Comrades Marathon 2010 – 60 days to go, second largest field ever

60 days to go for the 85th edition of the Comrades Marathon in Pietermaritzburg-Durban, South Africa. CMA has just released the March newsletter. The key points:

23,565 entries reached, the second largest field ever after 24,500 runners in 2000
Most international participants ever – 1084 runners from 76 countries. I am proud to mention that this includes for the first time an amazing 10 runners from India

Check out some more interesting facts about this interesting race in the Wikipedia article, on Runners World, and the official Comrades website.

Comrades Marathon International Newsletter : March

It is hard to believe that we are already in March, and there is less than 70 days to Comrades race day – 30 May 2010.

The CMA Staff have been hard work capturing the thousands of entries onto the system, with having over 5000 novice runners capturing all the details from the entry form is no easy fete. But needless to say, we have come out on top.

We are proud to announce that the official entry figure for the 2010 race is 23 565, which is the second largest in the races 85 years. The largest field ever assembled at the start was in 2000, the Millennium run which saw 24 500 lining up at the start.

We must include that this year will also see the most international runners ever. With 1084 participants from 76 countries, is testament to the excellent marketing efforts of the CMA and the Country Ambassadors.

Race Director

Since the last Newsletter, the CMA said goodbye to Renee Jordaan, and has welcomed Johan van Staden into the “hot seat” as the Comrades Marathon Race Director.

Meet Johan van Staden (44) :-

Tell us about yourself, your background and experience in sports management and sports nutrition.

Born and bred in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, growing up with a passion for sport with provincial colours in athletics, swimming and rugby. I then studied at the Potchefstroom University where I completed my BSc. Honors degree in Biokinetics combined with a higher education diploma. My teaching career was short and sweet but gave me insight into administering school sports programs and the organization of sporting events within the school environment. My passion for sport and my love for high performance development took me back into the Biokinetics scene where I specialized in performance development of local athletes in the Pietermaritzburg area combined with sports injury rehabilitation and presentation of sporting events. It is in this period where I did nine years of research into sports nutrition bridging the gap between Biokinetics, high performance training and diet. This led me to a career in sports nutrition – marketing, brand management and sales. This combined with the portfolio management of top sportsman in the KwaZulu-Natal, area and the presentation of sports events in the various sporting codes prepared me for the ultimate position, organizing the ultimate human race.

Describe your own running background. I believe you wanted to run the Comrades back when you were 17 but couldn’t get an entry?

My road running career started early with my first race in standard 8 and ending up doing 48 of the major road races in KwaZulu-Natal area. My dream was to run the Comrades and preparations went well only to find out that you had to comply with the minimum age restriction before qualifying for an entry. Rugby then ended my running career by damaging my knees and forcing me of the road on to a bicycle where I am up to today and still enjoying the mountain biking scene.

What attracted you to the Race Director’s post with the Comrades Marathon? Is this something you’ve always wanted to do?

I was involved with the Comrades for years, first working as a volunteer performing miscellaneous functions under the city council banner, and then moving into athlete management, training and advice, bringing me into contact with athletes like Willie Motolo. This gave me insight into what is required to perform at these levels and completing The Ultimate Human Race. Nobody can be closely involved with the Comrades without becoming passionate about the race and when the position came up I pulled out all the stops to impress the board with my experience and knowledge to prove that local talent is just as good or better than the best in South Africa. The rest is history.

With the Soccer World Cup and the move of the race date, there are obviously hurdles for the race organization team to overcome. Does the CMA have any new plans still in the pipeline for 2010?

The hype around the world cup and 2010 had a effect on our entry numbers, but I believe it is comrades and the legacy of completing the 85th race that had the biggest effect in taking the Comrades marathon to the next level of being the biggest and best ultra marathon in the World. My predecessor Renee Jordaan laid a very strong foundation and this combined with the foresight of a phenomenal board of directors and management team, with years of experience made all the hurdles disappear by making the entry dates earlier and putting contingency plans into place. This allowed more time to accommodate all the runners and the associated problems. Behind the scenes we as a team are working to create the most phenomenal experience in road running to date. Our sponsors are geared and ready to dig deeper than ever to assist us in making this event memorable and the best on the international sports calendar.

A new Race Director will always have new ideas, so what do you have up your sleeve?

As mentioned I have big shoes to fill and with the strong foundation laid, I have a bit of freedom to look at various factors and one of my main aims are to amplify the experience unique to the comrades marathon. My aim is to make this one of the best organized and smoothest races to date, before building onto an already winning recipe

What is your vision for the race going forward, and how will the CMA build on the momentum generated by the hype around 2010 and the 85th running of the race?

Our international group of athletes have nearly doubled from last year meaning that the message is out and the world knows the Comrades marathon. We will be intensifying our international campaign pulling the best in the world to the ultimate human race from all corners of the world, but still keeping the Comrades Marathon, as a proudly South African event allowing athletes from all walks of life in South Africa to enter the ultimate race.

We will launch our 2011 marketing campaign in the buildup to comrades 2010 and we aim at attracting all the athletes back for a even bigger and better event in years to come.

Qualifying times

A friendly reminder to all entrants, to submit their qualifying time to the CMA offices by no later than 26 April 2010! Failure to do this will result in your entry being rejected. You will need to complete a standard marathon, 42.2km, in a maximum time of 5 hours. We will require the following details: Name and Date of Race, as well as your official finishing time. Times can be submitted from completed marathons from 24 May 2009 – 26 April 2010. (If you completed Comrades 2009, you may submit this time). Times may be e-mailed to info@comrades.com