OPINION: Runners are upset, but Comrades organisers did everything they could to make it fair
· Citizen
There are a lot of upset runners around the country, and their frustration is understandable, but nothing could really have been done to avoid it.
With the Comrades Marathon celebrating its 100th edition in 2027, there was always going to be unprecedented interest in the race.
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And it was revealed this week that over 56,000 people had put their names in the hat to secure an entry for the annual ultra-distance race in KwaZulu-Natal.
For multiple reasons, Comrades is more limited than other races in terms of entries. Contested over a point-to-point course between two cities, for safety and security reasons, they can only accommodate a certain number of runners.
And though organisers did manage to increase that limit to a record 28,000 participants for the 2027 edition, two thirds of the people who entered the general ballot have still missed out.
It sucks. I’m not taking that away from anyone. I really do understand why people are frustrated, especially those who have run the race multiple times and really wanted to be involved in what is going to be a memorable celebration of a historic event that has become embedded within the fabric of South African sport.
Last year, however, entries were sold out in less than 10 hours, and runners who missed out were gutted. They complained with seemingly endless posts on social media, and the organisers responded.
In an attempt to create a process that was both fair and inclusive, the Comrades Marathon Association did what many major races around the world have done, introducing a ballot system. And they did more than that.
Making it as fair as possible
In order to ensure people who have shown their commitment to the race over the years were given an additional chance, the Comrades Marathon Association gave its members, people who had run the race at least nine times and charity entrants separate entry windows on a first come, first served basis.
Everybody else went into the ballot, which was essentially a lucky draw.
With more than 42,000 runners putting their names in the hat for the ballot, that meant two thirds of them were going to miss out.
This is obviously not a good thing for those who didn’t get entries, but nobody is entitled to run a race, and when entries are limited, people are going to lose out. The organisers did well to try accommodate everyone, but the reality is that they simply cannot.
If you wanted to run next year and didn’t get an entry, you might still secure a spot with the upcoming redraw and substitution process.
If not, you’re unlucky, but you’re in the same boat as every person who wants to run any major race anywhere in the world and misses out due to space constraints.
So, if you really want to run Comrades, you’ll have to take this one on the chin and try again next year.