Comrades 2018

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Comments

  • I didn't know that either. I'm not on facebook. Surely they should put it on their website!
  • Sign of the times: the info is being shared on FB before it's on the official Comrades Marathon website...
  • Wow, that's a long way off isn't it?
  • Well at least it gives me time to decide whether or not to enter for SDW100...
  • Guess who's back B)

    Thanks for the help everyone!

    Looks like a simple mistake - the 2019 thread is still awol though - trying to see if it will come back :)
  • Debra BourneDebra Bourne ✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    Hey, Lowrez! Great to have you back. Here's hoping they can reinstate the Comrades 2019 thread as well...
  • SS, Well done on that super tough race.  Comrades will be a doddle by comparison.
    and: Welcome back Lowrez.
  • I think because I am currently at only one star the 2019 thread remains unavailable - you need to have 3 to start a thread - hoping RW can fix that rather than me have to comment enough here to build up my ranking again.
  • Go for it Lowrez!!

    Terry - no races for me. Tough or otherwise. RR just did a tough one though :)
  • Sorry SS and RR, that was indeed meant for RR whom I knew had done that race (with well captured finish photo by Lowrez)- I just had some 'finger trouble' with my poor typing skills!
  • I’m most intrigued at what Lowrez posted now!
    It really was fab being in Chamonix for the week - because there are several races going on at once you can go down to the finish line pretty much any time, day or night, and cheer people over the line. Great atmosphere.
  • I've just pumped myself up to 3 stars on the joggle forum hoping the 2019 thread might come back but I can't see it - better get some kip!
  • well I certainly didn't read it all but Lowrez just posted tons of info if you want to run Lands End to John O'Groats :)

    Lowrez - why do you need 3 stars. Can you only do certain things if you have 3?
  • Hi SS - yep - you need 3 to make a thread - you start off with 1 which only allows text, then with 2 you can post links and pictures, finally with 3 you can edit the html before you post and make threads etc.

    My theory was, because they only put me back on 1 - and they were looking to up me to 3 somehow - the 2019 thread would not show until I was at 3 - so that's why I decided to bump an unrelated thread, with relevant info, not that I am planning a lejog (yet)! to become a 3 again.

    Unfortunately it has not revealed the 2019 thread - so I have re-contacted RW to ask if they can find it - or is it permanently lost? 

  • RR - tried to find the screen grab of you this morning to post again but didn't have sufficient time to track it down - will ultimately get it again - worried 2019 is entirely lost. Well done on Chamonix amazing run :)
  • Lowrez,  I just went through your posts in the JoGLE thread....just hilarious.  Gratuitous posting or often single sentence posts minutes apart over hours.....nobody left to doubt your level of commitment to a cause!

    Glad to see you back....please stop breaking the forum  :D 
  • Terry - how are you Sir?  
  • Good to hear from you JAR o:) 
  • Terry48Terry48 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    Hi JAR. Actually feeling really well, but my heart is supposedly not too happy. I've had a very stern warning from my cardiologist to avoid remotely intense effort which ups blood pressure and threatens my already advanced aortic aneurysm (she used the words 'avoiding potential catastrophe'). She, however, urges me to keep fit - training/running but at a very low level. She says surgery is a matter of 'when', rather than 'if'. For now, regular follow ups incl. another MRI in a few months.
    So, my Comrades 2019 hopes are blown away but, hey ho, I'm 'training' for the day before's park run and currently doing a grand 15 or 20 slow kms per week! (As you might see on Strava). This is all rather frustrating.

    All: Barring anything unforeseen, I still plan to be in Durban to enjoy everyone's company, Comrades, the beach and hopefully more scuba diving (Doc says scuba's ok). Apart from Cristina (Mac3's partner), are there any other potential scuba buddies among us?  The diving close to Durban is great (PADI courses or even just 'experience dives' are very reasonably priced compared to the UK).

    On the travel front, I see both BA and Virgin direct flights to Jo'burg are currently  for 'sale' next June for under £500 (about £440 plus £60 for checked baggage, if any). BA also do connections to Durban if you want.  BA will also be doing direct flights LHR to Durban but only on a few days per week, if those days fit - I've not looked at those prices. These might be of interest to some.
  • Did I correctly spy a rodent? Amazing run RR! Congratulations :)


  • No word from RW these past 2 days - I suspect all is lost on the 2019 thread, will bump them again tomorrow and try and get an answer one way or the other.
  • Do you think they'll let me run again, ever? Had no acknowledgement on this, sent about a week ago...

    Hi info,

    I just completed the perception survey and didn't get a chance to say half the things I wanted - did I miss a free format "do you want to say anything else" box? Or aren't you bothered about detailed responses?

    Anyway here is what I didn't get a chance to say...

    Coming out of Pietermaritzburg there were several sections that were simply too dark, dangerously dark to run in. In several places the runners ahead stopped dead, we literally ran into the back of each other, some fell over, some of these stalls were in the pitch dark, its only because people were shouting that others figured it out. Also in places the route funnelled down sharply from wide road to narrow road - probably the cause of the stalls - you need to get all that sorted for 2020 - its dangerous - you are lucky you got away with just disgruntled runners this year. I know you had supplemental lighting in places, that's a great idea, but coming out of pitch black into sharply lit is also a problem, the overwhelming glare from some of those lights was blinding in places, you need to get it all evened out.

