The 2025 Comrades Marathon down run will be the 98th marathon of this kind nick named ‘the ultimate human race’. It will be the 49th down run on the 8th of June2025.
Comrades marathon is the largest ultramarathon in South Africa attracting thousands of people all over the world. It covers a distance of about 90km long with slight variation each year due to choices in route.
The 2024 comrades marathon had more than 20 000 people from all over the world composed of professional runners and social runners. 70 countries had representatives in the comrades marathon race. It was an up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
The race alternate up runs with down runs. An up run is from lower area Durban city at sea level and finishes in high ground Pietermaritzburg which is about 676 meters above sea level. A down run is vice versa, it starts high up in Pietermaritzburg and finishes at sea level Durban city.
2025 Comrades Marathon route
The comrades marathon 2025 edition will be a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban city.
Most parts of the route especially the second half (from 45km onwards) will be downhill all the way to Durban.
The total distance for the marathon will be 89.98km as per confirmed report. This is a well-organized race with enough support along the route, I’m talking about multiple water stations that contain all sorts of athletes’ needs.
On the water stations you will find water, sports and hydration drinks, fruits such as oranges and Bananas because remember, the distance is very long so water alone is not enough. In some water stations there are potato mash and other kinds of food you can get as you run.
On the health and safety side, the road will be closed (all lanes) for motorists the whole day. This means that no car will pose threat on the road for runners the whole way. There are health care personnel and physiotherapists that are available in some water stations for a quick leg massage and other health needs.
Entries and Qualifying
In order to qualify for entry comrades marathon you must be able to complete a standard 42.2km marathon in 4 hours 50 minutes or 56km ultramarathon in 6 hours 45 minutes. Entries online opened on 13 November 2024 to 9 December 2024.
After entering you need to submit a 42.2km marathon or ultramarathon time you did before 5 May 2025 in order to be allowed to start the race. Qualifying time submission is made after running a marathon or ultramarathon that meet the standard to be a qualifying race between 10 June 2024 and 05 May 2025.
This year there are 24 000 runners that have bought tickets and entered the race, which is the cap they have put for this year. This essentially means 2025 comrades marathon is sold out! The initial cap was placed at 23 000 but people flooded the site within 4 weeks of opening. An additional 1000 more entries was added but that was also quickly sold out.
For South Africans entry ticket cost R1200 which can be paid online in full or in small amounts until 28 February 2025. For rest of African continent runners, entry fee for comrades marathon is R 2000 while for International runners it’s R4 500 (values are in South African Rands). These fees are the same as that of 2024 edition.
Prize Money, Medals and Sponsors
Comrades marathon race is a well-organized race managed by Comrades Marathon Association (CMA). Millions of Rands are raised each year during the event. Most of the money comes from sponsors while others come from donations. There are charities that people and clubs run for which raise money as well. All this means there is huge amount of money that winners walk away with.
Prize money is not only for the person that got to the finish line first, but top ten finishers for both genders get money depending on the position they finished on.
Additional bonuses from different sponsors increase the money that athletes walk away with. The following table lists prize money for the top ten finishers of comrades marathon.
| Position | Prize (Men) | Prize (Women) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R 874 000 | R 874 000 |
| 2 | R 438 000 | R 438 000 |
| 3 | R 315 000 | R 315 000 |
| 4 | R 158 000 | R 158 000 |
| 5 | R 123 000 | R 123 000 |
| 6 | R 71 000 | R 71 000 |
| 7 | R 62 000 | R 62 000 |
| 8 | R 54 000 | R 54 000 |
| 9 | R 45 000 | R 45 000 |
| 10 | R 36 000 | R 36 000 |
Extra bonuses
Different sponsors have made running comrades marathon much more lucrative for elite runners with bonuses for accomplishing certain achievements in the race.
For example, Cell C® has a R100 000 money to give to the person with the fastest average time (R50 000 for male and R50 000 for a female).
Department of Sports in KZN will give the first KZN athlete to cross the finish line R 70 000 Rands.
Current main sponsors of comrades marathon are Cell C®, Mr Price®, Thirsti®, and KZN depart of Sports, arts & culture among others. There are many more that I did not mention on this list.
My point is this race is big and fun to run! It tests your limit and you are generally honoured in South Africa if you can run and finish comrades marathon.
Medals for Comrades Marathon
All finishers of comrades marathon get a medal. There are different medals for different times that runners take to finish. Each medal has a rich history behind it, usually honouring certain people for achievements related to the race.
The table below shows names of the medals, material they’re made of and finishing time in order to get it.
| Medal | Finishing time |
|---|---|
| Gold | First 10 men and women |
| Wally Hayward ( for men only) | Position 11 to sub 6h00 |
| Isavel-Roche Kelly (for women only) | Position 11 to sub 7h30 |
| Silver (men only) | 6h00 to sub 7h00 |
| Bill Rowan | 7h30 to sub 9h00 |
| Robert Mtshali | 9h00 to sub 10h00 |
| Bronze | 10h00 to sub 11h00 |
| Vic Clapman | 11h00 to sub 12 00 |
Summary
Details for 2025 comrades marathon race are as follows:
Date: Sunday 8 June 2025
Distance: 89.98km.
Start point: Pietermaritzburg City hall
Starting time: 05h45 am (first Batch)
Finish Point: Moses Mabhida stadium
Prize Money: R 874 000 (about $ 48 306.85).
Online registration closing date: 9 December 2024
For more details visit comrade marathon official website. For upcoming races here in South Africa, Check our races page.
