Comrades doubles prize money

The Comrades Marathon Association has almost doubled its prize purse to R4.31m, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The men’s and women’s winners of the June 11 ultra-marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban will pocket R500,000, up from R260,000, the runners-up will be paid R250,000 and the 10th-placed finishers will get R20,000. 

The CMA said the move demonstrated its commitment to “restore the prize money back to the levels before the Covid-19 pandemic”.

A R500,000 bonus would also be paid to anyone breaking the Down Run best times — David Gatebe’s 5 hr 18 min 19 sec and Frith van der Merwe’s 5:54:43 from 1989.

The first South African across the line would get R200,000 and the first runner from KwaZulu-Natal would be paid R60,000.