Comrades reaches its 100th edition in 2027 and sends us approximately 91 km down from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. The long descents shred quads and the 12-hour cutoff is enforced to the second. General entries use a September 9–22 ballot, the international fee is R4,500, and every entrant must post a sub-5:00 marathon by May 3. We would not mistake the Down Run for the easy version.
Better info coming — we're still verifying 4 fields on this race.
Why we'd pick it
- The 1800 m climbing estimate is useful for planning, not a verified pacing number.
- The ballot is closed for this edition.
- Race day usually sits 7–21.8°C, about 8% chance of rain.
The course
The centenary edition is a Down Run of roughly 89 km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. The route reverses the named Big Five hills, including Polly Shortts and Inchanga, but downhill does not mean easy: repeated descents batter quads long before the coast. The stored 1,800-meter gain remains an estimate until the final 2027 measurement is published, and the 12-hour cutoff is still the hard limit.
Difficulty and PR scores
Difficulty is the course and the conditions. The PR score is a separate read on a fast clock. Missing inputs are dropped and the other weights are rescaled. The method, with the weights.
- Difficulty
- 41 / 100
- PR / BQ friendliness
- Not scored
Weight used: 60%. Need 40% before we print a number.
Weight used: 30%. Need 45% before we print a number.
Weather median for 2011–2025, race date ±7 days, 225 days, at Start (Pietermaritzburg / down run). Grid elevation 647 m.
No cited BQ rate for this race.
| Input | 0–100 | What went in |
|---|---|---|
| G Gain | — | No trusted gain per km. Uncertain stored gain is not used. |
| A Altitude | 20.4 | 647 m. 0 below 300 m, 100 at 2000 m. Source: open-meteo-grid. |
| H Heat | 75 | High 21.8°C, dew point 5.7°C. The hotter of the two bands is used. |
| W Wind | 15 | 2.09 m/s median. Bands: under 3 → 15, under 5 → 40, under 8 → 70, else 100. |
| S Surface | 15 | road. Road 15, mixed 45, gravel 70, trail 90. |
| T Cool temps | 25 | 100 minus heat (75). |
| B BQ evidence | — | No cited BQ rate. |
Stays around the race
These are area searches near the published start, finish, and course pins. TripRace may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. We are not naming a hotel.
- Near the start — Durban start area
- Near the finish — Pietermaritzburg finish
