Comrades Marathon to welcome 20.5K runners to shorter-than-usual ('only' 85.9km) race

Africa Melane speaks to Mike Finch, Editor at Runners World.

The 97th edition of the Comrades Marathon - known as 'The Ultimate Human Race' - will start on Sunday (9 June) at Durban City Hall, progressing to Pietermaritzburg. 

About 20 500 participants are expected to 'up run' the 85.91-kilometer race. 

The route is shorter this year due to roadworks, but the prize money is 50% more than last year, making the Comrades Marathon the richest race in Africa.

Purses for the top 10 finishers (men and women) remain the same, with the winner getting R825 000.

The 10th racer to cross the line gets R33 000.

The Comrades Expo is currently underway to help runners prepare for race day.

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Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.