Not same excitement at this Comrades as before

AS RELATIVE normalcy prevails along the hallowed Comrades Marathon route between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, muscles will continue to spasm for at least a few more days.

More than 19600 runners entered this year’s event but a relatively disappointing 11374 managed to finish the race.

After the 85th running of the Comrades last year just before the World Cup , it was no surprise that events were a little more sombre this year.

It might also be because of the 86th version being an up-run, from Durban to Maritzburg, that many thought they would give it a skip and rather tackle next year’s down-run.

Apparently legs being morphed into jelly on the way down to Durban sound a sight more appealing than heaving a tired body up the N1 through the M13 and eventually along the R103 on the up-run.

Whichever way you look at it, this year’s version of what is often billed as the world’s top ultra- distance marathon did not offer the same sort of excitement as in previous years.

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