Poor Man's Comrades
Brief notes
- Probably the greatest success in the world of Ultrarunning is the Comrades Marathon (www.comrades.com) held in June every year in South Africa which attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 runners yearly. The event is held on the hilly road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg (approx 90km), alternating directions every year.
- A number of runners in Australia have travelled to this prestigous event and are full of praise for it. Our event is being held for those runners who would like to attempt Comrades but can't afford to travel to South Africa - hence the Poor Man's Comrades. It is a hilly road course of approx the same distance, alternating directions every year (UP in Australia when UP in south Africa etc) so the feeling should be approximately the same .. except without the crowds .. or the water stops fully stocked with Coca-Cola every mile or ...
- This run is absolutely not sanctioned nor authorised by the Official Comrades Marathon
Date/Time of next run
Saturday 8th June 2013, starting 7am
2013 Start Location
Steps in fron of Sydney Opera House
2013 is an UP year
2013 Finish Location
Gosford Railway Station
Start Facilities
Shops, toilets, and train station nearby.
Entry Details
- See the On the Day Details page.
- Please note that to ensure you don't miss any late breaking info read this website or the Fat Ass section of the CoolRunning Messageboards.
Distance
92km - Bruce Fordyce Option
Many options to drop out at shorter distances - collectively known as Rosie Ruiz options.
Time Limit
None - take as long as you like
Entry Fee
Free!
Course Description
100% road route generally along the Old Pacific Highway, avoiding heavy traffic. Generally hilly - see elevation profile.
- Route description [Text Format] UP / DOWN
- Route description [PDF Format] UP / DOWN
- All route descriptions 2001-2006 [Excel Format]
- A pace schedule - up course 2008 and 2010 [Excel Format]
- Pedometer Course Outline for up course
- A pace schedule - down course 2007 and 2009 [Excel Format]
- Pedometer Course Outline for down course
- Maps [PDF- low res- Format] 2.4Mb Look at pages in correct order or reverse order depending on Up or Down route
- Maps [MSWORD - hi res- Format] 18.7Mb Look at pages in correct order or reverse order depending on Up or Down route
Full Maps
Map 1 - Opera House to North Sydney
Map 2 - North Sydney to Chatswood
Map 4 - Pymble to North Turramurra
Map 5 - North Turramurra to Mt Kuringai
Map 7 - Cowan to Mooney Mooney Creek
Map 8 - Mooney Mooney Creek to Calga
Map 9 - Calga to Gosford Railway Station
Aid Summary
As there will be no aid supplied, you should carry at least one water bottle. For the section between Sydney and Berowra, there are many places to stop and buy food/drink or use water taps - approx every 2km. Between Berowra and Gosford, opportunities for aid are rarer, approx every 5km or 10km so travel well prepared.
Route Marking Summary
As there will no route markings for the run whatsoever, you should pick up a FREE! map of the course at the start, or purchase your own. If you come off the route, look at your map and work out the best way to get back on route. There are quite a lot of road signs and the route is fairly straightforward and you are never that far from towns etc.
You should also bring along a plastic envelope or something to keep the map dry if it rains or if you sweat heavily.
Course Records
Up (Sydney-Gosford)
Male: John Mergler 7h 29m (2006)
Female: no female finishers
Down (Gosford-Sydney)
Male: John Mergler 8h 06m (2005)
Female: Allison Lilley (ERB) 11h 00m (2009)
All Time Results
Poor Man's Comrades - All Time Results (2001-2009 inclusive)
Results - 2009
2009 was a down year.
12 finishers from 15 starters
Results - 2008
2008 was an up year.
9 finishers from 16 starters
Results - 2007
2007 was a down year.
5 finishers from 12 starters.
Results - 2006
2006 was an up year.
11 finishers from 21 starters.
- Poor Mans Results 2006
- Discussion on CoolRunning
- Photos from Kevin, Plu, and Jan
Results - 2005
2005 was a down year.
8 finishers (non-finishers times, drop out place not captured)
Old Website
This website is being updated from our old website here
