Comrades runners warned against ‘batch-jumping’
With the ultimate human race just over a month away, Comrades Marathon runners are warned to stick to the seeding batches they've been allocated or risk disqualification.
The Comrades Marathon Association says it is aware that some participants are involved in batch-jumping on race day.
It's when a runner pushes their way forward from their time batch to a faster pace group closer to the front at the starting point.
"So, we are very easily able to pick up when people don't start in the correct timing batch, and it is a form of cheating if you start ahead of the batch that you have been allocated to,” says the ultra-marathon’s operations manager Ann Ashworth.
“Whether you entered into the wrong batch, or you entered into the right batch but then you pushed your way forward through other athletes to start in batch ahead of you, is basically like jumping the gun because you get a head start over your peers and that is considered a form of cheating but it’s also a massive safety concern."
Ashworth says batch-jumping could lead to pushing, athletes tripping, and congestion that might cause a bottleneck at the front of the race.
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The 97th edition of the Comrades Marathon will be run on Sunday, the 9th of June.
Durban City Hall will mark the start of this year's shorter-than-usual 85.9-kilometre journey to Pietermaritzburg.
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