The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi)[1] which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

However, in response to popular demand, the back-to-back medal is available for purchase to runners who have previously fulfilled the criteria of completing both an 'up' and a 'down' Comrades Marathon.

An unknown on the athletics scene, Roche-Kelly set the roads alight that year when she became the first woman to break the 71⁄2-hour barrier and win the Comrades Marathon in 7:18:00; well under the silver-medal cut-off of 7:30:00, and in the process shattering the women's record by more than an hour.

Robert Mtshali was the first unofficial black runner in the 1935 Comrades Marathon, finishing his race in a time of 9 hours and 30 minutes.

His efforts were not officially recorded as government and race rules of the time stipulated that, in order to compete in the Comrades Marathon, you had to be a white male.

Friday, 24 May 1935, saw Mtshali participating in the 15th Comrades Marathon, a down run, joining the 48 official entrants on the starting line.

After this public holiday was scrapped in 1995 by the post-apartheid South African government, the race date was changed to Youth Day on 16 June.

A time limit of 12 hours was set and Bill Rowan became the inaugural winner, clocking 08:59 to win by 41 minutes ahead of Harry Phillips.

[5] She completed the event in 11:35[5] and although she was not awarded a Comrades medal, the other runners and spectators presented her with a silver tea service and a rose bowl.

In 1948 a Comrades tradition was born when race official Max Trimborn, instead of firing the customary starter's gun, gave a loud imitation of a cock's crow.

In the 1950s, a full twenty years after he won the race for the first time, Wally Hayward recorded his second victory and followed that up with wins in 1951, 1953 and 1954.

Watching the stragglers come in hours later, Smith commented to former winner Bill Cochrane that the other people completing the race were getting as much applause as he had received.

In 1975, the Golden Jubilee of the Comrades, Vincent Rakabele finished 20th to become the first black runner to officially win a medal.

Robb repeated his win in 1977, 1978 and 1980, including breaking the tape in Durban in 1978 in a record 5:29:14, almost 20 minutes and four kilometres ahead of runner-up Dave Wright.

An outspoken critic of apartheid, Fordyce and a number of other athletes initially decided to boycott the 1981 event when organisers announced that they would associate it with the 20th anniversary of the Republic of South Africa.

Mattheus also suffered much negativity in the public eye but later managed to redeem his clean image with an emphatic faultless win in the 1997 down run beating a strong local and international field.

Russian identical twin sisters Olesya and Elena Nurgalieva won a combined ten Comrades titles from 2003 to 2013.

Among the women, the Nurgalieva twins' hold on the race was finally broken in 2014 when Ellie Greenwood, GBR, won the down run after a spectacular finish, taking the lead just 2 km before the end.

In 2015 Caroline Wostmann became the first South African woman to win Comrades in 17 years, followed by Charné Bosman in 2016 and Ann Ashworth in 2018.

[25] The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with foreign registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022.

In 1993, Herman Matthee, a runner from Bellville athletics club, finished in 7th place and was one of the top ten gold medal winners, but he was later stripped of his gold medal and disqualified when video evidence and eyewitness testimony indicated that he entered the race at Kloof and completed less than 30 km of the 89 km down run.

[36][37] Consequently, in a Comrades first, 11th-place finisher Simon Williamson was months later promoted to tenth place and awarded the last gold medal by the then South African president FW de Klerk.

[38][39] By exchanging places with his brother at toilet stops and aided by car lifts at various stages, Sergio Motsoeneng finished ninth, which came as a surprise to Nick Bester and other athletes behind him, who could not recall being overtaken.

They were exposed when television footage revealed them to be wearing watches on different arms,[40] and a time pad reading that confirmed that one of the brothers was still trailing Bester at Botha's Hill.

Runners who have tested positive include Sergio Motsoeneng, Rasta Mohloli, Viktor Zhdanov,[44] Lephetesang Adoro and Ludwick Mamabolo.

[46] Erythropoietin (EPO), norandrosterone (a metabolite or precursor of nandrolone), methylhexaneamine and testosterone have been mentioned in connection with Comrades athletes.