    I came in late, 11:55, the last support table - Toll Gate I think - was out of water - I know it was late in the day, but that's when people need it the most - how could you run out of water?

    Was that the last support table? When you are tired and quite literally terrified of that final 12 hour cut-off your mind doesn't work right anymore - I think Toll Gate was the last support table - if it wasn't then in my fevered dash for the line I didn't see another - if it was the last, that's not enough - there are at least another 5ks to go? You need another - with water present!

    The new finish Stadium is incredibly beautiful and iconic, but that's about all in terms of practicality and atmosphere. The crowd are remote, they are only on one side of you. It just feels such an empty and characterless run for the line. 

    As an international finisher, dead on my feet from the day, you put me through hell after the finish. The number of people who couldn't find where to go is massive, I think I finally spotted a woman stood on a chair waving her arms about shouting that International people should go through a gap? It was just chaos and not easy. Then you had the International area in the stadium seating with no access at ground level? What sadist thought that one up? I had to climb all the way to the top of the stadium! No supporting rail - 5 billion steps - up and up and up and up... I could hear my friends on the other side of the daft partition you had put in all the way up the stadium shouting my name, but I couldn't see them, when I actually got to the top of the stadium I was so spent that during the happy reunion with my friends the bottom suddenly fell out of my world and I ended up on the deck - my body had just had enough - I went all dizzy, my legs gave way, I could tell it was happening so I didn't actually faint but I went down very fast because I knew I was going to keel over if I didn't, there was then a scurry of people trying to figure out if I was OK, some sugary coffee and a bite to eat sorted it all out, but I am amazed you didn't have more of that or worse.

    Why did you "shove" all the internationals into that remote location divorced from the finishing action? By the time I got there everything was over but everyone commented on how they felt so far off from what was going on. You've got a massive football field on the inside of the run-in totally unused, you could put all the finishers in there, these are the people who love Comrades, they want to feel involved with what is going on, many of them are waiting for their fiends to finish and the runners themselves want to be cheered in on that long run-in. Don't go telling me its grass and a match will be played the next day and its got to be treated with kid gloves - if a major rock band was going to play the stadium it would get covered over and be none the worse for wear the following day.

    Why haven't you asked for more free-format opinion in that survey? All I could say in relation to the above in the survey was "needs improvement" how were you going to discern the level of detail I have just written above from "needs improvement"?

    Do you want to get proper feedback?

    I've been waiting for that survey for weeks - how come its taken you this long to send it? And when it arrives you don't want any detail?

    Will I be allowed to take part after hitting send on this?

    I love this race - I loved every minute of this year's event despite my ramblings above. Here's hoping you can improve things from my comments.

  • You did indeed, Lowrez  :) . It’s a fantastic event, the whole week. If anyone’s thinking of doing any of the UTMB races, I very much recommend it, and sticking around to watch the other races when you’re there, it’s a real festival of running.
  • Yay! Glad my Baluchistan pygmy jerboa detector was spot on :) Loved the flag flowing cross over the line!

  • Very frank opinion there lowrez, all correct mind you. See if anything happens from it. I think the local SA clubs were also very disappointed with the finish layout. They have 2 years to improve it....

    Glad you had an ace time at UTMB RR :)
  • RW update re the 2019 thread - they are working on normal service being resumed asap - they think they can get it back...
  • Hi Terry,  very happy to hear you're in a good state of being.  I'm sure its very frustrating not being able to try and make 2019 but you were expecting that could be the case.   Don't stop running and hopefully with time to recover you'll get your crack at Comrades.     

    I'll definitely be looking at those LHR to Durbs flights for next year.  Scary to see BA lost so many credit card details....I'm going to be checking which card I used for this year and cancel it. 



  • Hey Lowrez,  they won't ban you based on that - Saffas aren't especially well known for beating around the bush.  However don't anticipate a rapid reply, that's not normally how we roll in Durban, Terry would call it Natal Fever.  

    I think the lighting issue you mentioned in PMB was in my case because it was facing the runners directly in the face,  if it was facing down at the road or even better facing away towards the onward path it would have been very useful being so bright.  

    I liked the stadium finish but the stair climb issue is difficult to fix unless they agree to send the local runners outside of the back of the stadium and adjacent to road we come from the old venue.  This would at least leave the stands empty for spectators and any runners who do want to come back inside and watch (no doubt many will want to - no matter how sore it is) . 

    I think the Internationals should be left in the centre on the field, many have spent a lot of money and have done so to enjoy the full experience of the day before heading to back home to evangelise about Comrades.  Could expand that to Elites, Greens and maybe even certain Vets.

  • Looks awsome RR,  what an event to take part in.
  • I agree with most of what lowrez wrote, but lets not forget that even at Kingsmead the actual finish could not be seen from the international area.   We need to let go of any notion that the new stadium will not be used again.  It will, and they will not use the center area.  They have had a lot of very positive feedback on this year's finish, despite the stuff we see on Facebook or forums like this.  For me, the biggest loss is the lack of intimacy between runner and spectator int he stadium. Gone is that "in your face" experience as you round the stadium.  Gone is that personal connection with your runner (as a spectator) as they finish.   Incidentally, still under consideration is a street finish - like the big city marathons.
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