Comrades Marathon

The Comrades Marathon has grown over the last century from a humble start when only a handful of runners finished to its current status as the world’s greatest ultra-marathon.

This fascinating story tells the tale of its glories, its disappointments, its triumphs and tragedies, beginning with the early heroes, then covering the 1970s, when official permission was finally granted for women and people of colour to run, the 1980s and nine-times winner Bruce Fordyce, democratic South Africa in the 1990s, the domination of the Russians in the early 2000s, and the ascent of black runners in the 2010s. It brings us right up to date with the last race run, in 2022, following the two-year closure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.