The organisers of the Comrades Marathon have promised to address the complaints they received at the 97th edition of the race at the weekend.
The race between Durban and Pietermaritzburg was called a success, but the association was concerned that many things did not go according to plan on race day.
On Sunday, 18,884 runners started the up-run, and 17,313 finished the 85.91 km in the allotted time of 12 hours.
There was a shortfall of goodie bags, and the buses transporting athletes from the finish line to Durban were delayed.
Medals for athletes finishing between nine hours and nine hours 59 minutes were also in short supply, and traffic congestion on the N3 highway was a major concern.
Comrades race and operations manager Ann Ashworth apologised and accepted all concerns.
She said that efforts will be made to address and resolve all complaints.
Ashworth added that a debrief has been scheduled with the bus service; medals and goodie bags will be couriered to athletes and a new portfolio in the organising committee will be set up ahead of next year’s race to deal with traffic and parking issues.
The men’s race was won by Piet Wiersma while Gerda Steyn broke her own record to win the women’s race.
Pictured above: Comrades medal.
Source: @marimasipho
