of invaluable information and advice from  the official Comrades Coach Lindsey Parry, as well as a panel of experts dealing with a wide range of relevant subjects.  They are also able to join a vibrant interaction with other novice runners and experienced Comrades campaigners. 

CMA is now proud to announce the launch of phase two of the project – the staging of two Bonitas Comrades Novice Seminars at which novices will have the opportunity to interact personally with real live experts and fellow runners.

The Bonitas Comrades Novice Seminars are also brought to you by Runners World Magazine and will be hosted by the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre and the Stellenbosch University Sport Performance Institute.  Both will feature a panel of leading sports scientists who are experts in the fields of training, nutrition, motivation, psychology and injury prevention. 

Dates and venues for the Bonitas Comrades Novice Seminars are as follows:                   

Tuesday 17 March at 19h00 : High Performance Centre, University of Pretoria

Saturday 28 March at 09h00 : Stellenbosch University Sport Performance Institute

Entry is free and all prospective Comrades Marathon runners are welcome to attend.

Race Director, Renee Jordaan encourages prospective Comrades Marathon runners in the Western Cape and Gauteng to take full advantage of the opportunity to participate in these invaluable seminars.  “We are grateful to Bonitas, Runners World, Pretoria University’s HPC and SUSPI for enabling us to make available such a wealth of expertise and experience to our runners,” said Jordaan.  “Running your first Comrades Marathon can certainly be a daunting experience , but never has it been so easy to access authoritative information and advice.”

Club Runs in March

Please note that the Club Runs scheduled for 7 & 14 March have been cancelled.  Please support the races in Pretoria - Click here for a list of the races in March.