COMRADES MARATHON ANNOUNCES EXTENDED, RUNNER-FRIENDLY ROUTE CUT-OFF TIMES

After a careful consultative process, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has released the cut-offs that will be applied along the route for the 98th edition of the race on Sunday 8 June. These 2025 cut-offs introduce a completely different approach by the CMA, with the cut-off times designed to avoid negatively impacting any runners who have qualified for the race and are capable of reaching the finish in 12 hours or less on race day.

“Although there will be two starts on race morning, at 5:45am and 6am, there will only be one set of cut-off times that come into effect after the second start at 6am. The good news for the runners at the back of the field is that the staggered start will save them up to five minutes,” says CMA General Manager Alain Dalais.

“The cut-offs are designed around the dismantling of race operations, cleaning up the route and the re-opening of the roads to traffic, but generous times have been given at each cut-off point, and runners who have not passed through a cut-off in time will be unable to continue the race. Safety is paramount, and we cannot allow runners who simply want to carry on to make that decision, hence they will be required to stop by these times.”

New-look Cut-offs

The average pace required for a 12-hour finish for the total 89.98km race distance is eight minutes per kilometre (8:00/km), and the most notable aspect of the 2025 cut-offs is that not one of the 2025 intermediate cut-off points will require runners to maintain this pace. In fact, runners will be given generous time limits to reach the first few cut-off points: Over 10:00/km pace to Cato Ridge (30.5km), and just short of 9:00/km to halfway in Drummond (45km), thus placing less pressure on runners to go faster than comfortable in the first half. This will make it possible for runners to employ a negative splits strategy, conserving energy in the first half in order to run faster and stronger in the second half.

Note: Cut-off times come into effect after the Second Group start at 06:00. (Add 15 minutes for Group 1.)

“Runners will be aware of their own pacing, and if they fail to reach these points within these extended cut-offs, then their chance of completing the whole race at an overall 8:00/km average is extremely slim,” says CMA Board Member Alan Gray, who also heads up the Race Advisory Committee (RAC).

“The cut-offs have been set so that anyone capable of maintaining the required pace to the finish will be allowed to continue. For example, runners who may have been delayed while waiting to meet up with supporters for a change of shoes, but who pass through a cut-off point within the allowed time and still maintaining a significantly faster pace, will be allowed to continue. If those runners fail to maintain their pace, they will be removed from the race at the next cut-off point on the route.”

Overall Pace is Key

Gray adds a special note of warning to all runners here: “We know some runners may look at the list of cut-off times and think, wait, why do I only have 30 minutes to get to the finish after the 45th Cutting point, needing to cover 9km at 3:30/km pace, but they need to remember that just trying to stay ahead of the cut-offs should not be viewed as the ideal way to run the Comrades.”

“Rather, it should be seen as the CMA giving you the maximum time to get to the finish, especially if you are still running strongly as you pass a cut-off point, but you still need to be able to meet the minimum requirement of running an overall pace of 8min/km to finish the race under 12 hours. We also urge you to watch the Comrades Webinar on 28 May to get a clear picture of how to run the race, so that you do not end up missing out on achieving your finish,” he adds.

“Remember, it’s about pacing more than anything else, and you don’t have to run non-stop the whole way – you can work within your own capacity, especially in the first half of the race. If you can run 10km in 63 minutes, and a marathon in five hours, you can finish the Comrades, so pace yourself and enjoy the race. Simply put, the 2025 organisers are not here to take you off the road unless absolutely necessary – we want you to finish the race, and we are going to give you every chance of doing so!” concludes Gray.

FAQ on Cut-offs

Q: What was the original policy on cut-offs when the Comrades Marathon was first run?

A: The first Comrades in 1921 was promoted as “go as you please,” so if you wanted to take a short break along the route for lunch, or even stop for a rest, you simply had to run faster over the next or subsequent sections in order to make the finish within the original 12-hour limit. This led to the famous story of Bill Payn’s 1922 Comrades run.

Payn was a well-known provincial rugby and cricket player (who went on to play two rugby tests for the Springboks in 1924), who was motivated to enter the Comrades on the morning of the race by his friend Arthur Newton (who would go on to win that 1922 race, on debut, and add another four race titles between 1923 and 1927.) Payn stopped in Hillcrest for a breakfast of eggs, ate a meal of curried chicken at Botha’s Hill, downed a beer at Drummond, and consumed about 36 oranges in the second half of the race, along with several more pauses for tea, water and even some peach brandy, and still finished eighth in a respectable 10 hours 56 minutes.

Q: Why have intermediate cut-offs?

A: The Comrades Marathon uses some of the primary, and in some cases the only, access roads to communities, residences, farms and businesses along the route, which means runners are allowed to enjoy this iconic event, courtesy of the tolerance of the local communities, but the roads do need to re-open within a reasonable time.

Q: When and how were cut-offs introduced at the Comrades?

A: The first Comrades cut-off was introduced for the Up Run in 1968, at 6 hours 30 minutes at halfway (Drummond) for the (then) 11-hour final race time. This actually equated to a 13-hour finishing time for the full distance, and after a couple of years, the CMA found that there were runners who were just getting past this halfway cut-off but who had no chance of finishing, so a few years later the Drummond cut-off was reset at 6 hours. This was still effectively a 12-hour pace for an 11-hour final cut-off time, and that remained in place until the 12-hour final cut-off was reintroduced in the 2000 millennium race (and became a permanent final cut-off in 2003). Through the years, other intermediate cut-off points were also added.

Q: Why have cut-offs proven so controversial in recent years?

A: The various intermediate cut-off points and times have varied from year to year, but the Comrades Marathon organisers have been criticised for making these cut-off times too demanding (or tight). As a result, it was felt that slower runners had to expend too much energy in the earlier stages of the race in order to make it through the initial cut-off points, thus making it harder for them to then get past the later cut-offs.

Q: What is the 2025 approach to route cut-offs?

A: The new 2025 approach is to return to the initial base of 1968 and prior years, where the focus is on allowing the runner the greatest tolerance in pacing options, notably in the first half of the race, but to also still look to have cut-offs in place to make it possible to open the road to other road users within a reasonable time.

Q: Will a runner be removed from the road in the 2025 race?

A: The only circumstances that a runner will be required to leave the route (and be taken to the finish by one of the ‘bailer buses’), is either because the medical team are concerned about the runner’s health or welfare, or if it is clear that the runner is not going to be able to make up the time to reach the finish within 12 hours. The organisers of the 2025 race are determined that no runner who is still capable of finishing will be prevented from doing so, as long as they reach the cut-off points as per the cut-off table given to runners. The CMA is allowing runners very generous pacing times to reach those cut-off points, and runners will only be removed from the race if they fail to reach one of those points on the course within the permitted time.