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Comrades 2017
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I'm in
I'm in as well.
welp! that's me entered!
I had 4th June free so thought it rude not so
Quick question becca, thinking of going via dubai this time and was wondering what a good price for the tickets would be. Never looked at those prices before so don't know what's good or bad. thanks. Hope training going good.
just realisd that as well as being able to do Durban parkrun the day before./ the following saturday there is a parkrun just a few miles from where our night accommodation is for the friday night....
That's me signed up, and booked in to the Belaire Suites. Flights can wait for a bit. Marty - I think I paid about ??500 via Dubai two years ago, but it's not a lot of fun hanging around the airport in the middle of the night so I'm going to pay a bit more to go via Joburg.
I've tended to pay around £600, I think. I need to hold off booking until I know when I need to be in Mauritius, before or after Comrades. I've never minded the wait in Dubai. There are normally other Comrades runners to chat to and the process of moving from one terminal to another takes some time. I've even had a nap there. All worth it to avoid OR Tambo Airport,
Hi! I have entered the 2017 race and am now trying to work out the logistics of travel, accommodation etc!! Would really appreciate any thoughts on:
How safe is Durban if you are travelling on your own? What are the best areas to book a hotel in?
or, is it worth booking with a tour to sort the logistics? Any recomendations for good companies?
thanks in advance!!
It's fine as a solo traveller during Comrades, as there are lots of others doing the same things. As with any big city you need to be sensible, though. Good places to stay are the Hilton and City Lodge and the coastal hotels like Belaire Suites.
I've never used a tour company but another regular Comrades runner is a happy customer of Sports Tours.
Welcome aboard Matt. You will have a great time between now and the 4th June.
Echo becca's comments. I have traveled alone the last few times and have felt perfectly safe. The hotels all around the Hilton and beachfront are full of runners so you are never short of someone to chat to if you want. But the usual precautions like not going at night and not walking down strange empty streets still apply just like any big city really. When we get closer to raceday, lots of lists will start appearing with hotels and flights and you will be guaranteed to see Comrades runners on yours, whichever it is.
Maybe catch you at a race before Durban as well somewhere.
Hi Marty and Becca. Thanks for the advice, really useful!! I've just booked the Belaires Suites hotel on the beach front. Maybe catch you at the expo or park run before the race.
Thanks Marty and RR
- I learned a lot on the run - I don't think I've got it completely out of the system because of the way it ultimately went. I'd imagined myself doing a much better time... I'll have a look for what else is out there. Big concluding news is I made the £2k charity target I set myself and the company I work for have doubled it 
big thanks to those who made that happen 
And so to Comrades - wonderful to see you pitch in Dannirr - that is going to be major bragging rights - MDS and Comrades just weeks apart
I have some shin splints I want clear of before I sign up - direct result of LLCR130, not had this pain before - seeing physio Thursday and hoping for a simple prescription that says "rest".
Hi Mr Zuvai and Matt
what are you looking to achieve at Comrades - I'm just an also-ran get-over-the-line kinda runner 
Cheers for the welcome lowrez!
This will be a bit of a step into the unknown for me. I have run 8 marathons, mostly in the 3.20 - 3.30 range. and have really loved the shift onto ironman racing, with 4 complete.
Growing up in Africa the Comrades was always a big deal - all my athletics coaches at school ran comrades and it really is an iconic race. For me this is all about fulfilling something I have wanted to do since I was a child.
My biggest challenge is going to be the mental side of the training. I've loved the training for IM as you can vary what you're doing to keep it fresh. My last 2 marathons have been a bit of a struggle mentally when I've got 14 weeks into an 18 week programme and the last thing you want to is go running - im going to have to figure out out to log the big weeks and still keep enthusiastic about running.
My current plan is to run 4 times a week between now until December, but with no pressure on time or distance, the only priority is getting out an on my feet 4 times a week, getting that consistency going and really laying down a solid base. I ran 14 miles reasonably comfortably yesterday, and will look to build on that longer run as the year progresses
In December I will do the required qualification the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon, and then from there look to build in the new year
what am i looking to achieve at Comrades? Finish and enjoy (as much as one can enjoy such madness)
There might be at least on Comrades veterans at the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon this year. Look out for the cap if she runs
All signed up.
Thanks for all the travel tips. About to make use of those.
