Durban – Msunduzi Municipality together with the Comrades Marathon Association conducted a route inspection on Tuesday to ensure runners are safe ahead of the 2022 Comrades Marathon.
The marathon, which is making a return after it was last held in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will take place on August 28.
Msunduzi deputy mayor Mxolisi Mkhize said apart from a few pockets of potholes which need to be repaired, the city is ready to host the Comrades Marathon down run.
He said the final assessment was conducted to check what repairs are still outstanding.
“We are giving an assurance to all the runners and the residents of Pietermaritzburg to rest assured that indeed we will be able to meet all the deadlines, which we have set for ourselves,” said Mkhize.
The deputy mayor said by Friday, all the identified problems would be fixed.
He said all the street lights were in full operation while the Parks and Recreation department will be doing the final touch ups to make sure everything is ready.
This includes the allocation of waste pickers who will be making sure that litter is collected after the race, he added.
“We are so excited as the city. I am confident that all the departments are 100% ready, our traffic department, who will be leading the race from Pietermaritzburg, up until Cato Ridge, are ready,” said Mkhize.
Mqondisi Ngcobo, chairperson of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA), said the safety of runners is a priority.
Ngcobo said the team conducting the route inspection made sure all the boxes were ticked from electrical, roads and surfaces to Parks and Recreation to ensure that all our roads are managed correctly and were ready for the runners.
He said the city and the association have agreed on the timelines and turnaround time frames for outstanding repairs.
“We are excited and we wish to thank and appreciate our municipality for coming on board to ensure that they give us all the support and all the necessary infrastructure to ensure that we have a world class race on the day.”
“By the time all our runners, from international runners to our runners from other provinces and our locals descend next week, we have a city that is ready to host,” said Ngcobo.
The Mercury reported earlier this month that the official distance of this year's race would be 89.885km, which is 299m shorter than the last down run in 2018.
The CMA said that after the official route course measurement conducted by its Route Portfolio, Road Traffic Inspectorate, Msunduzi Traffic and the Department of Transport, race director Rowyn James had confirmed that the official race distance of this year’s Comrades Marathon Down Run was 89.885km.
“This means that Comrades runners will effectively run 299m shorter than they did in the 2018 Down Run, mainly as a result of the current roadworks.”
The race will start at Pietermaritzburg City Hall and will finish at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
