By Sherlissa Peters
In a break with tradition, the 2010 Comrades Marathon will be another down run this year.
This means there would be two runs in succession starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban.
Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) chairman Dave Dixon said the decision was in keeping with one of the most important years for South Africa, the year of the World Cup.
"The Comrades Marathon Association, like all other South African sports organisations, is looking forward with much anticipation to the World Cup," he said.
The Comrades has only been run in the same direction in consecutive years twice - both up runs from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
The first was in 1974 and 1975 for the 50th Golden Jubilee run and the second in 1987 and 1988 for the 150th anniversary celebration of the founding of Pietermaritzburg.
The marathon will be run a few days before the start of the World Cup and the CMA has positioned its 2010 race as an opportunity for runners to ride what they hope will be a wave of excitement.
Organisers are expecting enormous interest for the 85th race and are gearing up for what they describe as the biggest, most spectacular and most exciting Comrades since the millennium race in 2000.
Given the significance of 2010, everyone finishing the race will be presented with a special 85th Comrades/World Cup 2010 commemorative race medal.
As a result of the successive down runs, the CMA is also offering 2009 novices the opportunity to come back in 2010 and collect a once-off "Back-to-Back Double-Down" medal, never before offered in the race.
"In years to come, South Africans will look back on 2010 as a major landmark in the history of South Africa," Dixon said.
"The Comrades Marathon offers runners - past finishers and novices alike - the opportunity to take an active part in this historical occasion."
The number of entries this year was to have been capped at 20 000, but because of an overwhelming response from athletes who missed the deadline, the CMA board decided to reopen entries for a limited number of 2 000 additional entries.
The special entries will open on Saturday, January 30, at 9am. Entries will only be accepted at Mr Price Clothing, Sport and Home Stores countrywide - and will close as soon as the target number is reached.
This is the final intake, organisers stressed, saying no further opportunities would be created.
"This has not been an easy decision for the CMA, because we do not want to send mixed messages and signals to our runners or compromise the decision-making process," said Dixon.
"But we do have an obligation to all the Comrades athletes and CMA stakeholders to ensure that the 85th anniversary race is a true celebration," he added.
The 2010 Comrades Marathon will start outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday, May 30, and finish at Kingsmead Sahara Stadium in Durban.
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