Comrades Marathon 2011 . The final days – COMRADES MARATHON ROUTE – TIME LIMITS AND CUT-OFF POINTS

"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
– Emil Zatopek, Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

The countdown to the 2011 Comrades Marathon is now into the final days. There is a hive of activity at Comrades House where everyone is hard at work finalizing all the logistics and operational plans for the world's greatest ultra marathon.

2011 COMRADES MARATHON ROUTE

The route for this year's race is as indicated on the Bonitas Route Map (follow link further down) and follows a similar route to the 2008 Up run. Certain access roads will be closed off for the general public because it will be used as escape routes for emergency vehicles. The route will be closed to the public and no vehicles will be permitted to move along the route while there are still athletes on route. The official race distance is 86.96kms. Click here to view the 2011 Comrades Marathon Route

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TIME LIMITS AND CUT-OFF POINTS

If you do not reach the following cut-off points within the stipulated times, you will be asked to retire from the race and taken off the road: YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE WITH THE RACE. At this point BONITAS RESCUE BUSES will pick you up and transport you to the finish. Athletes who fail to comply with the instructions from the race officials will be subject to disciplinary action and may be banned from participation in future Comrades Marathons.

The various cut-off points will be clearly sign-posted and do not relate to the location of any timing mats or other markers along the route.

Winston Park		4:40:00 (10h10)
Drummond (halfway)		6:10:00 (11h40)
N3 Subway – Cato Ridge		9:00:00 (14h30)
Umlaas Road Interchange		10:00:00 (15h30)
Top of Polly Shortts		11:20:00 (16h50)

For example: the cut-off at Winston Park is 4 hours and 40 minutes into the race and takes place at 10h10.

Please note that these times and positions are subject to change should the organisers deem it necessary. The final cut-off is after 12 hours (17h30) and if you have not reached the Finish by then you will be taken off the route by the technical officials (referees).

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CHAMPIONCHIP TIMING SYSTEM

Every runner must own a ChampionChip. Yellow, blue and green chips are permitted. A runner who loses or misplace his/her chip must purchase a replacement chip from ChampionChip. ChampionChip will have a stand at the Bonitas Comrades Expo and at the Pietermaritzburg Registration Area located at Comrades House, where chips can be purchased.

Please ensure that the chip is firmly laced onto your shoe and that you use the chip which you have registered for the event. The chip may be attached to either the left or right shoe. ONLY ONE CHIP PER ATHLETE IS TO BE WORN. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RUN WITH ANOTHER ATHLETE'S CHIP AS THIS WILL LEAD TO YOUR DISQUALIFICATION.

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TRACK YOUR RUNNER

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AMABEADIBEADI WIN-A-CAR

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HOW TO BEAT THE BUGS

by Lindsey Parry – Comrades Coach

We have just come off our biggest training block and are now in full flight with the taper. One of the down sides to tapering is that it is also associated with our biggest threat: picking up bugs and getting ill. Firstly, because during our longest week and longest run, our bodies are under major stress and immune function is compromised, secondly because when we taper, our bodies are working hard to repair all the damage we have done and again, this reduces immune function and lastly, because it is winter there are many bugs around waiting to invade our system.

Follow the following steps to avoid getting ill just before Comrades:

• Ensure you get an extra 1-2 hours of sleep per night; this will enhance recovery and aid your body's immune function.
• Make sure you take vitamin C every day.
• With only two weeks to go your friends will forgive your anti social behavior so avoid public engagements as far as possible.
• Keep your hands clean with wet wipes, most germs pass into our bodies from our hands to our mouth/nose.
• On the flight to Durban, wipe down your arm rest and anything you will touch during the flight.
• Lastly, don't change your diet. You will be tempted to focus on carbs or worse do a carb starvation followed by massive carb loading. This again will place the system under stress and compromise immune function.
• Enjoy the reduced mileage and the excuse to sleep in!

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REFRESHMENTS ALONG THE COMRADES ROUTE

Only Pepsi Cola, Mountain Dew and Mirinda carbonated beverages will be served on race day and distributed through the 48 refreshment stations along the Comrades Marathon route. Start drinking Pepsi in your build-up to the race. Following requests from runners, the Comrades Marathon will provide solid food items such as potatoes, chocolates, biscuits, Energellies and fruit a lot sooner in the race. Click here to view the full refreshments available along the Comrades Marathon route.

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BONITAS COMRADES EXPO

The Bonitas Comrades Expo is set to be the biggest ever and has been recognised as the best Sport, Leisure and Wellness Expo in South Africa. The Expo boasts countless retailers which attracts close to 60 000 visitors every year.

This year, among other things, John Cameron-Dow's new book 'Comrades Marathon – The Ultimate Human Race' will be on sale at the Expo. The book is endorsed by the Comrades Marathon Association and is a "must have" for former and future participants of this amazing race. It includes various trophy winners, a comprehensive description of the race course and showcases some of the greatest legends in Comrades History. The author will be available to sign copies of the book during the Bonitas Comrades Expo – the book is selling for R280.00. Don't miss out on the opportunity to catch some of the SA IDOLS contestants and see them perform live at the 2011 Bonitas Comrades Expo. Former Idols Graeme Watkins, Bongi Mthombeni, Boki Ntsime and Adeline Mocke will be the musical superstars who will perform at the Bonitas Comrades Expo and on Race Day in support of the Pink Drive Charity. It will be the first time these musicians will be performing together in what is promising to be a spectacular addition to this year's Comrades Marathon.

In addition to their Expo performance they will also sing the National Anthem at the start of the race, followed by another live show in the afternoon on race day – Sunday, 29 May 2011.

Catch the Idols on the following dates and times:

• Friday, 27 May at 17h00 – 18h00 at the Bonitas Comrades Expo
• Saturday, 28 May at 12h00 – 13h00 at the Bonitas Comrades Expo
• Sunday, 29 May at 17h30 at the finish

There will also be a Church Service on Saturday 28th May at the Expo Registration at 10.30am in Durban. It will take place in the Mystrals Room, situated near the Reebok Shop. Interested runners are invited to attend the service.

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CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK

The Mr Price Heroes Facebook application allows the Mr Price Heroes site to update users' Facebook news pages with their race results as soon as the results are uploaded. Thus, as and when the runner crosses the ChampionChip mats along the route a message will be posted to the runners' own facebook page stating that the runners has crossed the mat at that time.

Should you have a Facebook page and wish for these updates to appear on your page, please follow the following the links below: If you are not a Mr Price Heroes member, please visit www.mrpriceheroes.co.za and create a profile. Once your profile has been created, you can then follow the steps below to authorize the applicaiton. If you are already a Mr Price Heroes member, please follow the steps below: You have to allow the Mr Price Heroes Facebook application access to your profile. To allow access, you must go to the profile page, click on the Facebook tab, and click the Connect button. Once authorized, you can customize the messages that will appear on Facebook by selecting your publishing options.

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Yours in running,

Comrades Marathon Association

Tel: +27(0)33 897 8650
Fax: +27(0)33 897 8660
info@comrades.com
www.comrades.com