COMRADES MARATHON 2011 – Draw 19617 Entries

The 2011 Comrades Marathon to be run on Sunday, 29 May, from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, is set to exceed all expectations. With runners of all calibers and even more international competitors, the race will be an exciting day of endurance and drama and it will showcase the human body and spirit like no other sporting event.

Entries poured in continuously from all corners of the globe resulting in the total of 19,617 runners who will take to the tarmac for the 2011 Comrades Marathon. Made up of 78 percent male and 22 percent female runners, the 86th Ultimate Human Race is set to be one of the best ‘up-runs' ever.

There has been an increase of foreign runners to this year race. The largest participating countries include; United Kingdom with 253 runners, the United States of America with 179 runners, Australia with 152 runners and Brazil with 115 runners.

The ‘up-run' has also attracted 4882 novices who will experience the Comrades Marathon for the first time. To prepare these newcomers for The Ultimate Human Race, the Comrades Marathon in conjunction with Bonitas Medical Fund joined forces and held novice seminars throughout the country to enlighten them about the dos and don'ts of the event.

For the first time in the history of the Comrades Marathon an elite team of Ethiopian runners have 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 brilliant 6:09:24 finish. We might see that record being smashed yet again – only time will tell.

In the men's race Stephen Muzhingi may have to give up his coveted title. This year runners such as Jaroslaw Janicki, Ludwick Mamabolo, Lucas Nonyana, Oleg Kharitonov; Bongmusa Mthembu, Peter Molapo, Fusi Nhlapo and Peter Muthubi are all hungry for first place.

Peter Proctor, the Chairman of the CMA said the race had a very successful year in 2010. "After the excitement of the FIFA World Soccer Cup last year, the Comrades Marathon also celebrated a great year. However, coming off the back of that, it is exciting to see that the 2011 race attracted 19617 entrants. This and the Comrades Marathon ability to attract runners from all walks of life firmly attests to its domination of the SA road running calendar," he added.

Although numbers are finalized, we urge all entrants to confirm their club and qualifying details by no later than 6 May 2011. These details can be submitted either via email to info@comrades.com or by contacting the Comrades office. Failure to submit these details will result in the rejection of the incomplete entry.

Statement Released Thursday, 31 March 2011