Now that the dust has settled and Comrades runners all over the World are coming to terms with the idea of an August/early spring date for our beloved race let’s look at how some things are going to change, how much about Comrades will never quite be the same again and how some aspects of Comrades will always remain the same.

The most exciting news of course, is that we are going to have a Comrades marathon in which to participate, to enjoy watching, and to savour. After two years in the lockdown wilderness our beloved Comrades is back. I have a feeling that the 2022 Comrades marathon will be an event to remember and treasure. Many of us had begun to fear that Comrades had been dealt a mortal blow and that the two years hiatus would be terminal. Now it seems that Comrades may rise phoenix-like from the ashes stronger, brighter, and wiser than ever before, rather like the runner who emerges from a pre- race training taper strong and lean and champing at the bit to get started. Wherever I go in running circles the excitement is palpable. Running conversation turns immediately to Comrades. Runners are already making plans and counting the days. There are hundreds of runners whose Comrades dreams were cruelly interrupted, such as those who were anticipating a back-to-back medal or were eagerly waiting to receive their green numbers. These runners have August 28^th Tattooed on their hearts. But perhaps the most frustrated of all Comrades hopefuls are the novices, those brave souls who were venturing into the unknown and who were about to earn their first Comrades medals. In many cases the months of uncertainty have created extreme anger and anxiety. There are so many Comrades runners waiting like crouched sprinters to enter the race that I am concerned that the day entries are opened the entry system and computer might crash or burn out.

Understandably, given all that has happened in these last terrible months, there are pessimists who fear that we will face draconian restrictions again and that our beloved race will once again be snatched from us. I’m not an expert, I’m not a scientist, nor am I a doctor but I can read the mood out on the streets where we run, in the offices where we work, in the pubs, and businesses and restaurants and on the sports fields. Fear seems to have been replaced by anger and by a determination to bring normality back as soon as possible.

To be brutally and crudely honest people are “gatvol. “ I can’t see South Africans tolerating any backward steps or reverse gears restricting their freedoms further, even for the “dreaded “  12^th wave and the upsilon/omega variant. South Africans appear to be hankering for lives free of most restrictions and so is The Comrades marathon and all who are passionate about the great race. The Comrades has awoken from a deep sleep like ‘Rip van Winkle’, and it is here to stay.

At the outset we should all thank Elana Meyer, and everyone involved with the outstandingly well-organised Sanlam Cape Town marathon a month or so ago.  They were the barrier breakers, and the Cape Town marathon was the pathfinder. Thanks to the Cape Town marathon we can once again organise major races with thousands of runners. Thousands of runners participated and despite the pessimists’ dire warnings the marathon was not a “super-spreader event. The morning after the Cape Town marathon race It was so heartwarming to acknowledge smiling and limping runners who were proudly wearing their medals. Those were the signs and symbols that our sport is back. It helped that in the same month there were massive numbers of runners at the World’s  great City marathons Boston, London, Chicago, Rotterdam, and Paris. Now no one wants to be left behind or left out and all-over South Africa running clubs and race organisers are raising their hands up high, almost like excited school children waving their hands in the classroom, desperate to answer their school teacher’s question. “Us too please, it’s our turn. Sanity has returned.

As soon as were informed in the Comrades Marathon Association letter that the race will be run on 28^th August next year, there have been howls of protest in some quarters. (We know that change often makes people uncomfortable). Try changing a runner’s familiar training route if you want an adverse reaction to change. But the rationale for this new date is more than adequately explained in the letter.

• The Comrades race date has changed many times in the past. Unlike the Boston marathon There is NO traditional date for Comrades.
• There will be more daylight for the race when it is held in early spring. This makes life easier for exhausted runners struggling to the finish line and for volunteers trying to set up, and clean up after the race
• Despite the understandable fears expressed about the KZN heat the CMA have consulted their weather experts and daytime temperatures are only marginally warmer in August than in June. And June is not always cool and mild. The furnace-like conditions of the 2013 up run spring immediately to mind. That year hundreds of runners found themselves struggling and the medical facilities were almost overrun as Berg wind conditions wreaked havoc.

As I was writing this piece the very exciting news was announced that the Two Oceans Marathon will take place on Easter weekend (17th April). This means that it is now possible to race both classic South African ultra’s without the one jeopardising the chances of running well in the other. In the past most runners learned that it was almost impossible to race the Two Oceans in April and then recover in time to race well at the Comrades a few weeks later. Now there will be ample time to recover from the Cape Ultra and be ready to race well at Comrades.

Now, at least we have a date, and we can work towards August 28^th. I can sense the excitement on the roads, and on social media. Comrades is coming and each second that ticks past brings the start of the race ever nearer. I can also sense that there is confusion in running circles. Many runners are confused about how to approach their training and preparation for this new race date and race challenge? More information for those who would like a personalised Comrades training programme can be found at FordyceFusion

First, we must now understand that March has now become the new January and that June is the new April.  Importantly, July is now the critical cruelest month. (And not just the cruelest month because July now becomes the month where the hardest training must be completed but also the cruelest month because this hard training will have to be ground out in the dead of Winter. (Well, for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere) It will be a pleasant change for those Comrades runners in the Northern Hemisphere who can now enjoy training in their summer.  (I can still recall those Canadian runners photographs from years gone by where Comrades runners were trudging through snow drifts while bundled up with so much clothing they looked like Arctic explorers.

For South Africans there will be no sweeping stands of bright cosmos flowers beckoning at us to start our Comrades training. (Those pretty flowers will have withered away by the time the critical training phase arrives.) It will be darker and gloomier that we have ever known. Training runs will be starting and finishing in the dark. To say nothing of the cold. In some parts of the country, it will be bitterly cold, in others it will be wet and raining. Only the KwaZulu-Natal runners will enjoy milder conditions. How those Northern Hemisphere runners will snigger at us.

But some things will not change. Regrettably many runners will still make the same training mistakes they made when the Comrades was raced in June and January was really January. Hundreds of runners will start training too soon, too hard, and too fast. Forget about the coronavirus, nothing is more infectious than the runners’ “desperatelykeentitis” virus. The desire to train very hard for Comrades can be all-consuming, destroying logic and reason as it sweeps disease like through running communities.

Just as they have always done some runners will still dust off their shoes and start training hectically in January. Regrettably some have already started flogging themselves. Just the mention of the magic words “28^th August 2022” caused adrenalin levels to surge. These infected runners are the ones who are most likely to be injured or ill by August next year. At the very least they will be grossly overtrained, listless, and tired

Some will think they are being sensible and will start their major efforts in March (March will become the new January for them.) But if runners plan wisely and cautiously, they will turn their calendars almost onto their sides and understand that in fact June has now become the new March. In the pre Covid days when Comrades was run in early June, I always argued that the beginning of March was the beginning of the critical training period. That gave runners 8-10 weeks of hard training, which was more than enough time to prepare. Now June is the new March, and the same 8-10 weeks rule applies. Of course, that does not mean that runners need only start running in June. That would be foolhardy. It means that the time to start the intense, hard training, and to start grinding out the long runs, hill sessions and speedwork that accompany this hard training is about two and a half months before race day.

Logically this hard training can only be completed when it springs from a solid training base. There must be a foundation on which to build the intense training. In my better days, and that seems like decades ago now, I used to run about 100 to 120 kilometres a week throughout the year. But when the critical call to action came (March then-June now) I would rapidly increase my training load to 160-200 kilometres a week.

All that has now changed is the date of the Comrades marathon, the training principles have not changed one bit.  Southern Hemisphere runners must just understand that things might get a little tougher because of the winter training that lies ahead.

Change is a constant we are told and so the date has changed for the Comrades marathon. One thing that hasn’t changed, however is our love for the great race. Race weekend (August 2022) is going to be a special celebration.

If you are interested in a personalised training program for Comrades or any other distance please contact us at https://fordycefusion.com

My book “Winged messenger” is available from selected book stores in South Africa. Is is also available from Amazon for overseas readers