The key to a great Comrades lies in good planning and this article sets out a road map to help you plan your route to your best possible run at the  iconic Comrades marathon.

2025 is fast approaching, and most runners were fortunate to get their entries in for the Comrades marathon. But there were runners that missed out and the CMA did open a further 1000 entries that were quickly snapped up by runners desperate for an entry. Hopefully you are one of the fortunate runners with an entry.

Good planning is the key and the things to plan for are:

• When to start your marathon training for the qualifier
• When to run your marathon qualifier
• When to start your Comrades training phase
• How many long runs, the distances, and when to do them
• When to do the last big long run and how long before the Comrades
• When to start your taper
• How to add speed and hill training, and when to do it

NOTE: If a runner is fairly fit and comfortable running 21km, then she can plan for a three month build up to a fast marathon qualifier. A runner that is less fit, will need to plan for a longer build up. Also note that if a runner has never run a marathon before, then I would strongly advise the runner not attempt her first marathon in the months before the Comrades marathon. It would then be better to tackle the Comrades marathon in the following year.

Phase 1 – the marathon qualifier 

A good approach that I have used for my runners needing to run a marathon qualifier for the past 24 years, is the following:

December 

• Start with marathon training at the end of November/beginning of December for a fast marathon qualifier at the end of February/early March. It is important to check if you are fast enough to qualify.  December training is still fairly light due to the festive season and runners can be flexible. But ideally a runner should do a long run of 25-30km by the end of December. 

January

• The training increases with higher mileages, speed work, and longer runs. Stronger runners will run an easy pace marathon by the end of January, while others will run a 32km. 

February

• Training increases again, and stronger runners will do their second easy pace marathon in middle February or run a fast qualifier in late February. Some  will do their first easy pace marathon while others will do 32km again.

Early March

• Some will do their fast marathon qualifier early on the first weekend of March. 

Tip for if you struggle to qualify

Ideally runners would have done their qualifiers by early March, so that they can then start with their Comrades high mileage phase in the middle of March.

But if a runner has not been able to qualify, either through injury or being too slow, then an option is to qualify on an ultra as you can see on the qualifying tables. For runners in South Africa, the Irene 48km can be used. The 48km run has an advantage as the qualifying time for 48 km is the same as for a 50 km, meaning that a runner doing the Irene 48 km actually saves the time that would have been spent running 2 km further, making it easier to qualify. 

Phase 2 – The high mileage phase for the Comrades

Middle March – late May

• This is the key training phase for the Comrades, when ideally runners should stop racing and be doing their solid mileages with slow long runs. It is this training phase that will determine how well you run at the Comrades. 

Late May- Comrades

• Time to start cutting back on the mileages, and add some speed work and hill work to sharpen up for the Comrades.

The long runs

The golden rule for Comrades runners is that the lower your weekly mileages, the more important your weekend long runs become. This is because the long runs are what will get you safely through the Comrades. Gold medalist contenders who do around 180-200 km/week are already running on tired legs and developing huge endurance, and for them the long runs become less important.

In the Comrades high mileage phase, most runners need to plan for long runs of 50km, 56km and 60km. These should all be slow and easy for time on the legs (Two Oceans can be a great 56 km training run, if run cautiously). 

These long runs should ideally be spaced three weeks apart to allow for recovery. The last big 60km should be 5-6 weeks before the Comrades, and club long runs such as the Comrades route tester, RAC 60km, Midrand 60km and other club runs, are perfect for this. 

The Taper 

Your taper will begin after the last 60km long run, with a reduction in mileage, and then you can add some speed work and hill work to bring you to a peak for the Comrades.

NOTE – long runs for silver medalists

While three long runs work well for most runners, those aiming for silver medals should plan for four long runs. This means that the recovery times between long runs will mostly be two weeks instead of three weeks. My long runs when I was young were typically  4 x 60km, and with that I ran a 6.38 Comrades best. 

Life happens and things won’t always go to plan, but a plan will help to keep you focused on your goal.