Durban -- The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Board has responded to concerns raised by runners at the 96th running of the race, in June, which among others included issues with the start sound, route changes, cut-off times and the finish venue layout.
The CMA said that it had noted concerns raised regarding the start sound.
“The sound system failure had a knock-on effect of the ‘synced’ soundtracks not being audible which in turn led to a time lapse in the firing of the official start gun in relation to when the canon went off.
“A debrief session with the service provider whom we had used for the past three editions of the race has already taken place to identify what transpired and how to avoid a repeat in future years.”
The CMA added that the same service provider had also provided the finish venue sound system where no problems were experienced.
“Going forward, the service provider is introducing a secondary/backup system that can be switched over, should the need arise.”
It added that for the next Down Run, alternative routes out of Pietermaritzburg will be investigated.
Regarding the cut-off times, the CMA said it wanted to “categorically and unreservedly apologise” to those runners who were affected by the cut-off times at Pinetown and Sherwood.
“To mitigate this going forward, the services of relevant professionals will be called upon to assist the technical team in determining a fair and just time for the cut-off at each point based on the official race distance.
“The CMA apologises for the incorrect cut-off times being featured on the official Comrades Marathon App which had not been updated from the previous year.”
It added that it would reach out to those runners who were potentially affected by the cut-off discrepancies.
In addition, it said it would consult with various professionals to help redesign the finish venue layout for the next down run to ensure an effective “easy flow” of runners and supporters; and alleviate congestion concerns raised, particularly in the late afternoon.
CMA chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo, said concerns had also been raised regarding safety at the start, T-shirt sizes, medals and littering.
“The CMA has noted these and is working with the relevant sub-committees through the debriefs to adequately address those, namely start safety concerns, T-shirt sizes, medals, littering etc.
“The main aim of the CMA is to stage a safe and enjoyable ultra-marathon and live up to its reputation as The Ultimate Human Race. The concerns raised by our athletes are important in this regard.”