Durban - COMRADES Marathon 2020 hopefuls who have not applied have missed out as the event reached the limit of 25000 South African entries in barely three days, the fastest in Comrades history.
This means that South African entries for the 95th edition are officially closed and only foreign entries will be accepted until the quota is reached.
Entries opened on Monday and thus far, about 26000 entrants have been received.
Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) director Rowyn James said: “We have seen an unprecedented demand for entry into the Comrades Marathon. The rapid uptake of entries by our South African athletes has been phenomenal.”
However, he said entries that were postmarked October 30 would be accepted.
“We do regret that we cannot accept any further entries. As custodians of The Ultimate Human Race, we are obliged to protect the integrity of the event and the safety of our athletes,” he said.
Krishna “Preggie” Pillay did not waste any time and entered for the marathon on the day entries opened.
He said at first he had battled to get online and thought it was because the site was congested and started to get worried, but after numerous tries and depositing his entrance fee, he received an email confirming he was registered.
“I just can’t believe they’ve reached 25000 entries already,” he said.
The entry cap was increased from 25000 to 27500 entries, making the Comrades Marathon the largest single distance road race in South Africa. Of the 27500 entries, 7000 are reserved for novice entrants and 2500 international runners.
Entries for the Comrades Marathon 2019 were sold out in just six days.
The 2020 edition of the marathon will be a down run on June 14, starting at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall.