WHY NOT REGISTER IN PIETERMARITZBURG?
It seems that many Comrades runners are unaware of the advantages of registering for the race at Comrades House, in Pietermaritzburg. This is probably due to the fact that anyone wanting to experience the Expo might as well register in Durban because both take place within the same venue.
However, visiting the Expo doesn’t necessarily mean that one has to register in Durban. Instead, it is possible for runners, particularly those runners from up country who will be travelling to the start by car, to stop off along the route and register at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg while on route to the start and Expo in Durban. Comrades House is literally five minutes’ drive from the N3 highway.
Registering in Pietermaritzburg will give runners an opportunity to experience the history of the Comrades Museum and to see the office where all major race decisions are made. But, most importantly, registration queues in Pietermaritzburg seldom last longer than a few minutes.
In fact, in 2023 there were no queues at all throughout the entire 3-day registration period. This means that all that needs to be done is to take the New England Road off-ramp and follow the signs to Comrades House.
Adequate parking close to the venue is available. This will be followed by an extremely fast registration process with a tour of Comrades House and the museum as optional extras. Green Number Club runners are also invited to visit the newly refurbished Green Number Room inside the museum where you will find the mounted names of all Green Number athletes and Comrades legends.
The whole exercise need not take longer than a few minutes. Thereafter it is back on the road down to the Expo in Durban.
In this way the long queues which frequently occur in Durban, due to the vast number of runners that choose to register there, can be avoided. In addition, since the Pietermaritzburg registration process is so much smaller than Durban, your experience may well be more personal and hospitable.
For those who would like to register in Pietermaritzburg but have indicated on their entry forms that they will be registering in Durban, all that needs to be done is to update the collection venue on your race entry profiles before 6 May 2024.
