Who says running ultras doesn’t pay the bills? Huge potential pay day for the winners of the Comrades Marathon .
The winner of this year’s Comrades Marathon – provided he or she breaks the current race record – could walk away with a cool R1.4 million on Friday.
That’s what is on offer for the 81st running of the world famous ultra-marathon, which has attracted a field of just over 12 000 runners, who will start from outside the Durban City Hall (5.30am) and head for the finish at the Oval in Pietermaritzburg.
But all this money does not come from the Comrades Marathon Association.
The CMA will be offering R200 000 each for the winner of the men’s and women’s race plus a 100 ounce gold figurine worth R240 000 if a record is broken, and a gold medal which costs around R3 000. That comes to R443 000.However if the runner comes from Mr Price, Harmony Gold or Liberty Life Nike – the three top professional outfits – they will add a further R500 000 for the win plus a new race record will earn them a further R500 000 on top of that.