I wont be joining this year but wanted to share some travel tips etc. I flew with Emirates and I didnt find the journey bad at all (disclaimer, i have 2 young kids and they werent with me so sitting still, watching films felt like a treat). I chose Emirates as they had a refund policy. From memory, i paid about 650 but would have got about 400 back if i had cancelled. I stayed in the Hilton which was lovely but more pricey than others which also looked good. The Hilton is nice for a treat though as lots of the events are based there and it is a really nice hotel.
I did Portsmouth Coastal marathon as my qualifier and I found it quite hard. Parts of it were quite muddy and the headwind was harsh on the return. That said, it was nice to get the qualification out of the way so I could concentrate on training from Jan.
PG3! Back-to back! Baaack-tooo-baaack!
I too did Emirates via Dubai - I fly from Manchester and they go direct so it cuts out a London shuttle and more transits and waiting - and I stayed at the Hilton, ultra (snigger) convenient for the expo and its a nice place.
Mr Zuvai - sounds like you are well on course with training
I've only watched the first few seconds of this so far, hope the hilariousness continues all the way through: Ultra Runner vs Iron Man
haha - we've all heard tools say all those things without a hint of irony! particularly triathletes - we can be a pretentious bunch!
Can I ask a moron question; how does everyone here put together a training plan for Comrades?
for a marathon planing I tend to start with the P&D 55 and then plug in the other elements of my training, taking out other bits ending a franken-plan that suits what I am doing.
Are there any comrades specific training plans that I should start with?
Lindsey Parry is the official Comrades coach, you can even sign up for personal attention from him! His published schedules are here.
On my first attempt I'd simply been a marathon runner following one of Hal Higdon's advanced schedules and stayed with that (although I was nursing various issues and had taken out all the speed work). I peaked at a very slow long run of 28 miles and finished the up-run in a very comfortable 11:52. There are a lot more accomplished and speedier runners on the forum that can advise in advance of my low key approach
Indeed, I would start with one of the plans that are on the official Comrades site, as lowrez has linked, different plans for different medals. Read the introductions and see which plan it suggests for a person with your typical HM/marathon time. When I first looked at these, one of the things I found odd was that some of it is directed at people who have never yet run a marathon yet but there are many such people who do Comrades.
looked at those schedules.... they use the word jog and walk....no running involved at all
i think i will stick to the ultraladies running plans i have used in the past and just adapt the 50 miler one
seren - that's just an example of what I was saying above. Those plans, certainly the Finishers and Bronze ones, are designed to include people who aren't presently regular runners. If you look at the Bill Rowan one it's all running.
@ Lowrez "I'm just an also-ran get-over-the-line kinda runner". That gave me a chuckle as I might have added "skin of your teeth" for this year's epic encounter!
I'm in for 2017, entries just cleared 4,800.
Some talk of the Portsmouth Coastal earlier. PG3 mentioned last year's race and I was there too. Wet, windy, cold and although flat it's not a fast course. Second half was tough into the wind. If this is being used for qualification just be aware of some time adjustment compared with a flat/city/tarmac course, particularly if you are shooting for a starting pen. I missed my target by 3 minutes, but improved at subsequent races in February and April. I don't intend to run it this year but my qualification effort will be in October. I am planning to do the Winter Tanners again for a long slow training run in January but that's on off-road 20/30 miler.
I followed Coach Parry's schedule and will do so again. You can find videos on You Tube and lots of Podcasts to download for advice too. Some on this forum have had personal training programmes with him. I had the chance to meet him at this year's Expo which was a highlight for me. Also a good idea to watch the 2015 Up Run coverage which is on YT. Comrades legend Bruce Fordyce gives plenty of valuable advice.
I'm planning on doing the Winter Tanners 20, Mac. Might see you there.
Similar experience for me with Portsmouth Coastal. Nice event, flat and I was on course for my first sub 4 when I did it a couple of years ago. Then came the headwind.
I was also looking at the training plans but other than a couple of marathons and a 50/55k run theres nothing over 3.5 hours. It seems a little light to me, especially if you have walk breaks too. I'm doing that now for marathon training
the Bill Owen one mentions training paces for a 3:30 marathon.so would presume you are going to do a lot more miles in 3.5 hours than at my pace
I seem to be in the middle of the plans a regular runner but one who is slow
It's funny that the advice is no more than 50km to 55km but that's what I am going to follow this year. In previous years I've done 40m, 50m, 55m and 45 mile races prior to Comrades but, in hindsight, I'm not sure that any benefit from them is going to be outweighed by impact on the body and recovery time. I figured that, as I don't do more than 22 or 23 miles in training for a marathon, as the benefit of such runs is outweighed by impact on the body, this made sense. We shall see.