The following runners won 7 or more gold medals, gold medal span in brackets, race winners in bold: Alan Robb (1974–1991) Bruce Fordyce (1979–1990) Trevor Allen (1950–1961) Jackie Mekler (1952–1969)[54] Shaun Meiklejohn (1989–1999) Andrew Kelehe (1997–2006) Fusi Nhlapo (2000–2012) Bongmusa Mthembu (2009–2024) Hoseah Tjale (1980–1990) Nick Bester (1988–1997) Stephen Muzhingi (2007–2015) Allen Boyce (1936–1956) Gordon Baker (1967–1974) Hardy Ballington (1932–1947)[55] Gerald Walsh (1952–1960) Charl Mattheus (1988–1998) Oleg Kharitonov (2002–2008) / Vladimir Kotov (2000–2008) Mncedisi Mkhize (2006–2016) Claude Moshiywa (2005–2016) Ludwick Mamobolo (2010–2017) Gift Kelehe (2011–2023) Elena Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Marina Zhalybina (1999–2013) Maria Bak (1995–2008) Farwa Mentoor (2002–2011) Olesya Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Valentina Shatyayeva (1994–2002) Yolande Maclean (2003–2022) Grace De Oliveira (1999–2007) The following women have finished in the top 10 of the women's race on 7 or more occasions in the race history.

Elena Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Marina Zhalybina (1999–2013) Maria Bak (1995–2008) Farwa Mentoor (2002–2011) Olesya Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Tilda Tearle (1986–1995) Valentina Shatyayeva (1994–2002) Yolande Maclean (2003–2022) Priscilla Carlisle (1981–1989) Ralie Smit (1980–1989) Hazel Hairs (1983–1990) Sanet Beukes (1992–1998) Grace De Oliveira (1999–2007) As the race is the pinnacle of the South African distance running calendar with local elite athletes targeting the event year-after-year there are fewer international gold medalists.

The following non-African international runners have won 2 or more gold medals (winners in bold): Oleg Kharitonov (2002–2008) Vladimir Kotov (2000–2008) Alexi Volgin (1995–2001) Jaroslaw Janicki (1997–2008) Grigory Murzin (1999–2008) Leonid Schvetsov (2001–2012) Dmitri Grishin (1996–2001) Dave Levick (1971–1975) Jorge Aubeso (2002–2004) Jonas Buud (2011–2014) Mick Orton (1972–1973) John McBrearty (1973–1975) Charly Doll (1993–1994) Peter Camenzind (1994–1997) Konstantin Santalov (1997–1999) Mikhail Kokorev (1996–2000) Anatoliy Korepanov (1999–2000) Don Wallace (2000–2002) / Steve Way (2017–2018) Piet Wiersma (2023–2024) Elena Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Marina Zhalybina (1999–2013) Maria Bak (1995–2008) Olesya Nurgalieva (2003–2015) Valentina Shatyayeva (1994–2002) Tatiana Zhirkova (2003–2009) Marina Myshlyanova (2005–2010) Alexandra Morozova (2017–2024) Elvira Kolpakova (2000–2005) Valentina Liakhova (1994–1998) / Ellie Greenwood (2011–2015) Dominika Stelmach (2019–2024) / Joasia Zakrzewski (2012–2015) Devon Yanko (2012–2018) Sarah Bard (2016–2018) Caitriona Jennings (2019–2024) Ann Trason (1996–1997) Birgit Lennartz (1999–2000) Maria Venancio (1999–2001) Alena Vinitskaya (2003–2007) Kami Semick (2010–2011) / Lizzy Hawker (2010–2011) Natalia Volgina (2002–2012) Simona Staicu (2003–2015) Camille Herron (2017–2022) The following have won 3 or more Wally Hayward medals (for running sub-6 hours, but outside the top 10) since the medal was first awarded in 2007, medal span in brackets.

As a result, many athletes aim to complete at least 10 races, which is evident as a clear peak in the distribution of medal counts.