Scores of irate athletes are calling on the Comrades Marathon organisers to refund them their entrance fee because officials seemingly confused the cut-off time at the Winston Park off-ramp outside Durban.
The Mercury was inundated with calls from runners yesterday who said they were prevented from running any further at Winston Park - the three-quarter mark - when they believed they still had 30 minutes to go until the cut-off gun was fired.
However, the marathon’s course manager, Rowyn James, has denied there was a mix-up and said officials had followed the rules. He said entrants had received communication by e-mail, SMS and in the official media stating that the cut-off time at Winston Park was 1.30pm, or eight hours after the start.
However, James said a technical team had reviewed all the cut-off point times and agreed that an additional 10-minute allowance was necessary at the halfway mark (Drummond) and Winston Park, which took it to 1.40pm, or eight hours 10 minutes from the start.
Fathima Lockhat, who was running her first Comrades, said a booklet in her official race pack handed out at the Comrades exhibition on May 26 reflected the cut-off time at Winston Park as 2pm. The Mercury has seen the booklet and can confirm that the time printed was 2pm.
Confused
“I was running with my father-in-law who has run 18 Comrades. We planned according to what we believed was the official booklet as it was in the packs handed to us by officials at the Comrades Experience expo,” she said. Another entrant, who did not want to be named, said the announcer at Winston Park was also confused as to when the cut-off was.
“I arrived at the point at 1.25pm. The official said five minutes to cut-off. Then he said the cut-off was at 1.45pm. Then he said it was 2pm. The next thing the gun went off at 1.30pm,” she said.
James said officials reported that they shut the road at 1.40pm when the cut-off gun was fired.
A runner who called in agreed that the initial communication he received from the organisers reflected 1.30pm as the cut-off time.
“But then it was announced that we had to get to that point at eight hours and 11 minutes. I got there in eight hours and six minutes, or 1.36pm. I thought I was well within the time.”
The runners who called The Mercury said when the gun went off at 1.30pm they were ‘completely stunned’.
Lockhat said it was hugely disappointing for Muslim runners. “We will not be able to run for the next three years as the marathon clashes with Ramadaan,” she said.
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