Time Trial Championships - Results 2009

Congratulations to Johnny Da Camara, our Time Trial Champion for 2009!

Click here to download the results.

Comrades Entries Re-Opened

For those of you who were disappointed and missed the initial rush of Comrades entries, here is some good news:

COMRADES MARATHON MEDIA RELEASE 2010/ 12

            Comrades Entries to Reopen for 2010!

           

Due to the overwhelming response from previous Comrades Marathon Runners and Novices alike, the available 20 000 spaces for the 2010 Comrades Marathon were snapped up in record time. Since the close of entries was announced earlier this month, the CMA has been inundated with requests from runners to reopen entries.

After careful consideration and the weighing of appeals from hundreds of runners and interest groups, the CMA Board, after consultation with key stakeholders, decided to reopen entries for a limited number of 2 000 additional entries only. Entries will open on Saturday morning 30 January 2010 at 09h00 and will ONLY be accepted at Mr Price Clothing, Sport and Home Stores countrywide.  Entries will close as soon as 2 000 entries have been received. This means that if the 2 000 available spots are taken up within the first hour, entries will then close as and when the 2000 mark is reached. This is the FINAL ENTRY INTAKE and no further opportunities will be created after this period. 

           

In order to work on a fair “first come first serve” basis, NO FAX, POSTAL OR ON-LINE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. Entries will also not be taken at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg. The CMA therefore appeals to those runners who still wish to enter for the 2010 Comrades Marathon, to make sure that they are at a Mr. Price Store early on Saturday 30 January 2010. No correspondence will be entered into if runners miss this opportunity.

“This has not been an easy decision for the CMA, as we do not want to send mixed messages and signals to our runners or compromise the decision making process, but we do have an obligation to all the Comrades athletes and CMA stakeholders to ensure that the 85^th Anniversary race is a true celebration, especially with the fantastic response to the “early entry initiative”.  It is therefore that the decision was made to accept an additional 2 000 entries.” Dave Dixon, CMA Chairman.

The CMA is dedicated to ensure that the 2010 Comrades Marathon adheres to all the required safety and quality standards and we believe that by extending the invitation to a further 2000 runners, this would not be compromised. The CMA Board has taken the following into account when the decision was made to allow a further 2000 runners to enter: based on statistics gathered over the last 10 years we have found an average attrition rate of +-10% from entry to starting line each year.  This is primarily due to factors such as when runners fail to qualify or pick up injuries or fall ill before the race.  Taking this expected attrition rate into account we expect to see approximately 20 000 runners lining up at the start on Sunday 30 May 2010. The Host Cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, as well as the various Disaster Management structures within the local and provincial government structures have been alerted to the magnitude of the 2010 Comrades Marathon.

“One of the main reasons for limiting the field to 20 000 starters, was that during the millennium race in 2000, when 24 500 runners started the race, many runners complained about congestion on the route.  As a result, in order for all runners to have an enjoyable and safe race, the CMA decided to limit the participation in the 2010 Comrades under advisement from Disaster Management specialists.” Gary Boshoff, CEO CMA.

           

The CMA wishes to thank all runners for their patience and understanding, and we look forward to celebrating the 85^th running of the Comrades Marathon on Sunday 30 May 2010.

 

Ends___________________

Statement Released 26 November 2009

Issued by Comrades Marathon Media & Communications, Craig Fry

For further information contact, Renee Jordaan & Gary Boshoff,  Comrades Marathon on 033 8978650

Time Trial Championships 2009

Our annual Time Trial Championships take place next Tuesday, 24th of November.

Qualification Criteria:

• Current members who have run at least 10 Time Trials from 1 January until 9 November 2009.

• Members who qualify for the trophy have an X next to their name on the spreadsheet below.

• Everyone is welcome to run, but only those that qualify in terms of the above rules are eligible for a prize.
  

How does the Time Trial Championships work?

• A 'handicap' system has been devised and perfected by Pieter over the years, which gives everyone a fair chance of winning.

• The start is in reverse order, so the slower athletes start first, followed by the faster athletes.

• Each athlete has an individual start time, based on his / her time trial times over the past year.

• The clock starts counting at 17:30.

• To work out your start time, add the time in the 'Start' column to 17:30 for example, my start time is indicated as 10:59, so I will start running at 17:40:59.

Below is the list of start times, or you can download the spreadsheet here

Family Lunch: 6 December

Wingate Park Country Club will be hosting a Carvery Family Lunch - all members and their families are invited to join. This is a good opportunity to meet the other members of the club - golfers, bowlers etc. Please join us!

Details as follows:

Date: Sunday 6 December 2009
Time: 12:00
Place: Wingate Park Country Club
Cost: Adults R80.00 ea, Children under 12: R40.00 ea
RSVP: Vernon 082 955 4523 by 30 November

Wingate Road Runners: Year End Function 2009

Here are the pics from the Year End Function! Many, many thanks to Pieter Swart for taking the photos.



You may notice that some of the photos have been 'photoshopped' with some text added. Unfortunately, Pieter is writing exams at the moment and has not been able to finish all of the photos. The rest will be done in due course. Thanks again, Pieter!

Comrades 2010 Novice Entries are Closed!

COMRADES MARATHON MEDIA RELEASE 2010/ 08

Entries for Novice Comrades Runners opened on Sunday, 1 November at 09h00 and within 27 hours the CMA received the targeted 5,000 entries for Novice Runners! As a result entries for the 2010 Comrades Marathon is now officially closed. Any novice runner who has posted his/her entry by close of business today, 2 November 2009, will still be accepted – the envelope must be postmarked and dated 2 November 2009. Should a postal entry be postmarked and dated after 2 November 2009, the entry will NOT be accepted.

“As we currently stand we have reached the 5 000 Novices targeted for the 2010 Comrades Marathon. I was confident that we would receive 5 000 Novice entries within a four week period, but never anticipated that we would reach the 5 000 threshold within 27 hours of opening the entry process for Novices. This is a fantastic achievement by the Comrades Marathon and illustrates the extent to which the Comrades brand has captured the imagination of South African and international distance runners alike. Congratulations to all the successful entrants and good luck on your quest to complete “The Ultimate Human Race”, Gary Boshoff, CEO Comrades Marathon Association.

The CMA will be processing all entries over the next couple of weeks, and a final entry figure will be released upon completion. The total number of entries could well be in excess of 20 000 runners since postal entries will take approximately 10 working days to arrive at the CMA offices.

Ends.
___________________

Statement Released 02 November 2009
Issued by Comrades Marathon Media & Communications, Craig Fry
For further information contact Comrades Marathon on 033 8978650