NO COMRADES HALF MARATHON - CMA

CMA General Manager, Gary Boshoff has confirmed cancellation of the Comrades Half Marathon, which had been advertised in the 2006 road running fixture lists for July 9 2006.

The Comrades Half Marathon came about as a consequence of an Athletics South Africa (ASA) directive issued in January 2005 that all events of 42,2km and longer would be required to stage simultaneous races of 21,1km or shorter, and CMA's willingness and endeavour to comply.

However, following initial discussions with ASA, it was agreed that owing to the unique logistical circumstances relating to the nature of the Comrades Marathon's point-to-point route that it would be impractical for CMA to stage a simultaneous half marathon race. It was consequently deemed acceptable for CMA to stage a separate half marathon race.

In July 2005 a late application was submitted to KZNA for a date on the 2006 fixture list. However, the only date available on the KZNA calendar was July 9, certainly not ideal, but one which CMA was prepared to accommodate if necessary, with the initial vision being that of staging a half marathon event of similar stature to the Comrades Marathon.

In the interim however, various developments have transpired according to Boshoff: Durban Africa expressed its concern owing to the congestion of major sporting events in the city of Durban during the month of July.

ASA subsequently rescinded its directive requiring all 42,2km or longer events to stage shorter races. And most importantly ASA introduced the Nedbank City Marathon and Matha Series, with the Nedbank SA 20km Championships scheduled for July 2 in East London.

"CMA's particular expertise and commitment is to the Comrades Marathon which is regarded as the world's greatest ultramarathon and that is essentially our core business", said Boshoff. "As a compliant affiliate of ASA, we were initially prepared to commit to the staging of a half marathon if required to do so by the controlling body.

"However, having been let off the hook, we have decided to stick to our core business, particularly in the light of the extremely exciting Nedbank SA 20km Championships taking place early in July, with which we would not wish to compete.

" The Nedbank City Marathon and Matha series is one of the most exciting innovations for the promotion, growth, development and sustainability of our sport," said Boshoff, "and we would urge athletes throughout the country to give it their support." "We do of course apologise for any confusion amongst athletes, but at least no runner should be inconvenienced as the event was always projected as a strictly pre-entry event".