Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has assured runners that the 100th running of the Comrades Marathon will take place on 13 June 2027, with the full support of national and provincial government.
In a statement on Friday, the Minister said government would ensure that the centenary race goes ahead despite an ongoing dispute involving athletics federations.
The assurance comes as entries for the historic race are open, with thousands of runners committing to the event and beginning their preparations.
“The 100th running of the Comrades Marathon must go ahead, and it will go ahead. Enter the race. Book your accommodation. Tell your family to come and stand on that road. This race has survived a world war and a pandemic. It is not going to be stopped by a disagreement between committees,” he said.
The Comrades Marathon was first held in 1921 and has been staged every year except during the war years and the two years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2027 edition will mark the 100th running of the race and the 50th running of the traditional down route from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, finishing at the Kings Park precinct.
“This race does not belong to a federation and does not belong to an association. It belongs to the people who run it, to the families who wait at the finish, and to the towns along that route who have built a hundred years of their identity around one Sunday in June. Nobody has the right to take that away from them, and this government will not allow anybody to try,” the Minister said.
McKenzie said government would guarantee the necessary state support for the mass-participation road event.
He said approvals relating to event categorisation and safety certification under the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act, as well as municipal, traffic, policing and emergency services arrangements, are functions of the State and its authorised structures.
These arrangements, he said, are not dependent on the outcome of an affiliation dispute between federations.
The Minister has directed the Department to engage the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and Msunduzi Local Municipality to ensure that the necessary operational support is in place well ahead of June 2027.
The Department will also work with organisers to make the centenary race the largest and best-supported Comrades Marathon in its history.
No sanctions for runners
McKenzie has called on Athletics South Africa (ASA) and KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) to provide the assurance requested by the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) that no athlete, club or technical official will face sanctions for entering, participating in or officiating at the 100th Comrades Marathon.
“I will not have ordinary runners used as hostages in a fight they did not start. These are people who get up at four in the morning to train. They are not parties to this, and anybody who thinks of punishing them for entering a race will answer to me and to the public,” he said.
The Minister’s assurance follows an online meeting with representatives of the CMA, ASA and KZNA, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture Mntomuhle Khawula, and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
The meeting sought to establish the causes of the dispute, with the Minister saying he listened to each party.
At its Annual General Meeting in November 2025, CMA members resolved to withdraw the Association’s status as a Special Member of KZNA and affiliate directly with the national federation.
According to the statement, ASA declined the request and advised the CMA that direct affiliation was not possible, directing the Association back to the provincial structure.
The matter was put before CMA members again at a Special General Meeting on 1 August 2026, where more than 1 000 members voted. A total of 694 voted against re-affiliation with KZNA, while 338 voted in favour.
The Minister said the CMA had not walked away from organised athletics and remained willing to work with the national and provincial federations.
“The Comrades people were very clear with me that they are willing to keep working with the national and provincial federations.”
Government to address athletics governance
McKenzie described the dispute as a wake-up call for Athletics South Africa, federations and government.
“This is a wake-up call – to Athletics South Africa, to every federation in this country, and to us in government too. Administrative dysfunction comes at a price. For years we have treated bad administration as an irritation, something we complain about and then live with. It is not. It costs you your biggest asset. When the organisers of the world’s oldest ultramarathon decide they are better off outside your structures than inside them, it is time to do deep introspection,” McKenzie said.
The Minister confirmed that he and the Department had engaged World Athletics directly at senior level in recent months on athletics in South Africa.
Looking beyond the centenary race, he said the Department would pursue the underlying governance challenges in partnership with World Athletics, SASCOC, MEC Khawula and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government.
“We intend to work closely with World Athletics on the solutions. They are the custodians of this sport globally and South Africa needs to remain a member of that family in good standing. Whatever is done to restore the administration of athletics in this country will be done with World Athletics, alongside them and within their framework – not around them, and not against them. Government is not trying to run athletics. Government is trying to make sure there is athletics left worth running.
“Our objective is to restore our federations to something the Comrades Marathon Association can be proud to associate with again. This was never about picking a winner between organisations. It is about supporting and growing athletics in South Africa, and athletics does not grow when the people who build things spend their year fighting the people who are supposed to support them,” the Minister said.
The Department will announce further steps in due course. – SAnews.gov.za
