INDIA – largest ever participation worldwide for COMRADES
Over 403 runners from India which comprises over 40 female runners will be participating in the World’s oldest and largest Ultra Marathon – where a distance of 90 kilometres has to be covered in less than 12 hours to qualify for the Ultimate Human Race.
Over 84 countries participate annually in Comrades each year and this prestigious run that dates back to 1921 was initiated to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives during World War I and is a symbol of Unity and Camaraderie and now an important part of South Africa’s culture.
The 96th edition of the Comrades Run will be a “down” run starting from the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and will end 12 hours later at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.
It is a strange coincidence that the run that starts in Pietermaritzburg is also the place where Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi started his political career and it holds a great significance in the life and activism of Mahatma Gandhi and played a pivotal role in shaping his philosophy and commitment of nonviolence.
Comrades is unique because of
Challenging terrain – it includes steep hills and descents, across the scenic countryside of KwaZulu Natal province offering breathtaking views en route and tests the endurance and determination of participants
Spirit of Camaraderie – every runner is a winner irrespective of timing as runners encourage each other which fosters a sense of unity and mutual encouragement
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India, which until a decade ago was not considered to be a sporting nation has seriously evolved into a country where the largest number of entries are from for Comrades this year and the number of entries from India far exceeds the combined entries of participants from U.K and USA put together. India has the largest number of foreign entries at 403 followed by neighbouring Zimbabwe at 255 entries, at 224 , USA at 173 and Brazil at 142.
A great contribution for taking Indian runners global has been that of running clubs such as Striders who have been training marathoners since more than 17 years and train over 30000 runners across India which includes a large segment of runners from the Corporate world. Deepak Londhe, founder of Striders, says that every year we train a runner for comrades, this year is special for us because more than 400 Indian runners will take part.
The Consul General of South Africa H.E.Ms Andrea Kuhn is excited that India has the largest contingent across the world visiting South Africa to participate in Comrades .She is confident that the participation will double with the growing popularity.
