Dijana and Flying Dutchman line up for Comrades supremacy

Thousands register for the Ultimate Human Race

- By Kgomotso Mokoena

That time of the year has arrived when 22 000 crazy and eccentric people will be pounding the tarmac between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, a whole 90km, unprovoked.

The Comrades Marathon will once again be rolling into town, bringing KwaZulu-Natal to a standstill. The world's toughest and biggest ultra marathon will take place on Sunday, June 8, and all eyes will be on the runners, the new initiatives and changes introduced by the new organisers.

Year in and year out, SA and international running aficionados and novices gather in this space to give their bodies a battering, their knees unbearable pain and their minds a serious mental challenge.

Many come out victorious, while thousands go back home defeated, crushed, their dreams shattered and limbs aching for weeks to come.

This 98th edition of the famous ultra will be the 49th down run, starting at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall and finishing 12 hours later at Durban’s People’s Park.