Entries for this year’s Comrades Marathon reached a record number, with 19,617 runners from all over the world registered to run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
With 78% of the runners being men and 22% women, the 86th Ultimate Human Race is set to be one of the best ‘up-runs’ ever.
There has been an increase in the number of foreign runners this year. The largest contingents are from the UK (253 runners), the USA (179), Australia (152) and Brazil (115).
This year’s event has also attracted 4,882 novices.
For the first time in Comrades Marathon history, an elite team of Ethiopian runners has entered and will pose a formidable threat to both local runners and defending champion, Stephen Muzhingi.
The top ten finishers in both the men’s and women’s competitions in the 2010 Comrades Marathon will line up again this year:
The women’s race will once again see the dominant Nurgalieva twins Elena and Olesya battle it out for top position. They will be joined by Marina Myshlyanova, Kami Semick, Farwa Mentoor, Lizzy Hawker, Tatyana Zhirkova; Lindsay van Aswegen and Adinda Kurger, to name a few of the top female competitors. In the 2006 up-run, Elena Nurgalieva broke the record with a 6:09:24 finish.
In the men’s race, Stephen Muzhingi will have to fight to retain his title, competing with runners such as Jaroslaw Janicki, Ludwick Mamabolo, Lucas Nonyana, Oleg Kharitonov; Bongmusa Mthembu, Peter Molapo, Fusi Nhlapo and Peter Muthubi.